24 December 2015 Religion and Atheism News

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I’m An Atheist — Here’s Why I Still Love Christmas With My Catholic Family

I used to be Catholic. I haven’t been for a few years now. It’s not something I really think about 11 out of 12 months a year.

Is Jesus the Reason for the Season? No.

“Jesus is the reason for the season.” I keep hearing it: the older cliched version of the culture wars. Yet Christians need to accept that Jesus isn’t the reason for the season, and never was.

Humanist Commentaries by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein & Lawrence Krauss

The effort to obscure the obvious, to rely on fear, ideology, or religious pressure to limit debate has been a policy of governments, democratic or not, for far longer than seventy-five years.

The True History of the Right-Wing’s Favorite Paranoid Fantasy, ‘The War on Christmas’

Say ‘happy holidays’ and Bill O’Reilly will howl. Christians, though, fought to suppress the holiday for centuries.

Unbelief As A Belief System: Core Tenet For Christians’ Fight For Religious Rights

Christian conservatives who are battling for the right to promote their faith in public or official settings see themselves locked in an epic contest with a rival religion. But that rival isn’t Islam. It’s secularism.

The Epic of Gilgamesh & Ancient Mesopotamian Religion

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poetic epic comprised of numerous redacted Sumerian stories that were eventually patched together in Akkadian to form a coherent epic about a king, who, in antiquity, was believed to have been a historical person.

Gov. Abbott Has Mock Nativity Scene Removed from Texas Capitol

Gov. Greg Abbott has succeeded in getting a holiday display featuring some American Founding Fathers and the Bill of Rights in a manger removed from the Texas Capitol.

HuffPost Live Guest Says Military ‘Marginalizes’ Atheists At Christmas Time

One of the most vocal members of the discussion was Annabelle Gurwitch, who authored an LA Times op-ed called “You Don’t Have to Be Religious to Revel in the Holiday Season.”

The Case of the Bishop’s Brain

In an unusual new paper, a group of German neuroscientists report that they scanned the brain of a Catholic bishop: Does a bishop pray when he prays? And does his brain distinguish between different religions?

Americans Are in the Middle of the Pack Globally When It Comes to Importance of Religion

More than half of Americans (53%) now say religion is very important in their lives, according to a recent Pew Research Center report.

Gov. Removes Kim Davis’ Name from Ky. Marriage Licenses: Fair Compromise?

The new Kentucky governor has removed the names of clerks from marriage licenses so these public officials can fulfill their legal duty without appearing to sanction same-sex marriage over their religious beliefs.

A Centre for All Faiths, Atheism to Come Up Near Disputed Site in Ayodhya

Amid tension after Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), akin of RSS and BJP, revived its campaign for construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

Erdogan’s Assault on Education: The Closure of Secular Schools

Students who perform poorly on entrance exams for secondary school are shunted into imam–hatips where they study the Koran for up to 13 hours a week and take courses on the life of the Prophet Muhammad and Arabic.

Creationist Sylvia Allen to Lead Arizona Senate Education Panel

Allen is best known for her controversial public comments over the years. During a legislative hearing in 2009, she said the Earth is 6,000 years old, a belief held by “Young Earth” biblical creationists.

Does Life Imply Creation? Don McLeroy Says Yes

Some mainstream scientists affect a pose of exhaustion. Speaking with creationists, they say, is not worth the effort. Some folks criticizepopularizers such as Bill Nye “The Science Guy” for deigning to debate young-earth impresario Ken Ham.

Want to Disprove the Theory of Male Headship as Endorsed by Jehovah’s Witnesses? Fly a Plane and Write a Book

I spent much of my free time in late 2014 and most of 2015 helping ex-JW and anti-cult activist Bo Juel write his first book, “The Least of God’s Priorities.”

Meet the Fox News Atheist — the Man Bill O’Reilly Calls a Fascist and Sean Hannity Thinks Is Evil

Sean Hannity despises him. Actual Fox atheists want his autograph. David Silverman takes the fight to the enemy.

Should We Lie to Children About Santa?

Of course, not everyone’s a fan – some oppose the Santa myth on religious grounds. Others dread the day when their child inevitably learns – usually from other children – that Santa (spoiler alert!) isn’t real.