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belief in god, burned mosque, cheating pastor, donald trump, florida police, forgiveness, green card holders, humanism, media reporters, muslim ban, neil gorsuch, north carolina, police corruption, protect the earth, refugees, religious discussion, religious freedom, religious nones, religious right, religious zealots, ricky gervais, SOCAS, stephen colbert, supreme court, ten commandments, tennessee sheriff, UK protests, united methodist, unrepresented atheist, victoria texas, white house, women's rights
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Colbert Go Head-to-Head on Religion
(Youtube)
Why I Don’t Believe in God
In Africa, where religion and believing in God is an unwritten rule and is widely viewed as opium of the masses, Harrison Mumia stands out because of his unorthodox beliefs. To Mumia, God is dead. Actually he never existed. (Mediamax)
When Should a Humanist Forgive?
To suggest that we can love our opponents into forsaking their evil ways is a noble moral for a fairy tale, but it doesn’t work that way in the real world. If it were that simple, human-wrought evil would have been ended long before now. Cruelty, bigotry and malice have to be resisted, not patiently tolerated. (Daylight Atheism)
Some Thoughtful Guidance for Reporters Interpreting Era of the Religious ‘Nones’
How many barrels of printer’s ink (it’s a metaphor these days) have been expended on the rise of the “nones,” Americans who tell pollsters they have no religious identification? (Get Religion)
Amanda’s View: Unrepresented Atheist
Already, President Trump has taken executive action to suppress the reality of climate change, to interfere with women’s access to reproductive healthcare, to refuse immigrants and refugees from entering the country on the basis of their religion, and to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, among other things. (Highline Times)
Truth Is Elastic To Trump, But The Religious Right Loves Him Anyway
It’s been less than two weeks since President Donald J. Trump and his administration transitioned into power, and chaos and protests over their actions have already erupted. But one group, in particular, remains mum on criticizing the Trump administration’s words and actions: the Trump-loving Religious Right. (Americans United)
Tens of Thousands in UK Protest Trump Muslim Ban
In an outpouring of opposition to US President Donald Trump and in defence of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, thousands of people attended protests Monday throughout the UK. Denunciations of Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May for their Islamophobia were central to the protests. Protestors were overwhelming young. (WSWS)
Green Card Holders Will Need Additional Screening: White House
Earlier, a Department of Homeland Security official said people holding green cards, making them legal permanent U.S. residents, were included in President Donald Trump’s executive action temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. (Reuters)
Trump’s Travel Ban Will Alienate Muslims, Incite Hardliners
No individual from the seven countries restricted by the US’ latest travel ban has attacked American people or interests. (Daily O)
Why This Pastor Believes Media Misinterpreted Trump’s Order on Refugees
Media coverage of President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily barring refugees from seven countries has not pleased Bill Hulse, a Southern Baptist pastor in one of the reddest of the red states. (Get Religion)
A Few Thoughts on the “Muslim Ban”
The fact that atheists like me can’t find the time to worry about the religious crackpots he has brought with him into power is a measure of how bad the man is. Christian fundamentalism has become the least of our concerns. Our democracy has been engulfed by a hurricane of lies. (Sam Harris)
Donations to Burned Texas Mosque Top $1 Million in Outpouring of Support
Days after fire destroyed the Victoria Islamic Center in Victoria, Texas, donations to rebuild the mosque have passed $1 million. And that’s only one part of the support the mosque has received: Four churches and a synagogue say Muslims are welcome to hold services in their buildings. (NPR)
Trump’s Supreme Court Pick Is Payoff to the Religious Right
Judge Neil Gorsuch is enthusiastically pro-life and conservative on all other issues near and dear to evangelicals who held their noses and who elected a morally flawed president. (Daily Beast)
Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch is a Disaster for Church/State Separation
Donald Trump just announced that 49-year-old Neil Gorsuch, who sits on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and has been dubbed the “most natural successor to Justice Antonin Scalia” in all the wrong ways, will be his nominee for the Supreme Court seat left open by Scalia and hovered over for nearly a year by Merrick Garland. (Friendly Atheist)
United Methodist Women Members Stand in Solidarity with Those Working to Repeal North Carolina’s House Bill 2
“We stand with the people of North Carolina because fear of those different from us is not a reason to enact restricting laws,” said United Methodist Women National President Shannon Priddy. (RNS)
TN Sheriff Who Once Posted Ten Commandments in Jail Lobby Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges
In 2010, Robert Arnold was elected Sheriff of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. And one of the ways he chose to lower crime rates, influence prisoners, and (let’s admit) get re-elected was to post a copy of the Ten Commandments in the lobby of the Rutherford County Jail. (Friendly Atheist)
Police: Florida Pastor Caught in Bed with Parishioner’s Wife, Flees Naked
A police report says a prominent Florida pastor was forced to run out of a house naked after a woman’s husband came home to find him having sex with his wife. (WKRN)
Religion & Politics: Misguided Zeal
Does it ever occur to these zealots on either side that they are fighting battles over meaningless issues orchestrated by clueless “leaders” on behalf of Fictitious Entities to achieve … nothing? (OpEd News)
Protecting the Earth Through Faith
Last fall thousands of people descended upon the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota to protest the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil pipeline whose construction threatened sacred tribal artifacts and burial sites. Protesters voiced environmental concerns regarding the pipeline itself, while also stressing the important spiritual relationship between the tribe and their land. (The Monastery)
Do We Have Religious Freedom?
Despite a longstanding constitutional right to religious freedom, certain religious groups in the United States continue to feel persecuted because of their faith – particularly those who display visible symbols of it. (The Monastery)
