Tuesday Religion and Atheism News (02/24)

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Losing Their Religion: More Women Join the Unspiritual Set

Nadia Bulkin, 27, the daughter of a Muslim father and a Christian mother, spends “zero time” thinking about God. And she finds that among her friends many are just as spiritually disconnected.

Moderate Atheists Must Condemn Extremism

If moderate atheists reject this interpretation of their faith, the responsibility rests on their shoulders to say so.

We Must Offend Religion More: Islam, Christianity and Our Tolerance for Ancient Myths, Harmful Ideas

Our enduring deference to religion, despite its toxicity and phony explanations for the cosmos, lets it survive.

Coalition of Reason is Off and Running

Jim Lyttle of Duluth is the coordinator of the Iron Range Coalition of Reason. It’s a recently formed resource for “freethinking people, uniting various nontheistic groups” across the Northland.

Science and Religion: Surveying the Field of Battle

Kelly James Clark: “Many Christians have defensively retreated into unscientific, untenable biblical literalism. Conflict is an apt metaphor for the ongoing battle between Darwinian evolution and biblical literalism.”

Blame Organized Religions for Impeding Peace

Whites used religion to justify slavery because the Bible instructs that slaves should obey their masters.

What Richard Dawkins Gets Wrong About Raising Children Religious

It would be silly to refer to a four-year-old as a Marxist because his parents are Marxist, so why in the world should we credit to children a belief in the Resurrection or Muhammad riding to heaven on horseback?

Breaking the Silence: Some Faith Leaders Victimize Rape Survivors Again

Already a rape survivor at 12 years old at the hands of her sister’s first husband, and again at 13 by a family friend staying in her home. Still, her faith did not waver.

Man Who Once Defended Georgia Sodomy Ban To Oppose Religious Liberty Bills

Former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers will team up with LGBT advocates in opposing legislation pending in the state now. Bowers is best known nationally as the man who defended sodomy laws in Bowers v. Hardwick.

Pope Francis Urged to Discipline Catholic Priest Who Called Yoga ‘Work of the Devil’

Hindus are urging Pope Francis to discipline a Catholic priest from Northern Ireland after he suggested yoga was the work of the devil.

Al-Azhar Top Cleric Calls for Religious Teaching Reform

The Grand Imam of Egypt’s top Islamic institution has called for a radical reform of religious teaching to tackle the spread of Islamic extremism.

Can Faith and Science Coexist?

Science and religion converge in one important way. The more scientists investigate our origins, the more improbable our existence seems.

CT Scan Finds Mummified Monk Inside 1,000-Year-Old Buddha

A Chinese statue of the Buddha dating back to around 1100 AD is more than just a statue — it’s the final resting place of a Buddhist master.

Jews and Muslims Join Forces for Academic Freedom

Academic departments are known for their fractiousness, so I have never ceased to be amazed at how well my colleagues, despite our varied interests and backgrounds, get along with one another.

Why is there Bigotry, Prejudice Against Atheists? Origins of Anti-Atheist Animus

The extreme hostility towards atheists in America can probably be traced to two related factors: America’s view of itself as a religious nation entrusted with a special mission from God and America’s fight against communism in the Cold War.

Religious Objection Bills Reemerge in State Legislature

A House committee could vote as soon as Wednesday on a trio of bills that would allow faith-based adoption agencies to continue to operate under their religious beliefs without fear of losing state funding.

Federal Court Approves Settlement Requiring Mich. City To Give Atheists Equal Access To City Hall

“This settlement protects the rights of freethinkers and non-theists,” said Alex J. Luchenitser, associate legal director of Americans United.

Michael Shermer and the Moral Arc of Libertarianism

Skeptic magazine publisher Michael Shermer has gotten onto the same “science can determine moral values” bandwagon as other scientistically-minded writers such as Sam Harris.

In Which I Help Deconvert Someone, and On What Works

I consider the definition of “success” as an anti-theist to be “turning at least one person away from the delusions of faith and towards the virtues of reason.”