Monday Religion and Atheist Report

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12-step, 1st amendment, ancient, astral, atheists, beliefs, blasphemy, buddhist, christmas, church, conspiracy, cult, death, discrimination, drugs, EU, faith, film, florida, god, humanists, ISIL, islam, kirk cameron, lawsuit, meditation, movie, nativity, pakistan, parliament, phil zuckerman, religions, sam harris, same-sex, satanists, secular, secularism, stephen evans, stephen hawking, terrorism, xmas

Letting Go of God: How 12-Step Programs Are Losing Their Religion

We atheists and agnostics in AA have faced a long struggle for acceptance. But newer 12-step fellowships are leading the way to a more tolerant form of recovery. [Read more]

The Frontiers of Secularism: An Interview with Phil Zuckerman

Phil Zuckerman is a professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. He is the author of Living the Secular Life, Faith No More, andSociety Without God. [Read more]

Removing the Religious Test

In my own local conversations I have seen informal religious tests for inclusion. Phrases such as “we are blessed” and even “bless you” are a means to determine if one is in some way Christian. [Read more]

Man Fired from Church After Same-Sex Engagement Files Discrimination Complaints

A former Roman Catholic Church employee claims he was fired because he plans to marry his same-sex partner. Now, he has filed discrimination complaints over his termination. [Read more]

Keeping the “X” in Xmas: It’s Not Some Secular Conspiracy

Back in the day, I too would recoil whenever I saw Christmas written as “Xmas”. How dare those godless atheists try to take the baby Jesus out of my manger. [Read more]

Does ISIL Terrorism Represent “True Islam”?

The West could not mount its under-strength response to ISIL without significant help from Muslim countries like Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. [Read more]

A New Theory for Why Buddhist Meditation Makes Us Feel Good

Booze. Cigarettes. Gambling. The human brain is vulnerable to all sorts of addictions. And thinking might be one of them. [Read more]

Claims for Meditation’s Benefits Overreach

In his latest book, Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, [Sam] Harris makes exceptional claims for what can be achieved by meditating. [Read more]

EU Parliament Calls on Pakistan to Abolish the Death Penalty for Blasphemy

The European parliament has voted for a resolution condemning Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, saying that they were increasingly being used to “target vulnerable minority groups.” [Read more]

The Christmas Nativity: Let It Go! Let It Go!

Stephen Evans argues that schools should be free to innovate and have a bit of fun with their festive plays without po-faced nativity police telling them they can’t. [Read more]

Unknown Ancient God with Astral Symbols Discovered on Stele at Cult Site in Turkey

An unidentified, ancient bearded god with astral symbols has been uncovered during an excavation of a sanctuary near the ancient city of Doliche in Southeast Turkey. [Read more]

Florida Officials Agree To Permit Display By Satanic Temple At State Capitol Rotunda

Church-State Separation Watchdog Group Welcomes Reversal Of Policy. [Read more]

Kirk Cameron’s ‘Saving Christmas’ Has Been Voted The Worst Movie Ever

The journey to the basement was a quick one for Cameron’s movie. It was released in November and immediately won the ire of pretty much every critic. [Read more]

Heroin and the Faith Community

According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, heroin abuse has reached “epidemic” levels across the country in both cities and small towns. [Read more]

Atheists and Secular Humanists Are Protected by the First Amendment Regardless of Whether Their Belief Systems Are “Religions” Or Not

The key question is not whether Secular Humanism is a religion, but whether equal treatment of Secular Humanists is a component of nondiscrimination on the basis of religious belief. [Read more]

New Biopic Debunks Myth of Hawking as Disembodied Mind

Early in The Theory of Everything, the student Stephen Hawking strides across the grounds at Cambridge University in the 1960s, his face dreamy. He is lost in thought about the nature of time.

[Read more]