08 November 2015 Religion and Atheism News

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agnosticism, altruism, atheism, belief, buddhism, children, christians, church, coincidence, empathy, equality, ethics, family, health, homeopathy, humanists, japan, jehovah's witnesses, ken ham, kindness, leah remini, mac pier, morality, mormonism, movement day, muslims, parliament, persecution, philosophy, pregnancy, public schools, religion, religious freedom, rights, same-sex, science, scientology, swear on bible, teens, temple, turkish, united nations, world religion, zen

3 Good Reasons to Raise Atheist Children

Rachael Slick, the daughter of one of America’s most vocal Christian apologists, Matt Slick, spoke out a few years ago about her experience being raised in a religious household.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Gladly Shun Family While Claiming Persecution When Family Does the Same

For those who are not unfamiliar with their practices, Jehovah’s Witnesses shun family members who leave the religion no matter the reasons for having left.

Young People Are Shifting the U.S. Towards Becoming a Less Religious Nation

Growing numbers of millennials who are atheists or unaffiliated are causing vast changes in America’s religious landscape.

Philosophic Origins of Agnosticism

No one before Huxley would have described themselves as agnostics, but we can identify philosophers and scholars who insisted that either they didn’t have knowledge of Ultimate Reality and gods.

Is Religion Hazardous to Your Child’s Moral Health?

A study finds children raised in religious households are less altruistic than those raised in non-religious families.

Nonreligious Voters Present a Puzzle for Political Parties

Within the Democratic coalition, there are more religiously unaffiliated voters than belong to any single religious group. This is a significant change in American politics, where nonbelief has long been a liability.

A ‘Troublemaker’ Leaves Her Life In Scientology

Leah Remini left the Church of Scientology after more than 30 years. Her new memoir, Troublemaker, might make her the most famous former Scientologist to publicly criticize the religion.

Humanists at the Parliament of World Religions

On more than one occasion I mentioned to my fellow humanists, panel colleagues, and a few others of varying religious persuasions that “Humanists are the missing link here at the Parliament.”

I’m Not Pregnant: Teen Says She Was Forced to Swear on Bible at Local School

Butts County School officials are investigating the incident that allegedly happened at Jackson High School, but the girl’s mother said the teen is now the target of harassment and taunts.

Church Division Is Breeding Atheism, Says Mac Pier in Movement Day Declaration

Mac Pier, founder and CEO of The New York Leadership Center in Manhattan, which hosted Movement Day 2015 last Thursday, warned in a declaration that division in the church is breeding atheism in the world and called for the body to unite.

Zen No More: Japan Shuns its Buddhist Traditions as Temples Close

More than one in three temples are expected to close over the next 25 years as religion faces an ‘existential crisis’.

Mormon Church to Exclude Children of Same-Sex Couples from Getting Blessed and Baptized Until They Are 18

The policy changes, which also state that those in a same-sex marriage are to be considered apostates, set off confusion and turmoil among many Mormons after the policy was leaked online.

At the United Nations, More Work to Be Done for Religious Freedom and the Rights of the Child

This latest report also focused on the Committee and the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the issues related to how the impact of faith and the denial of faith affect children and their parents.

Turkish Atheism Association Starts Petition Calling for ‘Equal Treatment’

Group calls for the removal of the automatic registration of Turkish children as Muslim at birth.

Study Finds That Children Raised Without Religion Show More Empathy and Kindness

The study found that “family religious identification decreases children’s altruistic behaviors” and “children from religious households are harsher in their punitive tendencies.”

What Does Religious Freedom Really Mean?

Whenever I hear some of my fellow Christians talk about “religious freedom,” I think of that line from “The Princess Bride”: “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

Modern Science Says Homeopathy Is Total Bunk — So Why Is It More Popular Than Ever?

Homeopathy is not only here to stay, it’s growing by leaps and bounds.

Would It Ever Be Ethical to Read Someone’s Mind?

If we could reach deep into the mind of another person, what would we find? Perhaps to know the mind of another is to know ourselves a little better?

Ken Ham Argues Atheism is a Religion Being Taught in Public Schools

Young Earth Creationist Ken Ham recently took to social media to argue that although atheists deny they are part of an organized religion, atheism is in fact a belief system.

Belief and Coincidence

One of the reasons people believe in psychic phenomena is not because of experiments which purport to show something statistically significant — these results only serve to bolster beliefs which already exist.