R. Joseph Hoffmann says Epstein has abused his links to Harvard ‘as a shortcut to the legitimacy he craves.’… Read the rest
Matthew Nisbet on Paul Kurtz on ‘New Atheism’
Sep 18th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNo mention of ‘the Atheist Noise Machine’ though.… Read the rest
Saudi Women Challenge Driving Ban
Sep 18th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonConservatives argue that if women are allowed to drive, they will be able to mix freely with men. … Read the rest
Deferential Inquiry
Sep 18th, 2007 10:35 am | By Ophelia BensonMatthew Nisbet answered my question about Paul Kurtz by transcribing some of a Point of Inquiry interview of Kurtz. Kurtz does indeed say things along the same lines as what Nisbet says. There are differences, but there are also large similarities. I was skeptical about that yesterday, and Nisbet did indeed provide the requested link as well as doing some transcribing.
… Read the restGROTHE: …I take it that you wonder how effective evangelical atheists are if all they are talking about is atheism?
KURTZ: I think they have had a positive impact, and I know most of the leaders, and they publish in Free Inquiry…so they have had positive impact, of course they are criticizing religion. However, that is not enough.
That frame looks crappy on you
Sep 17th, 2007 4:34 pm | By Ophelia BensonI hate this ‘framing’ crap – and I’m not the only one, which is good to know. Matthew Nisbet seems to be doing a good job of communicating to people what framing is and getting them to hate it. Excellent.
… Read the restOver the coming decades…scientists and their organizations will need to work together with religious communities in order to formulate effective policies and to resolve disputes. A major challenge for scientists will be to craft communication efforts that are sensitive to how religiously diverse publics process messages, but also to the way science is portrayed across types of media. In these efforts, scientists must adopt a language that emphasizes shared values and has broad appeal, avoiding the pitfall of seeming to
Equating criticism of religion with racism
Sep 17th, 2007 12:19 pm | By Ophelia BensonI don’t like Doudou Diene. I’ve said it before here – probably during the cartoons fuss. He’s scary, because he works for the UN.
“Islamophobia today is the most serious form of religious defamation,” Doudou Diene told the U.N. Human Rights Council…Diene, a Senegalese lawyer who was appointed as an independent U.N. expert on racism in 2002, was presenting a report on defamation of religions to the 47-member council. The report also includes sections on anti-Semitism and other forms of religious or racial persecution around the world. African and Islamic countries welcomed the assessment and called for moves to draft an international treaty that would compel states to act against any form of defamation of religion.
A report on … Read the rest
PZ on Why ‘Framing’ is a Dud Idea
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWe can gain some quick policy advantages at the price of privileging flawed thinking. … Read the rest
Communicating Science in a Religious America
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMatthew Nisbet picks another fight with ‘the New Atheists.’ Cites Paul Kurtz as predecessor. Eh?… Read the rest
Enough With the Religion Already
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThose of us without religion must defer to those with; antitheists must hush lest we ’cause offence.’… Read the rest
Larry Moran on the AAAS and ‘Framing’
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWe believe it is wrong for scientists to alter their message in order to appease religious citizens.… Read the rest
Swedish Cartoonist Says We Must Not Give In
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHelena Benouda, head of the Muslim Council of Sweden, denounced the threats.… Read the rest
Doudou Diene on ‘Islamophobia’
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSome countries called for international treaty to compel states to act against any form of defamation of religion. … Read the rest
Reasons not to Fly Nepal Airlines
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonOfficials sacrificed two goats to appease Hindu sky god after technical problems with Boeing 757.… Read the rest
No Clash Between Science and Religion – ?
Sep 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWhen scientific evidence contradicts religious claims, believers ‘rely on faith.’… Read the rest
The clash
Sep 17th, 2007 10:32 am | By Ophelia BensonHow to pretend an incompatibility is just a difference in taste. How to airbrush a genuine stalemate.
… Read the rest[R]eligious convictions limit many Americans’ willingness to accept controversial scientific theories…Science and religion have traditionally, and often incorrectly, been viewed as enemies. This perception has been fueled in part by a number of famous episodes in history that have pitted scientists, like Galileo and Darwin, against the prevailing religious establishments of their time. But more often than not, scientists and people of faith have operated not at cross purposes but simply at different purposes…How can Americans say that they respect science and even know what scientists believe and yet still disagree with the scientific community on some fundamental questions? The answer is
Wajeha Al-Huwaider
Sep 16th, 2007 2:33 pm | By Ophelia BensonGo, Wajeha Al-Huwaider.
… Read the restA group called the League of Demanders of Women’s Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia will present a petition to King Abdullah this week, asking him to “return that which has been stolen from women: the right to free movement through the use of cars, which are the means of transportation today.”…Heading the new group pressing to overturn the ban is Wajeha Al-Huwaider, an American-schooled education analyst…Last month, she held a one-woman demonstration with a placard demanding, “Give Women Their Rights!” She was arrested, detained for seven hours and freed only after a male “guardian” signed for her. Banned by the Saudi Interior Ministry from writing in the Saudi press, she writes online. The authorities
Follow what leader?
Sep 16th, 2007 2:01 pm | By Ophelia BensonA bishop says something worth saying for a change:
‘It is very common in the world today, including in this country, for people who have changed their faith, particularly from being Muslim to being Christian, to be ostracised, to lose their job, for their marriages to be dissolved, for children to be taken away,’ [Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-]Ali said. ‘And this is why some leadership is necessary from Muslim leaders themselves to say that this is not what Islam teaches.’
Who are these Muslim leaders though? As we know, that phrase gets bandied around a lot, but seriously, who are they? There was a time when that translated pretty straightforwardly (and unfortunately) to people at the top of … Read the rest
Black Children Left Out of Irish Schools
Sep 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonChurch runs 98% of schools; law permits them to require certificate of baptism; the job is done.… Read the rest
India’s Culture Minister Offers to Resign
Sep 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTwo directors of the Archaeological Survey of India, which presented report on ‘Ram,’ have been suspended.… Read the rest
More on Wajeha al-Huwaider
Sep 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSaudi government harasses and silences women’s rights activist al-Huwaider.… Read the rest