Monash University Professor Gary Bouma says people without a specific faith fuel sectarian conflict.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
George Carey Says Politicians Bully Christians 
Mar 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s the other way around.… Read the rest
No Freedom of Expression for UK, Thank You
Mar 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Atheist convicted of ‘religiously aggravated intentional harassment’ for cartoons; maximum sentence 7 years in prison.… Read the rest
No Venus de Milo for Rahway NJ, Thank You
Mar 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Neighbor complained of naked snow statue, police told sculptor to cover it up.… Read the rest
Atheism is Illegitimate and Evil, Act LXXXVII
Mar 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ken Miller is good. Atheists are bad.… Read the rest
I’m offended, call the cops!
Mar 5th, 2010 11:14 am | By Ophelia BensonThe BBC is tipping its hand again. Check out this bizarre subhead:
Anti-religious campaigners have condemned the conviction of a “militant atheist” who left rude images in Liverpool Airport’s prayer room.
‘Anti-religious campaigners’ being their hand-tipping tendentious hostile ill-mannered term for secularists and, you know, people who believe in freedom of speech – otherwise known as liberals. And what is up with that ‘militant atheists’ and what are the scare-quotes for? Who, exactly, is being quoted there? Anyone? Or is that just a very underhanded way of throwing more mud at atheists while pretending it’s someone else doing it. That’s what it looks like to me.
Anyway – what it’s reporting on is jaw-dropping to a Yank.
… Read the rest[Harry] Taylor,
Please donate to clerical rapists’ defense fund
Mar 4th, 2010 5:10 pm | By Ophelia BensonWhat was that I was just saying about the Catholic church presuming to lecture everyone on how to be good and what a flesh-crawlingly bad joke that is? Well spare a thought for the bishop of Ferns.
… Read the restDr Denis Brennan, the Bishop of Ferns, was inviting parishioners (and any individual priests who felt so inclined) to donate money to assist the church in footing a bill, the tally for which comes to more than €10m, to meet the legal costs of defending civil cases brought against the diocese in relation to clerical sexual abuse. In other words the Roman Catholic Church in Ferns is asking the victims of its own bitter failings to pay the price for the crime.
What We Celebrate When We Mark March 8th
Mar 4th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Feminism has a compelling lens through which to understand marginalisation, as women have long occupied the margins.… Read the rest
Meera Nanda on ‘The God Market’
Mar 4th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Markets are said to be exorcising the demons of religiously inspired fanaticism, patriarchy and oppression.… Read the rest
Douglas Murray on Homophobia in Mosques
Mar 4th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Only in a mosque in Britain could routine hatred like this pass by unnoticed and largely unobjected to.’… Read the rest
Teach the Controversy, on Everything
Mar 4th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If somebody somewhere contradicts a scientific claim, that’s a controversy, so add it to the curriculum.… Read the rest
The Origin of Atheism
Mar 4th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If theistic belief comes naturally, then it is atheism that needs to be explained.… Read the rest
Lawyers’ Fees in Libel Cases Reduced
Mar 4th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Scientists and journalists will be able to write in the public interest without giant legal bills.… Read the rest
Madrid: Israel Protests Anti-Semitic Postcards
Mar 4th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Israeli embassy received postcards from schoolchildren accusing it of killing Palestinian babies.… Read the rest
The Spirituality of an Atheist
Mar 4th, 2010 | By Andrzej KoraszewskiDo atheists have any spirituality? A certain internaut wracked his brain about this problem in a comment to one of our articles, and he was not alone. I used to get this question at various meetings and was met with astonishment when I asked for a definition of spirituality.
Spirituality seems to imply a soul. It is not mentioned in a passport, but if there were a place for it, in mine I would have to write: N/A. But can there be a soulless spirituality? An atheist has consciousness, but you may search and search for a soul. Moreover, he/she is skeptical about the existence of a soul in a believer as well, and this skepticism shades into irony or … Read the rest
Australian Xian Schools Find Science ‘Strident’
Mar 3rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
School board requires ‘teaching of science as an empirical discipline’ – oh yes, that is pretty strident.… Read the rest
Religion-based Homophobia Spreading in Africa
Mar 3rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Christian and Muslim clerics have publicly condemned homosexuality for years, calling it a sin.… Read the rest
How Culture Affects Genes and Vice Versa
Mar 3rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Any species that can change the environment can be viewed through the lens of ‘niche construction.’… Read the rest
UK: Catholic Church Issues Report on Morality
Mar 3rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The Church says society will rediscover its ability to trust by practising virtue.’ Yes, really.… Read the rest
Caste Discrimination May Exist in the UK
Mar 3rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
House of Lords is discussing an amendment to Equalities Bill to make such discrimination illegal.… Read the rest
