Researchers have been gathering data on religious practice and on the sorts of moral behaviour that religions often claim to govern.
Category: Latest News
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
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Senior Gujarat cop implicates Narendra Modi
Sanjiv Bhatt says he attended a meeting on Feb 27, 2002 at which Modi told police officers to be “indifferent” to rioters and calls for help from areas under attack.
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National Public Radio reports “a miracle”
Yes really.
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Measles outbreak in Europe
WHO blames lack of vaccinations. “There’s been a buildup of children who have not been immunized over the years,” an official said.
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Religious discrimination at UC Santa Barbara
An atheist is rejected for graduate work in Religious Studies because he “wouldn’t fit in with our department’s milieu.”
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Human rights groups outraged at acquittals
The gang rape was ordered in 2002 by a traditional tribal “court” after Mai’s brother was (falsely) accused of having sex with a woman from a rival clan.
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Pakistan: Acquittals in Mukhtaran Mai gang rape case
Five of six men charged over a village council-sanctioned gang rape in Pakistan have been acquitted by the Supreme Court.
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Last supper was on a Wednesday
Wednesday, 1 April AD33 to be exact.
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Jerry Coyne on another Tom Johnson
Or, what Dawkins didn’t say.
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Jonathan Derbyshire talks to Sam Harris
“Yet there are many eminent scientists who also happen to be religious believers” – and we’re off.
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David Barash on the emperor’s Gnu nakedness
“I’m not surprised at the criticism by the theological establishment. But I am a bit perplexed at the response of those who profess to share their views.”
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Malaysian schoolboys sent to butch camp
They displayed “feminine mannerisms” and we can’t have that.
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Salman Rushdie on the samizdat truth-tellers
Creative figures like Ai Weiwei and his colleagues are often the only ones with the courage to speak truth against the lies of tyrants.
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Jerry Coyne on religious scientists
Science recognizes the strong human motivation to believe what we want to be true, and that that drive is a serious impediment in finding out what really is true.
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New Statesman sucks up to religion again
“In our increasingly secular society, many religious people feel their voices are not heard.” Cherie Blair for example.
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Newsflash: Muslim Brotherhood wants Sharia
You don’t say!
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Frontline on Catholic clerical child rape in Alaska
Gut-wrenching.
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Synthese editors cave to pressure from ID lobby
Read the whole shocking thing.
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60 Minutes on Greg Mortenson
There are serious questions about how millions of dollars have been spent, whether Mortenson is personally benefiting, and whether the stories are even true.
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Terry Glavin’s tribute to Krakauer’s investigation
It’s not clear what good work Mortenson has done, with schools that don’t exist, schools built by other people, empty schools, and schools that are cabbage sheds.