I really can't stand that this man is considered a great thinker in our community.

NO RACIAL PROFILING, PLEASE

I’m more than a little appalled. Sam Harris defends racial profiling in airport security screening. I reject this categorically.

We should profile Muslims, or anyone who looks like he or she could conceivably be Muslim, and we should be honest about it. And, again, I wouldn’t put someone who looks like me entirely outside the bull’s-eye (after all, what would Adam Gadahn look like if he cleaned himself up?) But there are people who do not stand a chance of being jihadists, and TSA screeners can know this at a glance.

( Read more... )


Sauce

Also, Hemant over at The Friendly Atheist is trying the fingers-in-ears approach to accusations of Harris racism. It's pretty shitty to watch, especially given Harris' assertion that people who "look Muslim" (like Hemant) should be HAPPY to be profiled, inconvenienced, treated like criminals and have their civil rights trampled on.

Crossposted to antitheism

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/04/25/210198.html

Egypt's National Council for Women (NCW) has appealed to the Islamist-dominated parliament not to approve two controversial laws on the minimum age of marriage and allowing a husband to have sex with his dead wife within six hours of her death according to a report in an Egyptian newspaper.

The appeal came in a message sent by Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, head of the NCW, to the Egyptian People's Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad al-Katatni, addressing the woes of Egyptian women, especially after the popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

She was referring to two laws: one that would legalize the marriage of girls starting from the age of 14 and the other that permits a husband to have sex with his dead wife within the six hours following her death.

I thought I'd share this article with the community. Here are few excerpts.

The rise of atheism in America

Why are so many people leaving religion?
It's primarily a backlash against the religious Right, say political scientists Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In their book, American Grace, they argue that the religious Right's politicization of faith in the 1990s turned younger, socially liberal Christians away from churches, even as conservatives became more zealous. The dropouts were turned off by churches' Old Testament condemnation of homosexuals, premarital sex, contraception, and abortion. The Catholic Church's sex scandals also prompted millions to equate religion with moralistic hypocrisy. "While the Republican base has become ever more committed to mixing religion and politics," Putnam and Campbell write, "the rest of the country has been moving in the opposite direction." As society becomes more secular, researchers say, doubters are more confident about identifying themselves as nonbelievers. "The collapse of institutional religion in the first 10 years of this century [has] freed so many people to say they don't really care," said author Diana Butler Bass.

How are nonbelievers perceived?
Most polls suggest that atheists are among the most disliked groups in the U.S. One study last year asked participants whether a fictional hit-and-run driver was more likely to be an atheist or a rapist. A majority chose atheist. In 2006, another study found that Americans rated atheists as less likely to agree with their vision of America than Muslims, Hispanics, or homosexuals. "Wherever there are religious majorities, atheists are among the least trusted people," said University of British Columbia sociologist Will M. Gervais. As a result, avowed atheists are rare in nearly all areas of public life. Of the 535 legislators in Congress, for example, only one — Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) — calls himself an atheist. Few sports stars or Hollywood celebrities own up to having no religious faith.

Will atheism ever be accepted?
If growth continues at the current rate, one in four Americans will profess no religious faith within 20 years. Silverman hopes that as nonbelief spreads, atheists can become a "legitimate political segment of the American population," afforded the same protections as religious groups and ethnic minorities. But he's not advocating a complete secular takeover of the U.S. — nor would he be likely to achieve one, given the abiding religious faith of most Americans. "We don't want the obliteration of religion; we don't want religion wiped off the face of the earth," Silverman said. "All we demand is equality."

(video link)

This time Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the representative of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland decides to come out with the same BS that we've seen in the past. He says that Christians are being persecuted for wearing crosses in public.

0:31 Beginning of relevant report.
2:24 Interview with Andrew Copson on the issue.

Andrew Copson from the British Humanist Association strikes again. Once again he explains very clearly and diplomatically why the latest "Christians are being marginalised" story is BS. (His phrasing: "their claims have very little basis in fact" rather than "they are making s**t up".)

Also liking the new beard. :)

Cardinal O'Brien has previously claimed that when the New Labour government were in power there was "a systematic and unrelenting attack on family values". Why's this? The introduction of civil partnerships, allowing adoption by same-sex couples, allowing embryo research and not passing a law to lower the legal time limit in which an abortion may be carried out. He also referred to the Equality Bill as "legislation which would completely and permanently undermine religious freedom". And now he has the audacity to push the lie that Christians' rights to wear crosses are under attack. Ugh!

Anti-Evolution ‘Monkey Bill’ Poised To Become Law In Tennessee

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) announced yesterday that he will “probably” sign a bill that attacks the teaching of “biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning” by giving broad new legal immunities to teachers who question evolution and other widely accepted scientific theories. Under the bill, which passed the state legislature last month:

Neither the state board of education, nor any public elementary or secondary school governing authority, director of schools, school system administrator, or any public elementary or secondary school principal or administrator shall prohibit any teacher in a public school system of this state from helping students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught.

Although the bill is written to seem benign, as it neither specifically authorizes the teaching of creationism nor permits teachers to do more than criticize scientific theories “in an objective matter,” the practical impact of this bill will be to intimidate all but the heartiest of school administrators against disciplining teachers who preach the most outlandish junk science in their classrooms. Because the bill provides little guidance as to what constitutes an “objective” criticism of a scientific theory, any principal who reigns in teachers who force creationism or Pastafarianism upon their students risks finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.

In reality, of course, there are few, if any, “objectively” valid objections to the theory of evolution (or, for that matter, to global warming). Rather, as Travis Waldron explained when this bill passed a legislative committee nearly a year ago, “Scientists have reached a consensus that evolution is ‘one of the most robust and widely accepted principles of modern science,’ and as such, it is ‘a core element in science education.’”

Town councillor Simon Parkes: My mum was a 9ft green alien

Town councillor Simon Parkes has claimed his mother is a green alien and extra-terrestrials abducted him as a child.

If you are interested in hearing more about Simon Parkes' bizarre delusions there's a video here where, according to the video notes:
Simon Parkes discusses his highly detailed and complex contacts with Extra & Interdimensional beings called Mantis, and the Greys and Reptilians.
Okaaaaay....


(video link)

As you can see, above there is a brief point where he is questioning whether there is anything more strange about his beliefs and any religious belief. Okay, fair point, but we'd actually be pretty concerned if a politician in the UK started getting public about Rapture beliefs too.

Hi all,

I've been a member of this community for years, and am emailing you to share information about an anthology I am editing/writing that will be published by Columbia University Press. Please pass this information on to friends/colleagues/family who may be interested in contributing. 

Here's a link to the details: http://faculty.tc.columbia.edu/upload/meb2222/CALLFORSUBMISSIONS-AtheistsinAmerica.pdf 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Atheists in America: Narratives from an Invisible Minority

Melanie Elyse Brewster, Ph.D

Email queries and submissions to: melanie.brewster@tc.columbia.edu

                Atheists in America: Narratives from an Invisible Minority is a book that aspires to tell the stories of diverse individuals who identify as atheist in the increasingly conservative religious climate of the United States.  The preponderance of recently published books about atheism (e.g., works by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett) may suggest that secularism has permeated the zeitgeist, yet, other sources suggest that mainstream society is far from embracing atheism as a respectable social orientation. Specifically, national opinion polls from past and current decades consistently paint Americans as wary, fearful, or even disgusted by atheists (Gervais, 2011). For example, a 2006 Gallup Poll found that 84% of Americans surveyed endorsed that “America is not ready for an atheist president” and nearly 50% of Americans polled agreed with the statement “I would disapprove if my child wanted to marry an atheist” (cited in Edgell, Gerteis, & Harmann, 2006). As illustrated by the preceding examples, the spaces for atheist individuals to exist in the United States have been largely limited throughout history—resulting in many atheist people deciding to conceal their beliefs from friends, family, coworkers, and members of their religious congregations.

Discussed by Cimino and Smith (2011), the practice of “coming out” as atheist has never been a matter of publicly identifying as atheist along a well-worn and legitimate path; instead, coming out involves emerging from invisibility to claim a personal and social identity that carries widespread stigma. There are few examples of “out” atheists in political offices, on sports teams, or within popular media and celebrity culture—leaving atheist individuals little opportunity to model their coming out process on the experiences of others. Thus, Atheists in America has two main objectives:

The primary objective of the book is to present personal narratives that will illustrate how people from different cultures, religious backgrounds, cities, ages, sexual orientations, and family structures have reached their identities as atheist. Beyond identity development processes, the second objective of the book is to elucidate some of the many coming out routes for atheist individuals and shed light on how atheist people navigate social systems and decisions to conceal or reveal their beliefs to others.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROSPECTIVE CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

Submission deadline: June 1, 2012

I am gathering personal narratives that speak to the “coming out as atheist” journeys of diverse nonreligious individuals across the United States. Narratives can address a number of specific themes and topics (e.g., dating, parenting, disclosing identity to religious family members).

Atheists in America: Narratives from an Invisible Minority is under contract with Columbia University Press, one of the most well-established and prestigious academic presses in the world. Your submissions may be edited for length/content. Please email melanie.brewster@tc.columbia.edu with the prospective topic of your essay and with any questions. Feel free to be open, creative, and conversational in crafting your narrative essay. The “coming out” stories of contributing writers should each be about 1,500 to 4,000 words with content that aligns closely with one of the themes outlined below:

1. Cultural Contexts in Coming Out as Atheist

Submitted narratives will speak to the personal experiences of culturally, ethnically, racially, and regionally diverse people who have navigated coming out as atheist. For example, authors could include discussions of “coming out” as atheist in African American communities in the South, in heavily Mormon parts of Utah, in rural Latino communities across the United States, or in relation to other diverse identities.

2. Leaving Faith: Arriving at Atheist Identity from Religious Backgrounds

Submitted narratives must discuss individuals’ personal processes of coming to identify as atheist through disentangling themselves from specific religious faiths and communities (e.g., Catholicism, Hasidic Judaism, Muslim). Submissions should address how the authors navigated leaving their faiths, coming out as atheist, and making meaning for their lives without the guidance of their past religious beliefs.

3. Two Closets? Identifying as both LGBTQ and Atheist

Submitted narratives will speak to the personal experiences of individuals who identify as both LGBTQ and atheist. These essays should describe how LGBTQ individuals navigate their dual (or adjacent) coming out processes. For example, authors could consider how their religious (or irreligious) beliefs informed their sexual or gender identity development – and vice versa.

4. Navigating Atheism and Family Life: Telling and Hiding

Submitted narratives will address the challenges of identifying as atheist in religious families. Narratives will pay particular attention to the discussion of religiosity and power dynamics within your family. Sub-topics addressed by authors might include – what it was like to tell your siblings, parents, grandparents, etc. How did you decide who to tell first? Did you hint at being atheist or come out and say it? What were the ramifications of your disclosure?

5. Parenting as Atheist and Coming Out to Children

Submitted narratives will depict the struggles and rewards of being a parent and atheist while raising children in a largely religious nation. Specifically, stories may focus on how parents have “come out” to their children, learned to adapt cultural religious celebrations in their families, dealt with educating their children about their beliefs, or navigated parenting as a non-religious person a religious family.

6. Atheism at Work: Tales of Disclosing to Coworkers and Colleagues

Submitted narratives will discuss authors’ decision-making around coming out at work and to coworkers, supervisors, and customers. Narratives should discuss the risks and benefits of talking about atheist identity in the workplace.

7. The Search for Connection: Coming out to Friends and Questing for Community

Submitted narratives will highlight the process of building community and friendships while being “out” as atheist. Specific personal narratives might discuss (1) maintaining relationships with religious friends after leaving a faith, (2) looking for likeminded social networks in largely religious regions of the U.S., and (3) deciding what is “important” in friendships – for example, do your friends need to have similar values and beliefs?

8. Dating and Disclosing: Navigating Romantic Relationships as an Atheist Person

Submitted narratives will illustrate atheist individuals’ experiences of “coming out” to potential, past, or current romantic partners. Specific stories may explore decisions regarding when and how to share information about atheist identity while dating – for example, do you put it on your match.com profile or do you wait until date #3? How important is it for you to be in a relationship with someone who is also atheist? Was your atheism ever a “deal-breaker” for a romantic partner?

9. Reintegrating Spirituality with Atheism: Challenges and Satisfactions

While many atheist individuals may not choose to integrate elements of spirituality or religious practice into their lives once they “come out” as atheist, some individuals may rejoin (or continue in) a religious or spiritual practice. Submitted narratives should speak to the experiences of atheist people who have decided to (re)immerse themselves in a spiritual or religious practice. Topics to consider may include: how did you come to that particular faith or spiritual practice? How do you make sense of your atheism in relation to your spirituality? What are the satisfactions and challenges you face in being atheist while still practicing a religion or spiritual belief?

10. Atheism and Aging: Challenges of Entering Older Adulthood as a Non-Believer

Activities for the elderly become increasingly “church-centric” when age increases and levels of mobility begin to decrease. As such, elderly atheist individuals may experience feelings of isolation. Submitted narratives should address the process of entering older adulthood, finding community and purpose, and confronting mortality as an atheist person.

11. Staying in “The Other Closet” – Decisions to Not Disclose

Submitted narratives will discuss personal decisions to keep atheist identity concealed. Authors will discuss their thoughts and feelings surrounding their decisions to stay “closeted” as atheist in various spheres of their lives.