tagged w/ Humanism
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It was an extraordinary, jubilant day for America and the rest of the world. Two million people attended Barack Obama’s inaugural. Millions more from across the globe followed the investiture via television or Internet.
For the 21st-century youth, Obama’s victory is sexy, poetic, magical. For the flower generation of the 1960s and 1970s, his accession is a dream come true. Obama, son of a "peacenik," symbolizes the hope of "giving peace a chance." The investiture was a day truly worth remembering and celebrating for it truly gives PEACE a chance.
Follow the link for a good read.
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What do you think: Is Obama the real deal? Or just the same old, same old, in a different package?It was an extraordinary, jubilant day for America and the rest of the world. Two... more
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Chain-smoking at a trendy coffee shop while studiously ignoring the mosque's evening call to prayer, Indonesian atheists Didi and Dewi have little patience for the beliefs of most of their countrymen.
The two young women are defiant unbelievers in the world's largest Muslim-majority country, but they let few people in the real world know it.
Instead, the women have joined scores of young Indonesian atheists who have found refuge on the Internet, using web tools such as social networking sites, mailing lists, blogs and wikis to communicate with like-minded people in a country where declaring there is no God can turn someone into an outcast.
"For me personally (going online) is just to share my thoughts and to meet people who think the same way I do, because I don't see many in my real life," said Didi, a 29-year-old architect.
"It's easier to say that you're gay than an atheist."
Dewi, a 21-year-old student fond of sardonic put-downs of religion and superstition, agreed. In her life in the West Java city of Bandung, she keeps her lack of belief secret from all but her closest friends.
"If someone asks me 'do you want to pray?', then I pray. It's a political prayer," she said.
Both women, who refused to give their real names, go online daily to debate religion with fellow atheists -- and the few believers hardy enough to brave their barbs -- from safely behind their computer screens.
Asked what she would be without the Internet, Didi laughed: "I would be a full-closet atheist."
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Is it easier to be gay than be an atheist in the US?
How many closet atheists do you think are out there?Chain-smoking at a trendy coffee shop while studiously ignoring the mosque's... more
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People appear very keen for a lot of things to change on the Obama watch. One of those hopes is that Christianity would revert more to a private choice rather than the state religion it often appeared to be under George W. Bush.
With his frequent invocation of Christian principles and things like "faith-based" public expenditures, Bush only amplified the discomfort many people feel about being out of the loop in spiritual matters.
Then came Barack Obama's inauguration, though it was hardly a break from the past. By the time the celebrations were over, God and Jesus had been appealed to more often than at a Georgia prayer breakfast.
Still, many observers were heartened that Obama made an overt plea to bring all types of people into his tent when he said in his speech, "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus --and non-believers."
It's a good start, I suppose. On the other hand, that line stood out to me, and not in a good way.
Non-believers?
That's hardly a flattering term when it follows up a grocery list of superstar faiths. Really, just the one catch-all for the Buddhists, atheists and pagans among us?
In one sense the term can even be considered a slur. To call atheists non-believers is to subtly reinforce the malign notion that they don't believe in anything apart from their hedonistic impulses.
In fact, to thoughtful people, being atheist is every bit as much spiritual work as being a Roman Catholic. You just don't see that work being done, is all.
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Will atheists fair better in an Obama administration?People appear very keen for a lot of things to change on the Obama watch. One of those... more
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A Dallas man has filed for divorce from his husband but the state of Texas is refusing to hear the case.
Attorney General Greg Abbott said that since Texas law prohibits same-sex marriages and civil unions, the men could not be divorced in Texas since their union is not recognized to exist in Texas.
The men, who have asked that their names remain private, were married in Cambridge, Mass., in 2006.
Peter Schulte, who represents the plaintiff, said he plans to argue that the U.S. Constitution dictates that states recognize contracts from other states.
According to Schulte, the couple could be legally divorced in Massachusetts but only after establishing residency. Schulte maintains that even though his client was married out of state, he shouldn't be treated any different than anyone else seeking a divorce.
While this case is a first for Texas, it is not the first nationwide. A gay couple seeing a divorce in Rhode Island were denied for the same reason as Schulte's client. Another gay couple seeking a divorce in Iowa were successful in their dissolution.
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Should Texas grant the divorce?A Dallas man has filed for divorce from his husband but the state of Texas is refusing... more
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Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809--the same day as Abraham Lincoln--and published his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species, fifty years later. Every half century, then, a Darwin Year comes around: an occasion to honor his theory of evolution by natural selection, which is surely the most important concept in biology, and perhaps the most revolutionary scientific idea in history. 2009 is such a year, and we biologists are preparing to fan out across the land, giving talks and attending a multitude of DarwinFests. The melancholy part is that we will be speaking more to other scientists than to the American public. For in this country, Darwin is a man of low repute. The ideas that made Darwin's theory so revolutionary are precisely the ones that repel much of religious America, for they imply that, far from having a divinely scripted role in the drama of life, our species is the accidental and contingent result of a purely natural process.
And so the culture wars continue between science and religion. On one side we have a scientific establishment and a court system determined to let children learn evolution rather than religious mythology, and on the other side the many Americans who passionately resist those efforts. It is a depressing fact that while 74 percent of Americans believe that angels exist, only 25 percent accept that we evolved from apelike ancestors. Just one in eight of us think that evolution should be taught in the biology classroom without including a creationist alternative. Among thirty-four Western countries surveyed for the acceptance of evolution, the United States ranked a dismal thirty-third, just above Turkey. Throughout our country, school boards are trying to water down the teaching of evolution or sneak creationism in beside it. And the opponents of Darwinism are not limited to snake-handlers from the Bible Belt; they include some people you know. As Karl Giberson notes in Saving Darwin, "Most people in America have a neighbor who thinks the Earth is ten thousand years old."
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Follow the link for a thoughtful read.
Will there ever be a reconciliation between science and religion?Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809--the same day as Abraham Lincoln--and... more
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Icelandic Social Affairs Minister Johanna Sigurðardottir would be the world's first openly gay leader if she becomes Prime Minister of Iceland, as is widely expected. Although Per-Kristian Foss served as acting Prime Minister in Norway very briefly in 2002, this represents the first time that a gay leader would assume the reins of a modern state.
As has been extensively reported, Iceland is in the midst of an economic and political crisis that has brought down the ruling coalition of Geir Haarde. Although elections have been called for in May, Mr. Haarde has announced that he will step down because of the discovery of a malignant tumor on his esophagus earlier this week.
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Is this an important breakthrough? Should sexual orientation even enter into the discussion?Icelandic Social Affairs Minister Johanna Sigurðardottir would be the world's... more
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A new report filed Friday by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) lists more than $190,000 in expenses by the church in support of California's gay marriage ban, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Mormon leaders had previously recorded only $2,078 in contributions towards Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that yanked back the right of gays and lesbians to marry in the state
The Mormon Church revealed in a campaign filing Friday that the church spent nearly $190,000 to help pass Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California.
The disclosure comes as the church is being investigated by the state's campaign watchdog agency for violating state laws by not fully disclosing its involvement in the campaign before voters cast ballots on Nov. 4.
While many church members had donated directly to the Yes on 8 campaign - some estimates range as high as $20 million - the church itself had previously reported little direct campaign activity.
But in the filing made Friday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints reported thousands in travel expenses, such as airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals for the campaign. The church also reported $96,849.31 worth of "compensated staff time" - hours church employees spent working to pass the gay marriage ban.
"As I read this report, it seems to raise more questions than it answers," said Fred Karger, who filed the initial complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission on Nov. 13 that the church had not fully disclosed its involvement.
Roman Porter, executive director of the FPPC, confirmed that the agency was investigating the complaint, but declined comment on the specifics of the case.
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Is the church wrong to oppose gay marriage? Is the church wrong to withhold information on campaign spending? Should the church be allowed to retain tax exempt status?A new report filed Friday by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the... more
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Charleston, SC - It's hard to miss an unholy sign looming over the holy city.
"It makes me mad. I think it's wrong and I believe in God,” said Mike Anderson, a firm believer in God.
"I think everybody has the right to believe in what they believe in whether you don't believe in God or not," said Cheryl Cabiad.
The billboard along I-26 asks “Do You Believe in God? If Not You’re Not Alone.” The organization behind it is the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry.
"The purpose is not to try to convert it's to say we exist and we know there are a lot of others in Charleston who are also non-believers," said Vice President of the organization Herb Silverman.
Silverman has considered himself an atheist since his early teens. He said non-believers deserve just as much respect as those who follow organized religion.
"We believe we can be good for goodness sake we don't feel we need to go to an authority of a book written a couple thousand years ago," said Silverman.
Here in the buckle of the Bible belt, church leaders are keeping their faith squarely in God.
"It says don't believe in God then you're not alone...that's ironic for us because if you don’t' believe in God then you truly are alone," said Father Gregory Wilson.
Father Wilson doesn't believe the sign will seriously hurt the church. He also said he'd be happy to help non-believers find the Almighty.
"I think when people say God isn't real, obviously they have something deep within them that they're still searching for," he told ABC News 4’s Josh Cascio. "I think God is reaching out even to those who put up things like they don't believe in God because God believes in them," he added.
Whether you like this sign or not you can expect to see it on I-26 through February.
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Is this good news for free speech? Or have the atheists gone too far in making their point?Charleston, SC - It's hard to miss an unholy sign looming over the holy city.... more
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The American Humanist Association will be using Obama to promote the virtues of secular family life. The AHA will use Obama's image in a prominent ad to be included in a special inauguration issue of the Washington Post. The ad praises the non-religious upbringing of Barack Obama. Obama's mother was a staunch defender of secular humanism.
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Should the American Humanist Association use Obama's image to promote the virtues of secular family life?The American Humanist Association will be using Obama to promote the virtues of... more
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You'll undoubtedly be seeing plenty of religious imagery in the ads for the upcoming holidays. However, you might start seeing some ads from the non-believers this holiday season in Washington, D.C. and London.You'll undoubtedly be seeing plenty of religious imagery in the ads for the... more
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Jael
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3 years ago
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You better watch out. There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.
Ads proclaiming, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," will appear on Washington, D.C., buses starting next week and running through December. The American Humanist Association unveiled the provocative $40,000 holiday ad campaign Tuesday.You better watch out. There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.
Ads... more
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khsing
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added this
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3 years ago
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For the first time in Scottish history, Humanist marriages are more in number than Episcopal ceremonies. The Humanist Society of Scotland predicts they will outnumber Catholic weddings in two years. Christopher Brookmyre, a novelist and president of the Humanist Society of Scotland, attributes the increase to a larger availability of Humanist services. Scotland is one of six countries in the world, and the only one in the UK, where Humanist weddings are recognised as legal.
For the first time in Scottish history, Humanist marriages are more in number than... more
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On Sunday mornings, most parents who don't believe in the Christian God, or any god at all, are probably making brunch or cheering at their kids' soccer game, or running errands or, with luck, sleeping in. Without religion, there's no need for church, right?
Maybe. But some nonbelievers are beginning to think they might need something for their children.
An estimated 14% of Americans profess to have no religion, and among 18-to-25-year-olds, the proportion rises to 20%, according to the Institute for Humanist Studies. The lives of these young people would be much easier, adult nonbelievers say, if they learned at an early age how to respond to the God-fearing majority in the U.S. "It's important for kids not to look weird," says Peter Bishop, who leads the preteen class at the Humanist center in Palo Alto. Others say the weekly instruction supports their position that it's O.K. to not believe in God and gives them a place to reinforce the morals and values they want their children to have.
The pioneering Palo Alto program began three years ago, and like-minded communities in Phoenix, Albuquerque, N.M., and Portland, Ore., plan to start similar classes next spring. The growing movement of institutions for kids in atheist families also includes Camp Quest, a group of sleep-away summer camps in five states plus Ontario, and the Carl Sagan Academy in Tampa, Fla., the country's first Humanism-influenced public charter school, which opened with 55 kids in the fall of 2005.
Atheist parents appreciate this nurturing environment. That's why Kitty, a nonbeliever who didn't want her last name used to protect her kids' privacy, brings them to Bishop's class each week. After Jonathan, 13, and Hana, 11, were born, Kitty says she felt socially isolated and even tried taking them to church. But they're all much more comfortable having rational discussions at the Humanist center. "I'm a person that doesn't believe in myths," Hana says. "I'd rather stick to the evidence."
[Credit: Jeninne Lee-St. John, Time; Photo: Kathrin Miller, Time]
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Being an atheist certainly comes at a price in today's uber-religious America.
One problem is the prospect of raising a child in a manner that both reflects the views that you espouse and that shields them from the family members, neighbors, and teachers who believe it is their duty to convert their souls before the children are old enough to choose for themselves.
Perhaps, this could be just one more tool parents could have at their disposal in that process. Every city should have places like this where kids of freethinking parents can get together, learn, and socialize on the weekends without fear of religious indoctrination.
However, these groups don't magically create themselves. With that in mind non-religious parents, how likely would you be to take your kid(s) to Sunday programs such as these? On Sunday mornings, most parents who don't believe in the Christian God, or any... more
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