Tag: Secularism

Civil society activists in Lebanon are hoping that thousands will turn up for an unprecedented rally in Beirut. The march for secularism will call on all Lebanese to unite and work towards the abolition of the country’s deeply divisive sectarian system.

Two Harvard economists conclude that certain religious beliefs correlate with faster economic development.

According to a new study, prosperity is highest in countries that practice religion the least.

Nominations are in for Secularist of the Year and a pretty “catholic” list it turns out to be. The winner will be announced at the special event to present the £5,000 Irwin prize in February next year. So, here – in alphabetical order – are the nominations.

Karen Armstrong attempts to defend religion against what she considers common critiques.  Instead she ends up making excuses for the problems religion creates while shifting the blame onto “overly aggressive secularization” and “so-called new atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.”  

Less awareness of religious symbols, stories and lessons believed to be a sign of increased western secularism

The author discusses misconceptions about Atheism, including that “Atheism is a Denial of God That Requires Faith,” “Atheists Lead Meaningless Lives of Despair Without Love or Beauty,” “Atheists Worship Satan, Themselves, Money, or Some Other God,” and more.

There are signs of a crackdown in Iran’s academia on un-Islamic ideas.

Brad Pitt is interviewed by Bill Maher on Real Time.  Mr. Pitt discusses his Secularism aside from other subjects.

Some residents of the mostly secular Ramat Aviv district, alarmed by the increasing presence and proselytizing of ultra-Orthodox Haredim, are trying to drive them out.

Humans naturally create stories and narratives, says British author and neurologist Oliver Sacks. As a “non-militant atheist”, Sacks believes that the human mind is s story-generating machine, but that this story generating propensity needn’t be focused on Theistic themes and that much can be gained by using this faculty in the context of nature.

Orator and defender of agnosticism Robert Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899), tells the truth about the Bible as he knew it in 1894.

We often point to France as a beacon of secularism, a country with a constitution that guarantees religious rights but ensures that they are completely separate from the functions of the state.

The new Archbishop of Westminster has launched an attack on secularists, warning that they threaten to undermine society in Britain.

Eboo Patel is the founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based international nonprofit working to build mutual respect and pluralism among religiously diverse young people.

Over the past three decades, social-democratic Europe’s political, cultural, academic and media elites have presided over, and vigorously defended, a vast wave of immigration from the Muslim world—the largest such influx in human history.

Sam Harris addresses questions about Atheist Dogma in a video interview.

The Irish Government plans to pass a new blasphemy law. Advocacy groups Atheist Ireland and Index on Censorship are opposing the Bill.

“Lord God, we live in disturbing days: across the world prices rise, debts increase, banks collapse, jobs are taken away, and fragile security is under threat.”

Americans are increasingly turning away from many denominations, with the percentage who do not claim a religious identity nearly doubling since 1990, to 15%, according to a national survey.