Demographics of Religion Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God' Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average. A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence
gender equality Bristol University's Christian Union Bans Women From Speaking At Meetings Now, granted, this is the sort of thing one would expect at an American University with a Christian bias. But on our fair and level-headed isle? Seriously? Come on guys! Sort it out Bristol! From HuffPo:
atheism Scouts consider oath for atheists Wow. There have been lots on the Scouts recently as many SIN bloggers boycotted them this weekend for various reasons. I will link some of them later. But for now, check this report out from the BBC: The UK Scout Association is considering an alternative oath for atheists. The 105-year-old
Skepticism Evolutionary Psychology, Clint, Watson, PZ Myers and going about things properly I am writing this piece in response to a recent exchange that has come to involve a growing number of people in some particular corners of the blogosphere. Most of you who will be reading this will not need me to go into great detail as you will probably have already read the exchanges. This is how,
Randal Rauser My first talk on the Nativity, yesterday, went well So I gave my first public talk on my book The Nativity: A Critical Examination yesterday. It was a bit of a warm up for my next to, being to a group of students at a small conference (very small!) of humanist / atheists representatives from local universities (they were doing
Creationism Government changes rules to require Free Schools to teach evolution Sorry, /i know I have posted a lot of news articles recently, but this one from the British Humanist Association has made me sooo happy: The Government has announced today that it has changed the rules governing Free Schools in order to require them to teach evolution. The British Humanist
morality Does Morality Depend on God? This is one of my favourite essays on the subject of morality and God. It is by P. Wesley Edwards and can be found variously online, such as here. JohnM was espousing the idea in his comments here that under an atheistic worldview, there is no moral foundation. Moreover, as the argument goes, only G
atheism Atheists are 'terrorists'. Apparently. Check this article out from The Washington Post. What annoys me is that even if you took this statement as a weak generalisation, it is still wholly wrong. I would hazard a guess that the overwhelming proportion of terrorists in the world are religious:
FOX News Bill O'Reilly says Christianity is not a religion This is a hilarious video. I thought Bill O'Reilly was a tool before this. Now I think he is a total tool. With a cherry on top.
Blasphemy Dutch approve move to scrap blasphemy law Whilst some countries are moving back to the dark ages with INTRODUCING blasphemy laws (an international one or one in Russia, for frick's sake, for example), the Dutch do it right, as the BBC reports: Dutch authorities have decided to approve a motion abandoning a law under which
intolerance A Year in Jail for Not Believing in God? How Kentucky is Persecuting Atheist In Kentucky, a homeland security law requires the state’s citizens to acknowledge the security provided by the Almighty God--or risk 12 months in prison. The law and its sponsor, state representative Tom Riner, have been the subject of controversy since the law first surfaced in 2006, yet the Ke
Consciousness Consciousness as rhythmic oscillations This really is a fascinating article. Properly. Could it be that we are starting to unravel the neural basis for thought and consciousness? Discuss. Rhythmic Brain Waves: Fluctuations in Electrical Activity May Allow Brain to Form Thoughts and Memories [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300&
Creationism Creationism Controversies The Norm Among Potential Republican 2016 Contenders Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) raised eyebrows Monday when he told GQ he couldn't answer a question about the age of the earth because "I'm not a scientist, man." Having a top prospect for the 2016 presidential nomination say the age of the planet is "one of the great mysteries" comes at an awkward time
Consciousness Language - who's choosing my words? I find this amazing. Language. I can have a 45 minute conversation with a friend. Neither of us consciously think up individual words. Our word choices (even as I am typing this) are non-consciously chosen. At 150 words a minute, that's a lot of words decided upon non-consciously. I generally appear
Biblical Exegesis Comparative mythology - using evidence against the Biblical flood FOR the biblical flood. So, check this interesting visual out from a Creationist website:
Creationism Here Is What Louisiana Schoolchildren Learn About Evolution. I could cry. Oh dear. Fifth graders in some state-sponsored schools in Louisiana study both creationism and evolution as competing theories. “Fact or Theory?”
Creationism Intelligent Design is Creationism, just not Biblical (or Young Earth) Creationism In their FAQ, the Discovery Institute write in response to the question "Is intelligent design theory the same as creationism?": "No. Intelligent design theory is simply an effort to empirically detect whether the "apparent design" in nature acknowledged by virtually all biologists is genuine d
gender equality Unveiled Syrian Facebook post stirs women's rights debate Among the dozens of Facebook groups spawned by the Syrian uprising, a page supporting women's rights has suddenly received a wave of attention, because of an image posted there by one of its followers. The picture was of 21-year-old Dana Bakdounis, without the veil she had grown up wearing - and it
atheism Real Deconversion Story #2 – John Here is another account in my series of real-life deconversion stories. They are often painful, psychological affairs. John's account is fascinating. Happy reading. The previous account can be found here.
atheism What atheism ISN'T - the myths of atheism obscure its secular values This is a really interesting article from the Irish Times. The religious often claim things of atheism which muddy the waters of what atheism really is, and what secular values one can come to.
atheism On meaning and purpose without God So there has been some debate on my meaning of life essay with JohnM, a YEC. He seems to think the only real purpose is an ultimate purpose, and getting through to him that this is not the case, and that ultimate purposes have no more value than subjective, instrumentalist
Culture Church of England general synod votes against women bishops The general synod of the Church of England has voted against the appointment of women as bishops. The decision came at the end of a day of debate by supporters and opponents – and a 12-year legislative process. The measure was passed by the synod’s houses of bishops and clergy but was rejected by
meaning of life The Meaning of Life Here is an essay that is a few years old now, on the meaning and purpose of life. I'm sorry, setting out the html codes for footnotes is an incredible ball-ache. Hope it does not put you off! As ever, let me know what you think.
Epistemology Absence of evidence IS evidence of absence (in many cases) I get annoyed at apologists and theists that trot "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" out as if it is some kind of unbreakable law. Nonsense. Not only is it the basis of a gazillion court cases, as well as carefully constructed scientific experiments, it is very useful to boot. It CAN b
Epistemology The Relativity of Wrong - Asimov on science and the fuzziness of right and wrong This excellent letter by Isaac Asimov was brought to my attention by Andy Schueler in this thread. Enjoy, it's a goodun. The Skeptical Inquirer, Fall 1989, Vol. 14, No. 1, Pp. 35-44 The Relativity of Wrong By Isaac Asimov I RECEIVED a letter the other day. It was
