Renowned British atheist Richard Dawkins, widely known for his book “The God Delusion,” revealed in a recent interview his self-identification as a “cultural Christian”. Dawkins said he had a preference for Christianity over Islam, although he clarified that he does not believe “a word” of the Christian faith. In conversation with Rachel Johnson on LBC, Read more
Monsignor Tomáš Halík, a prominent Czech theologian, has emphasised the importance of taking seriously those who report having no religious affiliation (‘nones’) and spiritual seekers. Halik recently visited Sydney and addressed various Catholic audiences, including educators, parish leaders and youth. He stressed that ‘nones’ and spiritual seekers are a growing demographic in Australia and other Read more
Religious beliefs among Māori have shifted significantly over the past two decades. The number of Māori identifying as having “no religion” in the census between 2006 and 2018 increased from 36.5% to 53.5%. Māori affiliation with Christianity has fallen from 46.2% to 29.9%. Are Māori simply rejecting Christianity? Or are they rejecting all supernatural phenomena, Read more
For decades, the renowned evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins urged his readers to use science and reason to counter religious misinformation. Dawkins is abandoning both to spread anti-transgender rhetoric embraced by religious conservatives. During a recent episode of his podcast “The Poetry of Reality,” Dawkins spoke with author Helen Joyce about the “influence of Read more
It started as a small group of atheists tracking and removing religious signs from public streets in Los Angeles. Now, this network spans more than a handful of states, with volunteers documenting and taking down illegally placed religious material on utility poles and overpasses across the country. Known as the Atheist Street Pirates, the group Read more
Britney Spears said in an Instagram audio story yesterday that she now considers herself an atheist. Her explanation, however, feeds right into flawed stereotypes Christians often have about why people stop believing in God. Most atheists have a story about why they stopped believing in God. Perhaps something caused them to begin questioning their faith. Read more
When asked by an interviewer why some people in the UK regard religious people as being “a little bit odd and weird singer Sir Cliff Richard responded: “I know and I don’t understand why because you have to have even more faith than any Christian on this planet [or] any Jew on this planet…to be Read more
Meetings meant to be just like Church services—but without God received enthusiastic media coverage when they were growing so rapidly in their early years. The growth of these secular congregations hasn’t kept up the pace in the USA. After a promising start, attendance declined, and nearly half the chapters have fizzled out. Read more
Understanding atheism and its diversity were among the aims for a major conference on unbelief held at the Vatican this week. The two-day conference, co-hosted by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the University of Kent, began by launching the global “Understanding Unbelief” programme, presenting results from its research. The multidisciplinary research programme is led Read more
The Vatican’s second-ever international conference examining the rise of atheism and secularism will be held in late May. The first conference was held in 1969 during St Pope Paul VI’s leadership. This year the Vatican is joining forces with a University of Kent research initiative to host the “Cultures of Unbelief” conference. Scholars from a Read more