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, Dawkins emphasised his appreciation for Christian traditions and the cultural ethos they embody.

"I'm not a believer, but there is a distinction between being a believing Christian and a cultural Christian" Dawkins noted, adding "I love hymns and Christmas carols and I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos, and I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense".

Christianity every time

Asked whether he sees the decline in church attendance as a problem (along with the construction of some 6,000 mosques, with many more planned), Dawkins responded: "Yes I do, really. I have to choose my words carefully: If I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I'd choose Christianity every single time".

"It seems to me to be a fundamentally decent religion, in a way that I think Islam is not" he commented.

"I do think we are culturally a Christian country" Dawkins stated. "So, I call myself a cultural Christian, and I think it would be truly dreadful if we substituted any alternative religion."

In 2018, Dawkins notably said that we should not celebrate that Europe is less Christian, as we should hold onto it "for fear of finding something worse".

Treatment of women

Dawkins addressed criticisms of Christianity's treatment of women, noting its historical challenges with female leadership. However, he asserted that Islam's treatment of women, as dictated by its holy texts, was more troubling to him.

"The way women are treated in Christianity is not great about that, it has had its problems with female vicars and female bishops, but there is an active hostility to women which is promoted I think by the holy books of Islam."

Clarifying that his criticisms were directed at religious doctrine rather than individual believers, Dawkins reiterated his appreciation for living in a culturally Christian society while he maintains his atheistic worldview.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

National Catholic Register

CathNews New Zealand

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 parts of the world.

Msgr Halík highlighted the need for evangelisation to be conversational and understanding rather than focused solely on conversion. He argued that "Evangelisation without inculturation is just indoctrination".

He elaborated that true engagement comes from acknowledging people's questions, doubts and diverse viewpoints.

Halik contrasted this approach with "evangelical Christian missionaries" and "migrant Catholic priests" who, according to him, failed to connect with the Czech people due to a lack of understanding of their cultural context.

Synodal approach needed

Halík also urged leaders to adopt a more synodal approach, echoing Pope Francis' call for a church that extends its reach to the peripheries.

He drew connections between the growing number of "nones" and the experience of the Czech Republic post-communism.

In this era, many Czechs were initially hesitant to engage with the Church but became open upon feeling acknowledged and understood. He advocated for the Church to learn from those who are not believers:

"We are all part of this secular society—we cannot create a ghetto or a sect. I tell them we can speak openly about the faith but I don't have all the answers for all questions.

"Also I think in the church we know many good answers but we have forgotten the questions, and the answers without questions are dead."

Atheism with compassion

Halík's message proposes that the church should actively engage with those outside its institutional boundaries. He suggests that spiritual seekers, often found beyond traditional parish structures, have much to offer and can enrich the faith community.

Halík also distinguished between different forms of atheism, emphasising the importance of understanding and empathising with those who have experienced profound pain or disillusionment. He advocates for a compassionate response that acknowledges the complexities of faith and doubt.

Sources

Catholic Weekly

Melbourne Catholic

CathNews New Zealand

The number of Maori identifying as having "no religion" in the census between 2006 and 2018 increased from 36.5% to 53.5%. Maori affiliation with Christianity has fallen from 46.2% to 29.9%.

Are Maori simply rejecting Christianity? Or are they rejecting all supernatural phenomena, including traditional Maori beliefs?

Our research examined the apparent rise of Maori atheism. We found the colonial history of religion was a driving force for Maori who identified as atheist or having no religion.

We also found Maori atheists said they experienced discrimination for their lack of religion, and their "Maoriness" was questioned within their community or work.

The "no religion" category in the census captures a range of worldviews, including people who say they are spiritual but not religious; agnostics - people who are uncertain about the existence of a higher power; and atheists - people who do not believe in the existence of god(s).

Multiple reasons for leaving religion

As part of our research, we spoke with 16 Maori aged 30 to 65 who did not believe in god(s). All but four were raised in religious households.

Some emphasised lingering intellectual doubts as the reason for rejecting religion. As one participant explained:

Others said they left for moral reasons.

These included a perceived hypocrisy among churchgoers, immorality of religious leaders, and the role of religion in spreading harmful views about women and LGBTQ people.

Most participants, however, framed their rejection of religion as an expression of resistance against the colonial systems of belief.

In fact, participants' ideas of "religion" were primarily shaped by their experience of various Christian denominations and their knowledge of the Christian missionary history in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Accordingly, most of the people we spoke with viewed religion as a colonial tool for the oppression of Maori people and culture. Another participant noted:

Others argued that the God of the Bible is not indigenous to Aotearoa, but rather a creation myth from the Middle East and therefore inherently irrelevant to Maori people.

Dissatisfaction entwined with colonial history

The interview responses show Maori rejection of Christianity seems to be largely aligned with anti-colonial movements, Maori protest movements, and the decolonial feminist movement.

For most participants, "atheism" equated to non-belief in the existence of God and the rejection of monotheistic traditions, specifically Christianity.

In other words, being a Maori atheist did not necessarily mean the rejection of all supernatural beliefs.

While some individuals were confident in their non-belief in all supernatural phenomena, others were either ambivalent towards certain wairua (spirit, soul) beliefs or emphasised the need to understand Maori beliefs as metaphors for a way to live.

What it means to be Maori is changing

The emergence of "non-religious" as a growing sector of the Maori community poses both challenges and opportunities to the ideas of what it is to be Maori and the development of New Zealand.

If we see ourselves progressing as a "bi-cultural" Treaty/Tiriti-enhanced nation, it stands to reason we need to be able to identify the two cultures clearly.

But there is the opportunity to develop more quickly without identity "membership" based on religious affiliation or non-affiliation.

Within the community, there is a spectrum of views about the significance of religious or spiritual beliefs to Maori identity.

On one end, there are those who ask whether it is even possible to be Maori if one is not "religious" or "spiritual" in some shape or form.

At the other, there are those who distinguish between culture and religion, and argue Maori development can be more easily enhanced if one is freed from the constraints of religious belief.

The former speaks to a "traditional" and conservative view of being Maori; the latter to notions of changes in cultures, the impact of the colonial experience, modernisation, and different ways of being Maori.

Our research highlights the diversity of non-religion among Maori, which is neither reflected in representations of Maori (for instance in education), nor considered in Maori-Crown relations.

While there is little difficulty in identifying the Crown in Treaty negotiations, the emerging "no religion" sector of the Maori community adds new layers of complexity to who the Treaty partner is. Importantly, is being spiritual or religious a prerequisite to being a Maori?

• Masoumeh Sara Rahmani Lecturer Study of Religion, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
• Peter Adds Professor, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington.
• First published in The Conversation. Republished with permission.

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 gender ideology on society."

There was no mention of how Joyce has previously said transgender people who have transitioned are "damaged" and "a huge problem to a sane world."

Nor did Dawkins bring up how she believes "reducing" the number of people who transition is a moral imperative.

Dawkins not only agreed with many of her points, he added that "sex really is binary" and that kids are choosing to be Trans under pressure from both their peers and teachers.

He also insisted that people like him were the real victims of abuse, wondering why "all the bullying (goes) one way."

(In fact, a study from 2021 found that trans people are four times more likely than cisgender people to "experience violent victimisation.")

The podcast episode dropped days after Dawkins wrote an essay for the British magazine The New Statesman answering the question, "What is a woman?"

Dawkins' reductive response boiled down to "A woman is an adult human female, free of Y chromosomes," as if the absence of a single chromosome answers the question.

That flies in the face of what many scientists have said about the subject.

"There are cisgender women who have XY sex chromosomes, and many other exceptions to binary sex.

"Around 1 in 1,000 people are intersex," said Jey McCreight, a science communicator with a Ph.D. in genomics who has consulted on trans inclusivity for biotech companies.

McCreight added in an email: "That's pretty common as far as biology goes.

"A study may treat sex as binary out of practicality, but scientists understand that reality is more nuanced."

Despite acknowledging those exceptions exist, Dawkins casually dismisses them, just as he dismisses the genetic influences many experts believe contribute to the development of trans identities.

Those exceptions and influences are reasons the American Medical Association and other major medical organisations have supported gender-affirming care.

Dawkins also rejects definitions of womanhood that extend beyond chromosomes.

In 2021, he went even further, comparing trans people to Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who famously (and controversially) identified as Black.

Suggesting trans people were making a similar choice, he tweeted, "Some men choose to identify as women, and some women choose to identify as men."

He insisted he wasn't disparaging trans people — most of whom say their gender identity is not a choice at all, but rather just who they are — and said he used their names and pronouns as a "courtesy."

But that didn't smooth things over.

The American Humanist Association, which gave Dawkins its 1996 Humanist of the Year award, rescinded the honour in response.

At a time when 76 percent of atheists accept the existence of trans people, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, while only 38 percent of all American adults feel the same, it's jarring to see the world's most famous atheist use his massive platform to downplay or deny trans identities.

That's especially true when trans people in the U.S. are under attack from conservative media outlets and legislators eager to label them predators or "groomers."

The advocacy group GLAAD said 2023 was "on pace to be a record-setting year for state legislation targeting LGBTQ adults and youth," including laws banning or limiting trans individuals' access to health care and participation in sports.

For decades, the most vocal opponents of LGBTQ rights were religious conservatives making the argument that acceptance violated God's wishes.

Lately, though, as the lines between politics and religion have blurred, conservatives have been citing science, rather than religion, to justify their positions.

In response to a trans-supporting colleague, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene hung a sign outside her office saying "There are TWO genders … Trust The Science!"

A recent anti-trans film by conservative provocateur Matt Walsh attempted to make a scientific rather than religious case against trans people.

And author J.K. Rowling, whom Dawkins called "very brave" in his podcast, has couched her inflammatory rhetoric in biological terms.

What's most frustrating about Dawkins' shift in focus is that his otherwise excellent science writing is being tarnished by his bizarre obsession.

Much as fans of the Harry Potter series are now conflicted about the book and movie franchise and its creator, I can no longer recommend Dawkins' books to people who want to educate themselves about evolution.

It's also maddening because Dawkins remains the go-to atheist for reporters and media outlets.

There are more atheists who are LGBTQ, women and people of colour than ever before, yet it's Dawkins who often takes centre stage whenever there are public conversations about atheism.

That's not his fault, of course: He literally wrote the most popular book on the subject.

But it's irresponsible to use his platforms to spread ignorance on a topic that critics have repeatedly said he doesn't understand and often gets flat-out wrong.

His words also have the effect of further alienating LGBTQ people when they're already marginalised by many powerful religious leaders.

Why would they want to become atheists when supposedly "reasonable" people are spreading the same lies they hear in churches?

Trans people are currently subject to political attacks and dehumanising laws.

Dawkins should spend less time acting like this issue boils down to basic biology and more time advocating for LGBTQ people who have been harmed by religious — and now supposedly scientific — bigotry.

• Hemant Mehta is a writer, podcaster and atheist activist. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.
• First published in Religion News Service. Republished with permission.

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 formed in 2021 as a subset of the LA-based Atheists United, a nonprofit that's been in the city for 40 years and that seeks to "empower people to express secular values and promote separation of government and religion."

The street pirates' goal is to clear city streets of religious propaganda.

Evan Clark, the executive director for Atheists United, created a public Google map database where the street pirates upload photos and locations of the signage they encounter during commutes.

A year ago, the map showed about 70 signs across LA County, including material taken down by the pirates or others.

The map now includes about 1,000 markers for religious signage that has been reported, tracked, or removed in such states as Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois and Kentucky. Volunteers focus on religious signs on public land, not paid billboards or signage on church property.

The documented signs on the map include banners designed with American flags declaring "Prayer Changes Things" that were attached to chain link fences and wooden panels visible from Southern California freeways.

Bright yellow "JESUS SAVES" signs also appear quite commonly in North Carolina, according to the map.

Through this work, Clark, who identifies as an atheist and humanist, said he has recognized a "larger phenomenon happening, where Christian nationalists, evangelicals and other types of religious fanatics are using our public land illegally for their proselytizing."

On Sunday (April 23), Atheists United held an art exhibition in LA featuring signs and banners that volunteers have removed from across Southern California.

Clark said showcasing the signs this way helps show the magnitude of the issue.

Dozens of posters with the words "Jesus. The way. The truth. The life" were prominently showcased on a wall during the exhibit. These signs are the most commonly seen in LA along busy intersections, public parks and freeway off-ramps.

More than 130 have been removed, according to Atheists United.

Some of these signs are stapled and can be easily torn down, but many are placed atop telephone poles and attached with roofing nails. Volunteers have had to use a crowbar and ladder to remove some signs.

While it's largely unknown where the signs come from, Atheists United has learned of an effort led by street evangelist Brent Farley, a born-again Christian who produces the "JESUS SAVES" posters that have been largely spotted in the South.

In an interview with Axios last year, Farley said he used to be an atheist but eventually "found God" and decided to create and distribute the signs as a way of spreading his newfound faith. "I put signs up wherever I go," he said.

At the exhibit, Atheists United featured a dozen or so of Farley's signs that were taken down in the LA area. Clark said they have tracked around 250 of these signs on their map.

Ted Nunn, an atheist from Texas who learned about Atheist Street Pirates through a news article, manages the map. He marks the locations of religious signs reported by the pirates or by anyone familiar with their work.

He confirms the signs and location by looking through Google street view.

Nunn, who traveled from Texas for the exhibition, said he's not against religious people, but he has a problem with the "influence of religion in the public sphere."

Dan Barker, a Christian minister turned atheist, understands why people would feel compelled to place this kind of religious signage. He used to do the same, he said.

"I used to think Jesus is going to come any minute now, and it's either heaven or hell.

"So maybe there's some little laws that are broken, but what's more important than trying to get the message out?" said Barker, who is now co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation's board of directors.

"I think most of these signs are sincere. … The people who put them up really, really believe it, or they wouldn't go through all that trouble," added Barker, who attended the art exhibition.

Barker noted the right to free speech, but he said this kind of religious signage — without a permit — does not belong on the "public property that belongs to all of us."

• Alejandra Molina is a National Reporter at RNS covering Latinos and religion in the West Coast.
• First published in RNS
• Republished with permission

Most atheists have a story about why they stopped believing in God. Perhaps something caused them to begin questioning their faith. Still, they took that final leap only after a lot of critical thinking.

Yet when they tell people they no longer believe in God, the assumption is that something bad happened to them. That's it. A logical thought process always takes a back seat to blame God for some kind of tragedy.

Hell, there are entire books written by Christian apologists about theodicy, offering explanations for why God allows bad things happen to good people… as if that's the only reason people have for becoming nonreligious.

Recently Spears made a stir in Catholic circles when she told her Instagram followers that she had wanted to get married in a Catholic church in Los Angele.

On Thursday, August 5, 2021, she announced on Instagram that she is Catholic and attends Mass.

But the following afternoon Spears' Instagram post was deleted. Other posts unrelated to faith were also deleted from her Instagram account.

Read More

"And yet they believe in that atheism. They believe in all sorts of things that I think myself I don't know how they can do it because there's absolutely no proof to there being nothing." Read more

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

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 by the University of Kent in collaboration with St Mary's University Twickenham, Coventry University and Queen's University Belfast.

Their findings - published in a report "Understanding Unbelief: Atheists and Agnostics around the World" - mapped the nature and diversity of 'unbelief' across Brazil, China, Denmark, Japan, UK and the USA.

Unbelievers were asked about their attitudes to issues such as supernatural phenomena, whether the "universe is ultimately meaningless" and what values matter most to them.

Interim findings show that in all the countries, the majority of unbelievers identified as having 'no religion'.

However, unbelief comes in many forms and the research report notes unbelievers exhibited significant diversity both within and between different countries.

The researchers also found that a lack of belief in God didn't necessarily entail unbelief in other supernatural phenomena.

Rather, they found the majority of unbelievers expressed belief in one or more supernatural phenomena.

Perhaps surprisingly, as it is contrary to popular belief, the report says only around a third of unbelievers in each country regard the universe to be ultimately meaningless.

Unbelievers' views on morality and values were also under the researchers' spotlight.

They report finding most unbelievers endorse objective moral values, human dignity and attendant right. They also support the "deep value" of nature, at similar rates to the general populations in their countries.

Likewise, unbelievers and general populations agree about the values they think are most important for "finding meaning in the world and your own life".

Both rank "family" and "freedom" highly.

"These findings show once and for all that the public image of the atheist is a simplification at best, and a gross caricature at worst. Instead of relying on assumptions about what it means to be an atheist, we can now work with a real understanding of the many different worldviews that the atheist population includes," one of the researchers says.

"The implications for public and social policy are substantial - and this study also stands to impact on more everyday interactions in religiously diverse societies."

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: Pew Research Centre

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 range of disciplines will gather at Rome's Gregorian University to discuss the results of the "Understanding Unbelief" research initiative. During the past two years this initiative has been mapping the rise and nature of non-religion across the world.

According to the Pew Research Center, the number of "nones" — those who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or of no particular religion — will reach 1.2 billion worldwide by 2060.

Young people are particularly likely to identify as nones.

Last year an Understanding Belief researcher found 70 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the UK identify as having "no religion".

Research into unbelief has also focused on countries where the majority population is made up of nonbelievers, while other projects are looking at the motivations, experiences and problems faced by non-believers in religious societies.

The conference will also hear from researchers who have being examining themes such as non-religious childhoods, the persistence of magical thinking, and the ways in which mindfulness meditation might be seen to constitute a secular religion.

No plans have been announced for Pope Francis to address the conference, but organisers say the possibility remains open.

What's important, they say, is to build a dialogue and collaboration between believers and unbelievers to gain a greater understanding of the others' metaphysical, existential and moral beliefs.

"The growth of different forms of non-religion has been a significant development in many societies across the world in recent decades," says Gordon Lynch, a professor of modern theology at the University of Kent.

"This conference [draws] together findings from the most substantial international programmes of research in this field, and promises to be a genuinely landmark event in taking forward both our understanding of the varieties of non-religion and the social implications of these."

Prof. Stephen Bullivant of St Mary's University in Twickenham says the Church has long realised that atheism needs to be understood properly.

In his view, the conference could help stem the tide of people leaving the Church.

"We recognise that very sincere moral people are all striving to reach the truth and we need to understand that better. Part of the reason for dialogue is on the one hand for us to understand them but it's also for them to understand us," he says.

Source

• Religion News Service
• Irish Catholic
• Image: Washington Times

The CBS star told Father James Martin on his Catholic talk show "Faith in Focus" last Thursday night that there was a time in his life he turned away from God.

However, a moment in 1986, when he was 22 years old, changed his mind while walking down the street in Chicago. Continue reading

As a Bible-loving Christian who believes in God, angels, heaven and hell, I guess people would assume I'm angry or nervous about having the High Priest of Unbelief in town. Actually, I'm cautiously glad that he's here.

But my thankfulness for his visit goes beyond the obvious belief in freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

It goes to the heart of who we are as a country.

New Zealand has quietly become one of the most spiritually apathetic nations on earth.

In our relative comfort and prosperity, many of us have become immune to even considering the deeper meaning of life.

We've convinced ourselves that "the question of God" doesn't matter much anymore.

Where Dawkins and I agree is that this question matters a great deal.

So maybe he can rattle a few cages.

Maybe he can save us from drifting into a half-baked non-answer and drive us to examine the evidence, carefully look at ourselves, and search for the truth.

Don't get me wrong.

It's not like I'm doing cartwheels that Dawkins will be spreading his vitriolic and ill-informed ideas.

Almost every Christian I know finds listening to the man to be an intensely frustrating experience - not because he threatens our beliefs, but because he simply doesn't understand them.

He may be a good scientist, but when he strays beyond his field he's a pseudo-intellectual, spewing far more heat than light, preaching a distorted and anger-fueled message against religious straw men.

Sloppy thinking and contradictions mark his speaking and writing.

He presents himself as a man of science interested purely in evidence - even if he believes that the evidence leads to bleak conclusions of a godless universe filled with "blind, pitiless indifference".

But in the next breath, he rails against religion based on ideas that, while important, contribute nothing to the question of whether or not God actually exists: things like evil done in the name of religion (some of which is true) and his distorted version of God's supposed character (most of which is based on a simplistic, context-free misreading of the bible).

The argument is emotive: "God isn't real because I hate him".

Dawkins presents himself as a radical sceptic, yet when it comes to seeing and confronting his own cherished assumptions he isn't nearly sceptical enough. Continue reading

• Geoff Robson is a Christchurch-based church pastor and university chaplain, and the author of The Book of Books: A short guide to reading the Bible.
• Image: Geoff Robson

"Reason to Hope", the third Global Atheist Convention scheduled for Melbourne in February 2018, has been cancelled because of "lack of interest" (according to my sources).

The conference was to be headlined by Sir Salman Rushdie, the highly esteemed - one might even say revered - novelist.

In 1989 the Iranian cleric Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him after his novel The Satanic Verses was published.

It was the Islamic world that took offence for what it said about the Prophet, but the novel took aim at Sikhs as well, and at religion in general.

Rushdie once called religion a "poison in the blood". He argued that respect for religion is not deserved:

"What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name?

"How well, with what fatal results, religion erects totems, and how willing we are to kill for them."

Rushdie is himself totemic; not simply an artist but a piece of history himself. If anyone knows what damage excessive religious zeal can do, it is he.

Richard Dawkins was also to make the trip, along with a range of other commentators and scholars, including locals Leslie Cannold and Jane Caro.

Alongside the thinkers, there was also going to be the "entertainers".

Comic atheism is a particularly strong strand, and religious pomposity provides it with plenty of material. No doubt there was to be a feast of gloating about census figures.

But it isn't to be.

It's a great shame there's a lack of interest.

I say that as someone who believes in God and thinks that it is the most reasonable thing to believe.

I say that as someone who is very much in the sights of the Atheist Foundation of Australia as an active theist.

I think faith, and in particular Christian faith, is good for Australia.

But I also think that the full and frank discussion of fundamental ideas is part of what a healthy culture promotes and enjoys. Continue reading

• Dr Michael Jensen is rector of St Mark's Anglican Church Darling Point
• Image: ABC

Zuckerberg identified himself as an atheist for years, but on Facebook at Christmas he responded to a question about this by saying: "No. I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important." Read more

She is the author of Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers That Even I Can Offer. Sargeant recently spoke with the Register about what motivated her conversion and the surprising changes she experienced in her life afterward, including how she learned to pray through the Rosary. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Tell us a little about your background as an atheist.

My family wasn't religious. And I didn't know anyone who was religious and took it seriously. I grew up in a part of Long Island that was mostly ethnic-secular Jewish. So most people in my high school had bar mitzvahs but didn't really pray or do anything besides the cultural parts of Judaism. So most of my exposure to religion would be things like The700 Club — the kind of religion that makes the news. And it wasn't until I went to college that I knew practicing Christians who were smart, who were comfortable talking about their faith, and who honestly weren't kind of rounded up to the nearest stereotype, i.e., evangelical Americans.

Was there ever a point when you chose to be an atheist or were you always atheist by default?

It was always just more of a default position. I thought religion was false. A lot of the examples of religion I found weren't compelling. And, as I still believe, I don't think that it ever helps people who believe things that aren't really true. I don't think there's any such a thing ultimately as a noble lie that actually helps people in the long term. So when I was interested in other people's religious beliefs, if they weren't true, I wanted to argue them out of it. I have people who are atheists who respond to me that way now. I think that's a compliment to religion to think that way. Because for religion to be something that is completely innocuous — whether you believe it or not, that if you are wrong about it, that's fine — implies that religion has no consequences. That's certainly not how I feel about my faith now that I have one. Continue reading

Source and Image:

• National Catholic Register, article by Register correspondent Stephen Beale, who writes from Providence, Rhode Island.

Vosper of West Hill United Church of Toronto, Ontario, was declared "not suitable" to remain a church minister, according to a report released on Wednesday from the Conference Interview Committee for the United Church's Toronto Conference.

According to the 39-page report, which was provided to The Christian Post by the UCC Toronto Conference, the committee decided in a vote of 19 to 4 that by being an atheist, Vosper has rejected the ordination vows she took in 1993.

"In our opinion, she is not suitable to continue in ordained ministry because she does not believe in God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit," the committee's majority concluded.

"Although The United Church of Canada is a big tent, welcoming a diversity of theological beliefs, Ms. Vosper is so far from center of what holds us together as a united Church that we have concluded that she is not suitable to continue as an ordained minister in our Church."

The committee majority went on to recommend that the General Council conduct a formal hearing to consider whether to put Vosper on the Discontinued Service List (disciplinary), which is tantamount to a defrocking.

Source

• CP Church and Ministry
• Image: Vancouversun.com

The group says Kansas City's plans to use $65,000 in tourism tax dollars to assist in an upcoming Baptist convention violates guarantees in the U.S. Constitution separating church and state.

The lawsuit, which was filed last Friday in U.S. District Court by American Atheists Inc. asks a federal judge to block the city from spending taxpayer dollars to support the event.

The officials charged include Kansas City Mayor Sly James.

The lawsuit contends that using tax dollars to help Modest Miles Ministries Inc prepare for the National Baptist Convention USA Inc, would advance a religious purpose.

This is in violation of American Atheists' right to be of state-supported religion, as provided for under the "establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In April, the city approved to pay $65,000 in municipal funds from the Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund to the ministry to help transportation costs, the lawsuit said.

The convention is scheduled to be held this September in Kansas City.

Kansas City spokesman Chris Hernandez declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.

However, he says a contract has not been signed for the funds to be released, and standard contract language excludes religious use of any funding.

About 10,000 people are expected to attend the convention, which was previously held in the city in 2010, 2003 and 1998, the Kansas City Star reported.

Source:

• Reuters
• Image: College Scholarship
  

Following the news of Dawkins' minor stroke the Church of England tweeted "Prayers for Prof Dawkins and his family," causing a worldwide collective cringe. Continue reading

Twitter users are now debating whether it was a kindly gesture or an epic troll by the Church of England to say they're praying for him.The release said he is already home recuperating and is expected to make a full recovery, but he has pulled out of a tour of Australia and New Zealand book festivals.

He was set to appear at an event in Wellington on March 4 discussing the second volume of his memoirs, A Life in Science. Continue reading

Dawkins, who is now 74, previously appeared at the New Zealand Festival in 2010.

In an article in the New Zealand Listener, Diana Wichtel described him as "a scientist, a writer, a performer, a public intellectual, an atheist and, to some, a pain in the butt."

In reply he said, "Well, I like to think of myself as most of the list that you just reeled off."

"I don't deliberately try to be a pain. I realise I'm a pain to some people, but I'm not deliberately trying to provoke."

In an interview on stuff.co.nz it was suggested sometimes he almost seems angry when arguing his corner.

"There probably is a little bit of anger, but I like to think I keep it under control better than many people. Mostly when people meet me they don't find me angry."

He will be in conversation with New Zealand writer Bernard Beckett, author of Falling for Science: Asking the Big Questions.

The event will be an open-ended conversation, so it's hard to say where it may go, but he expects he'll be led through some of the tales in his new book Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science.

It's the sequel to his 2013 memoir An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist, which covered the 35 years up to the publication of his first bestseller The Selfish Gene.

Dawkins says main goal has been to promote science and reason, "but if you are trying to promote science and reason, the main obstacle that keeps popping up is religion".

In 2006, partly inspired by America's lurch towards "theocracy" under born-again Christian George W Bush, Dawkins finally made his targeting of religion explicit, launching a blistering attack with his book The God Delusion.

The book, which has since sold three milllion copies, transformed him from the evolution guy to the atheism guy.

Source

• listener.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

"...Science is advancing all time and religion is not, and religion is slowly dying," Dawkins told TV3 show The Nation on Saturday.

"It's dying much faster in some countries than others. It's dying very fast in western and northern Europe, I suspect in New Zealand as well."

Dawkins said on Twitter last week he was considering a visit to New Zealand soon.

Dawkins holds the belief that the supernatural does not exist, and he rejects mysticism.

The interviewer on The Nation, Lisa Owen, asked how he explained his acceptance things like poetry, music and love, things she said that "arguably are irrational."

Dawkins replied,"Oh, well, no. I mean, I think they're rational. "I mean, they have a rational explanation. Things like love, poetic sensibility, music, these are very, very real, very important human experiences..."

"So although we may not yet have a scientific explanation for what goes on in the brain, we do know that - well, I think we know - that it's things that are going on in the brain when you do fall in love or when you swoon at a piece of Schubert or something like that."

When asked if religion worked in the same way he replied, "Very probably it does, but, of course, that doesn't make it true, because religion is not just an emotion."

"I mean, religion actually does make factual claims about the universe, which, in my view, are false, and the mere fact that people have emotional reactions to them doesn't make them true."

Dawkins opposes all forms of religion, but he says at present Islam is the most dangerous

He said 500 years ago, Christianity was similarly dangerous but today its "teeth have been drawn".

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• 3news.co.nz
• Image: scienceblogs.com