Saturday, February 18, 2012

Christians must choose between religion and obeying law, says equalities chief Trevor Phillips - John Bingham and Tim Ross - The Telegraph

Christians must choose between their religion and obeying the law, according to Trevor Phillips, the human rights watchdog.


Trevor Phillips: Religious rules should end “at the door of the temple” and give way to the “public law” laid down by Parliament Photo: REX

He declared that Christians who want to be exempt from equality legislation are like Muslims trying to impose sharia.

Religious rules should end “at the door of the temple” and give way to the “public law” laid down by Parliament, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said.

He argued that Roman Catholic adoption agencies and other faith groups providing public services must choose between their religion and obeying the law when their beliefs conflict with the will of the state.

Mr Phillips singled out the adoption agencies that fought a long legal battle to avoid being forced to accept homosexual couples under equality laws. Last year, following a High Court case, the Charity Commission ruled against an exemption for Catholic Care, an adoption agency operating in Leeds.
Read more

TAGGED: LAW, RELIGION


Councils win prayer 'rights' as ministers fast track Localism Act powers - - - BBC News

The government is activating a power it says will allow councils in England to hold prayers at meetings.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles says he is "effectively reversing" the High Court's "illiberal ruling" that a Devon council's prayers were unlawful.

He says part of the Localism Act that aims to give councils greater powers and freedom will be brought in early.

The National Secular Society opposes prayers in "a secular environment concerned with civic business".

Earlier this month, in response to legal action brought by the National Secular Society, the High Court ruled that Bideford Town Council had acted unlawfully by allowing prayers to be said at meetings.

Mr Justice Ouseley said that, under the Local Government Act 1972, the council had no powers to hold prayers as part of a formal meeting.

The controversial judgement has been regarded by many as an example of the marginalisation of Christianity, as well as a test case that could affect local councils across the country. Bideford Town Council has said it would appeal against the ruling.

'Wake-up call' The government argues that it was not intention or will of Parliament for this act from 40 years ago to be used to prohibit prayers.

"The High Court judgement has far wider significance than just the municipal agenda of Bideford Town Council," said Mr Pickles.

"By effectively reversing that illiberal ruling, we are striking a blow for localism over central interference, for freedom to worship over intolerant secularism, for Parliamentary sovereignty over judicial activism, and for long-standing British liberties over modern-day political correctness."

He added that the Bideford council case should be "a wake-up call".

"For too long, the public sector has been used to marginalise and attack faith in public life, undermining the very foundations of the British nation. But this week, the tables have been turned."

Read on

TAGGED: LAW, RELIGION, SECULARISM, SOCIETY


Friday, February 17, 2012

How Religion is Like a Penis - - - -

Faith rules 'end at temple door',...

- - BBC News

"Once you start to provide public services that have to be run under public rules, for example child protection, then you have to go with public law."

Queen highlights Church of England's...

- - BBC News

BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the status of the Church has come under scrutiny in recent years but the Queen had given it a "robust defence" in her speech.

So Britain's a Christian Nation?

- - RichardDawkins.net

A bit of light relief ...

FREETHOUGHT MOVEMENT RAISING $1 MILLION TO FIGHT CANCER - Todd Stiefel - Foundation Beyond Belief

Effort on Behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Honors the Late Christopher Hitchens, Noted Atheist Author

ATLANTA, Ga. (2/16/2012) -- Foundation Beyond Belief, a nontheist charity, aims to raise $1 million for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) this year through its popular Light The Night Walk fundraising program.

"This is one of the biggest giving efforts of its kind in the history of our movement," said humanist philanthropist Todd Stiefel, of Raleigh, N.C. "Our goal is to improve the lives of countless cancer patients and their families, while demonstrating that freethinkers are a legitimate force for good in the world."

To encourage other nontheists to step up to this cause, Stiefel and his family have pledged to match dollar-for-dollar the first $500,000 raised by the Foundation Beyond Belief Light The Night initiative.


PERSONAL APPEAL FROM TODD STIEFEL TO FREETHOUGHT COMMUNITY

http://foundationbeyondbelief.org/LLS-letter


Foundation Beyond Belief is a national 501(c)(3) charity, based in Atlanta, Ga., created to focus, encourage and demonstrate generosity and compassion in the nontheistic community throughout the United States. The Foundation is a "Special Friend" partner with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, meaning that local groups of nontheists around the world can contribute to the $1 million goal by organizing Light The Night teams under the banner of Foundation Beyond Belief.

Since the organization's launch in January 2010, more than 1,000 Foundation Beyond Belief members have raised more than $247,000 for charities at work around the world. Though $1 million is an ambitious fundraising goal for the growing charity, the group has received an unprecedented amount of grassroots support from the larger freethought community. Already nearly a dozen national nontheist organizations have signed on as allies with the Foundation to support the effort: American Atheists, American Humanist Association, Atheist Alliance of America, Camp Quest, Center For Inquiry, Centre For Inquiry Canada, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy & Alumni, Secular Student Alliance, and the United Coalition of Reason. Together these allies have a combined membership numbering in the tens of thousands.

"This is an opportunity for atheists to rally behind something big that reflects what we do believe in: the healing power of scientific research, education and compassionate patient services," said Stiefel. "The most positive way to be 'out' as a nontheist is to fundraise for a great charity that everyone can support. We may not believe the same things as our neighbors, but we can all unite against cancer."

Stiefel is quick to note that Foundation Beyond Belief Light The Night team members will not debate religion or attempt to "de-convert" any religious believers during the walk. Instead, he hopes the teams will be known as the most fun, positive, and friendly people at the events.

"The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is incredibly appreciative that Foundation Beyond Belief has chosen to support our efforts to beat blood cancer, and has set such a generous goal," said Nancy L. Klein, LLS chief marketing and revenue officer. "We look forward to having their teams join our walks."

ABOUT LIGHT THE NIGHT

The Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer. Thousands of participants raise funds for vital, lifesaving research and patient services and, on these special nights, they carry illuminated balloons in a show of support from a caring community. All proceeds from the walks go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

There are about 185 Light The Night Walks throughout the U.S. and Canada. Foundation Beyond Belief is aiming to have at least 100 local teams participating in 2012. Should the effort succeed, the Foundation would be the first team in LLS history to bring in more than $1 million in their first year.

IN MEMORY OF CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

The "Honored Hero" of this year's Foundation Beyond Belief Light The Night effort will be the late Christopher Hitchens. At age 62, Hitchens died this December from complications resulting from esophageal cancer. A prominent atheist and best-selling author, Hitchens was best known for his essays about politics and religion. While he did not have blood cancer, Stiefel notes that drugs developed for blood cancers are often used to treat other cancers as well.

"Hitch devoted so much to our movement during his life," Stiefel said. "Now we can give something back in his memory."

FREETHOUGHT GRANTS FOR TOP LIGHT THE NIGHT FUNDRAISING TEAMS

The Stiefel Freethought Foundation is giving $18,000 to Foundation Beyond Belief for an incentive program.

The top FBB Light The Night fundraising teams in multiple categories will have the opportunity to direct up to $5,000 in grants to qualifying freethought nonprofit organizations. Winning teams can direct up to half of the grant money to a local 501(c)3 freethought organization of their choice. Winning teams will also choose to direct at least half of the grant money to one of the national Foundation Beyond Belief Light The Night ally organizations.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

For information and to register with the Foundation Beyond Belief Light The Night Team, visit: http://foundationbeyondbelief.org/LLS-lightthenight

For information about Todd Stiefel and the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, visit: http://www.stiefelfreethoughtfoundation.org

For information about Light The Night, visit: http://www.lightthenight.org

CONTACT (MEDIA ONLY)

Todd Stiefel, 919-334-8330 press@foundationbeyondbelief.org

TAGGED: ANNOUNCEMENTS, HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS


Life Without God: An Interview with Tim Prowse - Sam Harris - samharris.org

Tim Prowse was a United Methodist pastor for almost 20 years, serving churches in Missouri and Indiana. Tim earned a B.A. from East Texas Baptist University, a Master of Divinity (M.Div) from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) from Chicago Theological Seminary. Acknowledging his unbelief, Tim left his faith and career in 2011. He currently lives in Indiana. He was kind enough to discuss his experience of leaving the ministry with me by email.


Can you describe the process by which you lost your belief in the teachings of your Church?

An interesting thing happened while I was studying at East Texas Baptist University: I was told not to read Rudolph Bultmann. I asked myself: Why? What were they protecting me from? I picked up Bultmann’s work, and that decision is the catalyst that ultimately paved the road to today. Throughout my educational journey, which culminated in an Ordination from the United Methodist Church where I’ve served for seventeen years, I’ve continued to ask the question “Why?”

Ironically, it was seminary that inaugurated my leap of unfaith. It was so much easier to believe when living in an uncritical, unquestioning, naïve state. Seminary training with its demands for rigorous and intentional study and reflection coupled with its values of reason and critical inquiry began to undermine my naïveté. I discovered theologians, philosophers and authors I never knew existed. I found their questions stimulating but their answers often unsatisfying. For example, the Bible is rife with vileness evidenced by stories of sexual exploitation, mass murder and arbitrary mayhem. How do we harmonize this fact with the conception of an all-loving, all-knowing God? While many have undertaken to answer this question even in erudite fashion, I found their answers lacking. Once I concluded that the Bible was a thoroughly human product and the God it purports does not exist, other church teachings, such as communion and baptism, unraveled rather quickly. To quote Nietzsche, I was seeing through a different “perspective” – a perspective based on critical thinking, reason and deduction. By honing these skills over time, reason and critical thinking became my primary tools and faith quickly diminished. Ultimately, these tools led to the undoing of my faith rather than the strengthening of it.

Read more

TAGGED: ATHEISM, SAM HARRIS


“Lynn”– God in the Rear-view Mirror - Lynn - The Agnostic Pastor

Life Without God: An Interview with Tim...

Sam Harris - samharris.org

Tim Prowse was a United Methodist pastor for almost 20 years and left his faith and career in 2011.

Dawkins Foundation care packages go to...

Jason Torpy - Military Association of...

Dawkins Foundation care packages go to atheists in foxholes

In the Spirit: Some florists won't...

Doug Erickson - Wisconsin State...

In the Spirit: Some florists won't deliver to atheist

ARCHBISHOP TAKES ON ATHEIST DAWKINS

- - EXPRESS.co.uk

The Archbishop of Canterbury and atheist Professor Richard Dawkins are set to go head to head to discuss man's greatest question.

The faithful must learn to respect...

Lawrence Krauss - The Guardian

Tensions between religion and science will persist unless believers recognise that skepticism is a hallmark of science.

Outward displays of belief in God have become a proxy for trustworthiness in the US. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

Civic life and law must bind us, not ritual and religion - Polly Toynbee - The Guardian Comment Is Free

alt text
The Queen meets Sikh guests at a multifaith reception at Lambeth Palace this week. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AFP/Getty Images

No surprise that the Queen defends the established church, as she is the anointed defender of the faith. In a week of attacks on secularism she has invented a new role: "not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country." Who is threatening the free practice of any faith? Not any secularists I know.

Hers is a curiously Jesuitical justification for the CofE's uniquely privileged status, but the faiths are glad to circle their wagons round her against the unbelievers. Each has their own divinely revealed unique truth, often provoking mortal conflict, Muslim v Copt, Catholic v Protestant, Hindu v Muslim or Sunni v Shia. But suddenly the believers are united in defence against the secular, willing to suspend the supremacy of their own prophets to agree that any religion, however alien, from elephant god to son of God, is better than none.

They can all feel their victimhood now, facing what Baroness Warsi called a rising tide of "militant secularisation" reminiscent of "totalitarian regimes". Warsi on the warpath headed a delegation to the Vatican of six ministers, all agreeing the common enemy was not just the secularists but the "liberal elite", too. How the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph loved wallowing in the CofE as victim against the rise of christianophobia, as if the waspish Prof Richard Dawkins had thrown them all to the lions. But in defending religious privilege, they are on their own: Ipsos Mori found 74% of Christians consider religion should be a private matter and should not influence public policy, so even most Christians are secularists. For Cameron, Lady Warsi may be a useful canary-testing if American flag-and-faith culture wars might fly over here. Mercifully, every poll shows the answer is no. The CofE is no longer the Tory party at prayer: polls show its pews filled mainly with the liberal-minded.

The prefix "aggressive" or "militant" is now super-glued to the word "secularist", but as president of the British Humanist Association and honorary associate of the National Secular Society, I find nothing extreme about trying to keep religion separate from the state. Aggressive? You should see this week's "burn in hell" messages to the BHA attacking "that spastic Hawking who denies God", and many more obscene unprintables.

I will defend to the death anyone's right to practice any faith, if it breaks no law, interferes with nobody's rights nor claims undue public policy influence. Church bells, calls to prayer, displays of crucifixes, beards or side-locks are freedoms, alongside bare midriffs and knicker-short miniskirts. Personally, I am affronted by women in face veils, but that's my problem. I will argue against them but freedom of speech, thought and dress are non-negotiable. But so is the right to robust argument that may offend religious sensibilities, including the right to challenge the improbability of the faith itself – and the right to make jokes.

Read on

TAGGED: POLITICS, RELIGION, SECULARISM, SOCIETY


The Devil, the internet, Richard Dawkins and God - Stephen Bayley - Telegraph blogs

alt text
Richard Dawkins: fanatic

Who is to say that the internet is not the Devil's work? It daily corrupts the concentration of billions: idle hands are very welcome in cyberspace. Wanton flesh and dishonest money are its staple items of trade. It immerses us in a seething babel of irrelevance, promises sociability while creating alienation and, so far from being "clean", has destructively enlarged global demand for electricity. And if you want more evidence of Satan at work, just look at the agents he has hired to do his work. What is it about computer professionals that discourages dissimulation? My current adviser says he is a property developer and his predecessors were really geneticists and musicians. Mephistopheles comes camouflaged.

Which, talking of dissimulation, brings me to Richard Dawkins, a fanatic disguised as a scientist. And surely, in the powerful counterproductive sway of his noisy arguments, proof of the existence of God?

Read on

TAGGED: ATHEISM, COMMENTARY, RICHARD DAWKINS


Faith rules 'end at temple door', equalities chief says - - - BBC News

Christians who argue they should be exempt from equality laws are no different from Muslims who want to impose sharia law in the UK, human rights chief Trevor Phillips has said.

He told a debate religious rules should lose sway "at the door of the temple".

alt text
Trevor Phillips is chairman of government body the Equality and Human Rights Commission

Christian adoption agencies and hotel owners have fought legal battles against rules requiring them to treat gay and straight people equally.

But Mr Phillips said those who provide a public service must abide by the law.

Catholic adoption agencies have objected to legislation which requires them not to discriminate between gay and straight couples on the grounds of sexuality when considering applications.

Last year, after a High Court case, the Charity Commission refused to grant an exemption for one Leeds-based agency, Catholic Care.

Disputes have also arisen where Christian bed and breakfast owners have turned away gay couples and subsequently been ordered to pay damages.

Mr Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, was speaking at a debate organised by the Religion and Society Research Programme.

Asked about conflicts between religion and equalities, he said: "The law stops at the door of the temple as far as I'm concerned.

"Once you start to provide public services that have to be run under public rules, for example child protection, then you have to go with public law.

"Institutions have to make a decision whether they want to do that or they don't want to do that, but you can't say 'because we decide we're different then we need a different set of laws'."

Read on

TAGGED: LAW, RELIGION, SECULARISM, SOCIETY


Muslims in Wales pass on their faith at higher rates than other religions

"The Cardiff University study, published online today in the journal Sociology, says that the proportion of adult Muslims actively practising the faith they were brought up in as children was 77%. That compares with 29% of Christians and 65% of other religions.

The study also found that 98% of Muslim children surveyed said they had the religion their parents were brought up in, compared with 62% of Christians and 89% of other religions.

The team analysed data from the Home Office’s 2003 Citizenship Survey data, using 13,988 replies from adults and 1,278 from young people aged 11 to 15.

[...]

Home Office statistics show that 74% of people in Wales are Christians but that only 7% of those attend church."


Walesonline.co.uk, Feb 13 2012 (Found via Islam in Europe)
Talk about "good and bad news"! The downside of such a study is that many people who identify as Christians, but don't give a toss about religion in their daily life, will suddenly feel the urge to compete with the muslims. Instead of embracing our secular future, they may turn around and cling to the past only because the Muslims do it.
On the other hand, 27% apostates within Islam is not a bad number considering how Islam is portrayed.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Queen highlights Church of England's duty to all faiths - - - BBC News

alt text
The Queen spoke to the Archbishop of Canterbury, right, and the Catholic Church's Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor

The Queen has spoken of her belief that the Church of England has "a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths" in the UK.

In a speech at London's Lambeth Palace, she argued the Church's role was not to "defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions".

She added the concept of an established Church was "occasionally misunderstood" and "commonly under-appreciated".

The Queen was accompanied by Prince Philip at the multi-faith reception.

The royal couple were greeted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, before meeting representatives of the Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian communities, as well as Christian representatives.

They each presented a treasured object or text of importance to their faith.

The reception was one of the Queen's first public engagements to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee year.

Addressing the gathering, the Queen said the Church of England had "gently and assuredly" created an environment for other faith communities and people of no faith to live freely.

"Woven into the fabric of this country, the Church has helped to build a better society - more and more in active co-operation for the common good with those of other faiths."

Read on and view video

TAGGED: RELIGION, SOCIETY


So Britain's a Christian Nation? - - - RichardDawkins.net

Richard Dawkins: 2 live TV appearances...

- - RichardDawkins.net

  1. Sky News at 3.30 pm GMT

  2. BBC Newsnight beginning at 10.30 pm GMT.

RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #2: UK...

Paula Kirby/RDFRS UK -...

PART 2: Results of an RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI poll into the religious and social attitudes of adults recorded as Christian in the 2011 UK Census

RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #1: How...

Paula Kirby/RDFRS UK -...

PART 1: Results of an RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI poll into the religious and social attitudes of adults recorded as Christian in the 2011 UK Census

Britain being overtaken by 'militant...

Robert Winnett - The Telegraph

British society is under threat from the rising tide of “militant secularisation” reminiscent of “totalitarian regimes”, a Cabinet minister will warn on Tuesday.

Council prayers ruling starts national...

National Secular Society -...

It appears our success at the High Court has started a national conversation about secularism – and that can only be a good thing. When there is a comment facility available under these attacks, the popular opinion is overwhelmingly in our favour.



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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Poll reveals majority of UK Christians support secular outlook

"Results of a poll carried out by Ipsos MORI for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK) show that UK Christians are overwhelmingly secular in their attitudes on a wide range of issues.

[...]

The poll revealed that, on balance, significantly more Christians:

    agree that the law should apply equally to everyone, regardless of their religion or belief (92% v 2%)
    oppose religion having special influence on public policy (74% v 12%)
    oppose the UK having an official state religion (46% v 32%)
    oppose seats being reserved for Church of England bishops in the House of Lords (32% v 25%)
    support the costs of hospital chaplains being met by the chaplain's religious organisation rather than from NHS budgets (39% v 32%)
    want state-funded schools to teach knowledge about the world's main faiths even-handedly, rather than inculcate beliefs (57% v 15% solely Christian inculcation or 8% inculcate other school faith)
    approve of sexual relations between two adults of the same sex than do not (46% v 29%)
    approve of an adult woman's right to have an abortion within the legal time limit (62% v 20%)
    support the legalisation of assisted suicide in the case of terminally ill adult patients with safeguards (59% v 21%)"

National Secular Society, 14 Feb 2012
See lengthy press releases with lots more numbers here:
RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #1: How religious are UK Christians?
RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #2: UK Christians oppose special influence for religion in public policy

Here are the full results of the poll (PDF)

See also:
"The kind of conservative religious aggression that claims 'anti-Christian discrimination' every time Christians are asked to treat others fairly and equally in the public square is a threatened response to the loss of top-down religion's social power. So is overbearing 'Christian nation' rhetoric, and the 'culture wars' that some hardline believers and non-believers may seek to launch and win against each other.

[...]

"Likewise, Richard Dawkins may not be a subtle, unbiased or persuasive analyst of religion overall, but it would be entirely unhelpful for believers to dismiss this survey because they disagree with its commissioner in other respects. Its content evidently needs further and deeper analysis, alongside other data, than the initial response to it has allowed."



Ekklesia (Christian think-tank)

Daily Telegraph: Christians don't want religion to 'influence public life'



Evaluating God

"While many polls have asked what Americans’ beliefs are about God, there has been little measurement of voters’ evaluation of its performance."


Publicpolicypolling.com, July 22, 2011

Old poll, but I just found it in a recent grumpy TownHall.com commentary which neglected to include a source nor a date. Anyway, fairly interesting to see all the "not sure" answers. No doubt many of them were also unsure whether or not to dare say they were unsure.  Here are the results (PDF)


"Q7 If God exists, do you approve or disapprove of its performance?
Approve ............. 52%
Disapprove......... 9%
Not sure ............. 40%
Q8 If God exists, do you approve or disapprove of its handling of natural disasters?
Approve ............. 50%
Disapprove......... 13%
Not sure ............. 37%
Q9 If God exists, do you approve or disapprove of its handling of animals?
Approve ............. 56%
Disapprove......... 11%
Not sure ............. 33%
Q10 If God exists, do you approve or disapprove of its handling of creating the universe?
Approve ............. 71%
Disapprove......... 5%
Not sure ............. 24%"

Richard Dawkins: 2 live TV appearances later today - - - RichardDawkins.net

RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #2: UK...

Paula Kirby/RDFRS UK -...

PART 2: Results of an RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI poll into the religious and social attitudes of adults recorded as Christian in the 2011 UK Census

RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #1: How...

Paula Kirby/RDFRS UK -...

PART 1: Results of an RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI poll into the religious and social attitudes of adults recorded as Christian in the 2011 UK Census

Britain being overtaken by 'militant...

Robert Winnett - The Telegraph

British society is under threat from the rising tide of “militant secularisation” reminiscent of “totalitarian regimes”, a Cabinet minister will warn on Tuesday.

Council prayers ruling starts national...

National Secular Society -...

It appears our success at the High Court has started a national conversation about secularism – and that can only be a good thing. When there is a comment facility available under these attacks, the popular opinion is overwhelmingly in our favour.

Turkey PM sparks furor by saying he...

Fulya Ozerkan - National Post

“We want to raise a religious youth,” said Erdogan, himself a graduate of a clerical school and the leader of the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), during a parliamentary address last week.

UK Christian leaders warn religion is...

Reuters staff - Reuters

Bishop Langrish of Exeter said Britain remained a religious nation. “Every time there is a survey of religious beliefs in this country, around 70 percent of the population profess religious faith and will also talk about saying private prayers. We are actually talking about something that still accords with the mood and the outlook of the majority.”

Monday, February 13, 2012

Richard on BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 8.30 a.m. GMT, Tues 14 Feb - - - RD.net

ARCHBISHOP TAKES ON ATHEIST DAWKINS

- - EXPRESS.co.uk

The Archbishop of Canterbury and atheist Professor Richard Dawkins are set to go head to head to discuss man's greatest question.

Fri. Feb10, 1pm EST - Rebroadcast of...

- - Simon & Schuster

Fri. Feb10, 1pm EST (GMT-5) - Rebroadcast of Lawrence Krauss/Richard Dawkins ASU event - Lawrence Krauss will answer questions live after the broacast

Dawkins made it to my Sociology class

Omer Kamal Bin Farooq - The Express...

[That documentary] allows us to think out of the comfortable narrative that has been concocted for us by the state and its right-wing allies. Watching it allows us to digest opinions wildly diverse from ours and still give them their due consideration and appreciation. This is what made me happy.

Something from nothing? A conversation...

ASU Origins Project - RDFRS


Something from nothing? A conversation with Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawkins

In Defense of Richard Dawkins

Christopher Hitchens - Free Inquiry

Why should he sit still and see a valued and precious discipline being insulted, even threatened with not being taught?

Britain being overtaken by 'militant secularists', says Baroness Warsi - Robert Winnett - The Telegraph

alt text
In the speech, Baroness Warsi, the country’s first female Muslim Cabinet minister, is expected to draw strongly on her background to illustrate the importance of religion. Photo: Paul Grover

In an historic visit to the Vatican, Baroness Warsi will express her “fear” about the marginalisation of religion throughout Britain and Europe, saying that faith needs “a seat at the table in public life”.

In an article for The Daily Telegraph, the Cabinet Office minister says that to create a “more just society” Britons must “feel stronger in their religious identities”.

The minister, who is also chairman of the Conservative Party, says: “My fear today is that a militant secularisation is taking hold of our societies. We see it in any number of things: when signs of religion cannot be displayed or worn in government buildings; and where religion is sidelined, marginalised and downgraded in the public sphere.

“For me, one of the most worrying aspects about this militant secularisation is that at its core and in its instincts it is deeply intolerant. It demonstrates similar traits to totalitarian regimes – denying people the right to a religious identity because they were frightened of the concept of multiple identities.”

Baroness Warsi leads an unprecedented government delegation to the Vatican where she will be received by Pope Benedict for a private audience on Wednesday.

She will be the first foreign minister to deliver an address to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains Papal diplomats, and the party will stay in the Santa Marta, an official residence in the Vatican for visiting cardinals.

The visit, to mark the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of full diplomatic ties between Britain and the Vatican, follows the Pope’s successful visit to Britain in 2010 when he is said to have been impressed by the Government’s outspoken defence of the importance of religion in public life.

The speech represents one of the most strident defences of the importance of religion by a serving British minister. It comes days after the High Court ruled that local councils could not hold prayers during meetings. There have also been recent cases of public sector workers being banned from displaying Christian symbols at work.

David Cameron welcomed the visit. He said: “Our relationship with the Holy See is an important one and it speaks powerfully of the positive contribution faith can make to all societies.

“Sayeeda Warsi has consistently made the case for a deeper understanding of faith by the British Government so I am delighted that she will be taking this message to the Vatican personally.”

Read on

TAGGED: POLITICS, RELIGION, SECULARISM


In the Spirit: Some florists won't deliver to atheist - Doug Erickson - Wisconsin State Journal

It seemed like such a simple transaction.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison wanted to send a bouquet of roses to Jessica Ahlquist, a 16-year-old atheist in Cranston, R.I., who had just won a court battle with her school district over a Christian prayer banner.

The foundation quickly learned there are some things you can't say with flowers, at least not in Cranston.

Four floral shops declined to deliver flowers to the teen, according to the foundation. The foundation now has filed complaints against two of the stores with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights, alleging illegal discrimination based on religion.

"I'm totally flummoxed," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, foundation co-president. "I couldn't believe the florists would treat a teenager this way." Ahlquist was the plaintiff in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against Cranston West High School. At issue was an 8-foot-tall banner in the school gym titled "School Prayer." It begins "Our Heavenly Father" and ends with "Amen."

A federal judge ruled in mid-January the prayer's presence violated the principle of government neutrality in religion and was therefore unconstitutional. A week later, Gaylor sought to send flowers to Ahlquist.

The first floral shop contacted in Cranston said it would be closed on the requested delivery day, which was a Wednesday, Gaylor said. A second Cranston shop, Twins Florist, sent a message saying, "I will not deliver to this person," Gaylor said.
Read more

TAGGED: ATHEISM


RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #1: How religious are UK Christians? - Paula Kirby/RDFRS UK - RichardDawkins.net

We are posting below the text of the first of two Press Releases that have been issued by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK) today, revealing the results from a major national survey of the religious and social attitudes of UK Christians.

RDFRS UK commissioned Ipsos MORI to carry out the research in the week immediately following the 2011 UK Census. It explored in depth the extent to which adults recorded as Christian in the 2011 UK Census (or who would have been recorded as Christian, if they had answered the question) believe, know about, practise and are influenced by Christianity, as well as their reasons for having described themselves as Christian in the Census.

Why did we commission this research?

The number of people selecting 'Christian' on Census forms has traditionally been rather high (in 2001 it was 72%), and this percentage has regularly been seized on by those trying to justify or increase religious influence in public life. Clergy, politicians and Christian lobbyists love to use such results to declare that the UK is a Christian nation and imply that there is therefore popular support for Christian influence in public life and hostility to secularism. Whether the topic is the automatic places for Church of England Bishops in the House of Lords, or the provision of hospital chaplains from NHS budgets, or the continued legal requirement for all pupils in state schools in England and Wales to take part in a daily act of 'broadly Christian worship', the invariable refrain is, 'But these things are appropriate because Britain is a Christian country!'

Indeed, just last Friday, in the wake of the court decision on the question of Council Prayers, the Bishop of Exeter claimed, right on cue:

Every time there is a survey of religious beliefs in this country, around 70 percent of the population profess religious faith and will also talk about saying private prayers. We are actually talking about something that still accords with the mood and the outlook of the majority.

Our research shows otherwise.

Not only has the number of UK adults calling themselves Christian dropped dramatically since the 2001 Census – our research suggests that it is now only 54% – even those who still think of themselves as Christian show very low levels of religious commitment:

• Only about a third of what we shall call 'Census-Christians' cited religious beliefs as the reason they had ticked the Christian box in the 2011 Census

• 37% of them have never or almost never prayed outside a church service

• Asked where they seek most guidance in questions of right and wrong, only 10% of Census-Christians said it was from religious teachings or beliefs

• Just a third (32%) believe Jesus was physically resurrected; half (49%) do not think of him as the Son of God

• And when given 4 books of the Bible to select from and asked which was the first book of the New Testament, only 35% could identify Matthew as the correct answer.

And there's much, much more!

Remember: these percentages do not refer to the population as a whole, but to those who self-identified as Christian in the 2011 Census (or who would have done so, had they answered the question). So: only 54% of the population say they are Christian, and of these, only 35% could correctly identify the first book of the New Testament.

Even more significantly, our research revealed overwhelming opposition to religious influence in public life - but we cover that in Press Release 2, which is being posted in a separate thread.

But didn't we know all this already?

We suspected it. Recent Social Attitudes Surveys have implied it, simply because the attitudes of the population as a whole are so strongly secular. But suspecting it is not the same as evidence. Pro-religious lobbyists regularly make assumptions that the people shown as Christian in the Census support them and their agendas. We haven't made any assumptions at all. We identified people shown as Christian in the 2011 Census and asked them about their beliefs and attitudes. And they told us. And the results are even clearer – and even more devastating for the pro-religious lobbyists – than we had dared to hope.

This research, commissioned by RDFRS UK, gives us the clearest picture yet of the beliefs and attitudes of UK Christians in 2011. Hard evidence. Independently produced by one of the most reputable names in opinion polling.


RDFRS UK Press Release 1:
14 February 2012
Only 1 in 10 UK Christians seeks moral guidance from religion

UK residents who think of themselves as Christian show very low levels of Christian belief and practice, according to new research.

A poll carried out by Ipsos MORI for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK) in the week after the 2011 Census focused on the beliefs, attitudes and practices of UK adults who say they were recorded as Christian in the 2011 Census (or would have recorded themselves as Christian had they answered the question).

When asked why they think of themselves as Christian, the research found that fewer than three in ten (28%) say one of the reasons is that they believe in the teachings of Christianity.

People are much more likely to consider themselves to be Christian because they were christened or baptised into the religion (72%) or because their parents were members of the religion (38%) than because of personal belief.

As many as half (50%) do not think of themselves as religious and less than a third (30%) claim to have strong religious beliefs.

Indeed, many Christian practices, including regular reading of the Bible and prayer outside church services, appear to be unsupported amongst respondents self-identifying as Christian:

• One in six (15%) admits to having never read the Bible outside a church service, with a further one in three (36%) not having done so in the previous three years;

• The majority (60%) have not read any part of the Bible, independently and from choice, for at least a year;

• Around two thirds (64%) were not able to identify Matthew as the first book of the New Testament, when given only four answers to choose from;

• Over a third (37%) have never or almost never prayed outside a church service, with a further 6% saying they pray independently and from choice less than once a year; and

• Only a quarter (26%) say they completely believe in the power of prayer, with one in five (21%) saying they either do not really believe in it or do not believe in it at all.

At the same time, many who self-identify as Christian hold beliefs that some churches would consider to be incompatible with traditional Christian teaching, such as astrology and reincarnation (27% in each case), ghosts (36%) and fate (64%).

The low level of religious belief and practice among those calling themselves Christian is reflected in church attendance. Apart from special occasions such as weddings, funerals and baptisms, half (49%) had not attended a church service in the previous 12 months. One in six (16%) have not attended for more than ten years, and a further one in eight (12%) have never attended at all.

Fewer than half (44%) of the self-identifying Christians had participated in any non-church-based religious activity, such as watching or listening to a religious service on TV, radio or the internet, in the previous year.

Asked why they had been recorded as Christian in the 2011 Census, only three in ten (31%) said it was because they genuinely try to follow the Christian religion, with four in ten (41%) saying it was because they try to be a good person and associate that with Christianity.

But when asked where they seek most guidance in questions of right and wrong, only one in ten (10%) said it was from religious teachings or beliefs, with over half (54%) preferring to draw on their own inner moral sense.

Only half (54%) of the self-identifying Christians describe their view of God in Christian terms, with the others using the term in the sense of the laws of nature (13%), some form of supernatural intelligence (10%), or whatever caused the universe (9%). Six per cent do not believe in God at all.

Just a third (32%) believe Jesus was physically resurrected, with one in five (18%) not believing in the resurrection even in a spiritual sense; half (49%) do not think of Jesus as the Son of God, with one in twenty-five (4%) doubting he existed at all.

Asked to select which one statement best describes what being a Christian means to them personally, 40% chose 'I try to be a good person' and around a quarter (26%) chose ‘It's how I was brought up'. Around one in six (16%) selected the statement ‘I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour' and less than one in ten (7%) chose 'I believe in the teachings of Jesus'.

Overall, the findings suggest that the number of UK adults self-identifying as Christian has fallen significantly since the 2001 Census. This research found that at the time of the 2011 Census, just over half (54%) the public thought of themselves as Christian, compared with almost three-quarters (72%) in the 2001 Census.

Welcoming the findings of the research, Richard Dawkins said:

"Despite the best efforts of church leaders and politicians to convince us that religion is still an important part of our national life, these results demonstrate that it is largely irrelevant, even to those who still label themselves Christian.

“When it comes to belief, practice or even the most elementary knowledge of the Bible, it is clear that faith is a spent force in the UK, and it is time our policy-makers woke up to that reality and stopped trying to impose beliefs on society that society itself has largely rejected.

“In the past, there have often been attempts to use the Christian figure in the Census to justify basing policy on the claim that faith is important to the British people. This time, any attempt to do so will clearly be inexcusable."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK) is a registered charity which promotes rationalism, humanism and science in a quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.

  2. Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative sample of 2,107 adults aged 15+ across the United Kingdom. From this sample, a total of 1,136 adults defined themselves as Christians. Interviews were conducted face-to-face over the period 1st April to 7th April, 2011. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.

  3. A copy of the data relating to this Press Release may be found here.

  4. Richard Dawkins will be available for press interviews on 14, 15 and 16 February 2012

For further information contact: Paula Kirby E: paulakirby@richarddawkins.net

TAGGED: ANNOUNCEMENTS, RELIGION, SECULARISM, SOCIETY


RDFRS UK/Ipsos MORI Poll #2: UK Christians oppose special influence for religion in public policy - Paula Kirby/RDFRS UK - RichardDawkins.net

We are posting below the text of the second of two Press Releases that have been issued by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK) today, revealing the results from a major national survey of the religious and social attitudes of UK Christians.

RDFRS UK commissioned Ipsos MORI to carry out the research in the week immediately following the 2011 UK Census. It explored in depth the extent to which adults recorded as Christian in the 2011 UK Census (or who would have been recorded as Christian, if they had answered the question) believe, know about, practise and are influenced by Christianity, as well as their reasons for having described themselves as Christian in the Census.

For Press Release 1 and the full background to this research please click here.

Press Release 1 dealt with questions of religious belief and practice among UK adults recorded as Christian in the 2011 Census, and revealed very low levels of both.

Press Release 2, which focuses on UK Christians' attitudes to social issues, including the role of religion in public life, is even more dramatic.

It shows that most UK Christians have very little in common with the Christian lobbyists claiming to speak on their behalf. The constant calls from Christian lobby groups to deny full rights to gays, to grant Christians exemption from certain laws, to outlaw abortion, to maintain privileged access to political influence and generally to put Christianity at the heart of UK public life simply do not reflect the views and wishes of the majority of UK Christians.

On the contrary, our findings show that the majority of UK Christians share the secular, liberal, humane values that are the hallmark of a modern, decent society.

This won't come as a surprise to most Christians reading these results, I suspect, nor to those of us who count liberal Christians among our friends, families and colleagues.

But it may come as a shock to certain politicians who seem to have bought into the idea that there are votes to be gained in 'doing God'. These results show quite categorically that there are not.

From now on, whenever a clergyman, politician or religious lobbyist tries to claim that the UK is Christian and that religion should therefore have protected status in our public life, we will be able to point to these results and show that not even UK Christians support their view.


RDFRS UK Press Release #2
14 February 2012

UK Christians: "Religion should not have special influence on public policy"

UK Christians are overwhelmingly secular in their attitudes on a range of issues from gay rights to religion in public life, according to new research.

In the week following the 2011 Census, Ipsos MORI conducted a UK-wide survey on behalf of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK), exploring the beliefs, knowledge and attitudes of people who say they were listed as Christian in the Census (or who would have been if they had answered the question).

Religion and government

Three quarters (74%) strongly agree or tend to agree that religion should not have special influence on public policy, with only one in eight (12%) thinking that it should.

Just 2% of respondents disagree with the statement that the law should apply to everyone equally, regardless of their personal religious beliefs, with 92% supporting it.

More oppose than support the idea of the UK having an official state religion, with nearly half (46%) against and only a third (32%) in favour. The same pattern is repeated with the question of seats being reserved for Church of England bishops in the House of Lords: 32% of respondents oppose, with only 25% in favour.

There is overwhelming support for religion being a private, not public, matter. Asked how strongly they support the statement that governments should not interfere in religion, 79% strongly agree or tend to agree, with only 8% strongly disagreeing or tending to disagree.

Four in ten Christians (39%) oppose the costs of hospital chaplains being met from NHS budgets rather than by the chaplain's religious organisation, with only a third (32%) happy for the NHS to pay.

Eight out of ten (78%) say Christianity would have no, or not very much, influence on how they vote in General Elections, with only 16% saying it would influence them a great deal (4%) or a fair amount (12%).

Education

While Christians are more likely to support than oppose state-funded faith schools, this support is reduced when non-Christian faiths schools are included. Less than half (45%) support state-funded faith schools for any religion, whether Christian or non-Christian, while just over half (53%) are in favour of state-funded schools for any Christian denomination.

Less than a quarter (23%) think religious education in state-funded schools should teach pupils to believe in a religion: 15% think it should teach pupils to believe in Christianity and 8% to believe whatever faith the school subscribes to. Most (57%) think state-funded schools should teach knowledge about the world’s main faiths even-handedly, without any bias towards any particular religion, and without trying to inculcate belief.

More Christians oppose (38%) than support (31%) the teaching of 6-day creationism in state-funded school science lessons.

The current law in England and Wales requiring state schools to hold a daily act of broadly Christian worship is not strongly supported either, with almost as many Christians opposed to it (36%) as in favour (39%).

Relationships

Six in ten respondents (61%) agree that homosexuals should have the same legal rights in all aspects of their lives as heterosexuals, and those who disapprove of sexual relations between two adults of the same sex (29%) are greatly outnumbered by those who do not (46%).

Less than a quarter (23%) believe that sex between a man and a woman is only acceptable within marriage.

Abortion

There is strong support for an adult woman’s right to have an abortion within the legal time limit, with more than three in five (62%) in favour and only one in five (20%) against.

Assisted suicide

Three in five (59%) Christians support the legalisation of assisted suicide in the case of terminally ill adult patients where certain safeguards are in place, with only one in five (21%) opposing it.

Life choices

Despite the fact that 60% of respondents claim that Christianity is very or fairly important in their lives, this does not appear to be strongly reflected in practice. Seven in ten (69%) say that Christianity has had, or would have, no or not very much influence in their choice of marriage partner, and even more (81%) say it has no or not very much influence on whom they socialise with.

Commenting on the results of the research, Richard Dawkins said:

"In recent years Christian campaign groups have become increasingly vocal. Whether demanding special rights for Christians to be exempted from equalities legislation, strenuously opposing all attempts to review the law on assisted suicide, or campaigning against further social advances such as equal rights for gay people to marry, it is now clear that they are completely out of step, not just with the population as a whole, but also with a significant majority of Christians.

"Britain is a secular society, with secular, humane values. There is overwhelming support for these values, even among those who think of themselves as Christian. Just as importantly, there is also deep opposition to the state promoting religion in our society. When even Christians overwhelmingly oppose the intermingling of religion and state policy, it is clearly time for the government to stop 'doing God'."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK) is a registered charity which promotes rationalism, humanism and science in a quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.

  2. Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative sample of 2,107 adults aged 15+ across the United Kingdom. From this sample, a total of 1,136 adults defined themselves as Christians. Interviews were conducted face-to-face over the period 1st April and 7th April, 2011. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.

  3. A copy of the data relating to this press release may be found here

  4. Richard Dawkins will be available for press interviews on 14, 15 and 16 February 2012

For further information contact: Paula Kirby
E: paulakirby@richarddawkins.net

TAGGED: ANNOUNCEMENTS, RELIGION, SECULARISM, SOCIETY




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