Category Archives: Atheism

In his piece No afterlife (August 5), John Guillaumier seems to suffer from tunnel vision in all matters of the ultimate questions of being human. He is so convinced of his intellectual superiority he is incapable of reflecting deeply on survival after death, a subtle and complicated issue.

According to Immanuel Kant, the ultimate questions combine all the interests of human reason. What can I know? sums up the questions about truth. What I ought to do questions the norm. What may I hope questions the meaning.

One thing can be conceded to atheists of substance. It is possible to deny God, to deny the afterlife. Atheism cannot be refuted rationally. In The Christian Challenge, Hans Kung states: It is the experience of the radical uncertainty of every reality which provides atheism with sufficient grounds for maintaining that reality has absolutely no primal reason, no primal support or primal goal.

On the other hand, according to the same author, atheism is also incapable of positively excluding the other alternative: as it is possible to deny Him, so it is also possible to affirm God as the primal reason, the primal support and the primal goal of ones existence despite the ambiguities, the injustices, the contradictions of daily living. In essence, belief in God and survival after death is nourished by a substantial basic trust. This ultimate trust in God in no way isolates one from a deep commitment to others, to the environment and to all the fields of human learning.

What is needed is a genuine dialogue between believers in God and level-headed atheists. Atheism must be taken seriously, giving it its due weight to its causes and values. Believers can have more than a little to do with the birth of atheism.

Originally posted here:
The birth of atheism - Times of Malta

Wolfe Tone: in declaring that his republic should comprise Catholic, Protestant and dissenter, he relied heavily on religious denomination. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

It was a strange epiphany in the unlikely setting of the local refuse recycling centre in a small French town.

I was intending to drop off some stuff but was surprised to find the facility locked up even though it was mid-afternoon of a working day. The notice on the gate was unexpected and unapologetic. Ferm pour la fte de lAscension. Closed for the Feast of the Ascension! By order of the mayor. And thats not the end of it. August 15th is a mighty summer festival day when official France will celebrate what, not to put too fine a point on it, is the Feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed Lady into Heaven.

There it is!

France, the proud leader of western European secularism self-confident enough and tolerant enough to take time out to celebrate a Christian feast day without threat to the principles of libert, galit and fraternit.

Contrast that with the precious intolerance of Irish atheists towards the centenary commemoration of the Easter Rising because of the religious connotations of Easter or the devious theists using the ethos lever to discriminate in schools and hospitals. Throw in hospital nativity cribs and the Angelus bells on television and prayers in Leinster House, etc, and it raises the question: where did it all go wrong for us?

In the matter of church and State relationships could we learn something from France?

That little notice at the recycling centre evoked reminiscences from simpler times. Back to those Thursdays in May when our town closed down for Ascension commemorations and Corpus Christi processions. When we were all press-ganged to march in step with the gloved Knights of St Columbanus as they reverently hoisted the canopy over the blessed sacrament while we sang out O Sacrament Most Holy and incense wafted through the air.

So were we infused with zealotry and piety?

Not at all! The religious processions were a cog in the cultural wheel of the year and took their places along with bonfire night, Dingle races and wrens day.

If the intention was to indoctrinate us, then it failed miserably. Most of us spent the following decades fencing against croziers in local matters and battling the church nationally through referendum campaigns.

In the course of a few decades in which our nation has swopped conservatism for liberalism we have segued from oppressive, authoritarian Catholicism to the totalitarianism of proselytising atheism. But whereas we have won important independence of actions and attitudes we are, nonetheless, more polarised than ever and deeply intolerant in matters of belief and religion.

Change was resisted and we are still scarred from the battles we joined to make gains in relation to abortion, religious schools, gay rights, divorce and more, but each those battles further splintered our nation.

Maybe Wolfe Tone got us off on the wrong foot. It is ironic that though separation of church and State is a defining characteristic of a modern republic nonetheless Tone, in declaring that his republic should comprise Catholic, Protestant and dissenter, relied heavily on religious denomination.

In fact, well-intentioned Tones simplistic formula, instead of delivering a tolerance-based solution, left us skewered on a trilemma. Instead of merging the three parts into a harmonious community we managed to splinter the nation politically, socially and culturally. Tones tolerant republicanism was scalpelled by narrow nationalism and self-interest.

The public intellectuals of the day rejected Tones trinity. The Catholic Church was having none of it and screamed One, holy Catholic and apostolic, The Protestants spawned even more dissenters and our report card eventually referenced, inter alia, a polarised community, a partitioned country and an apartheid education service.

In recent times we struggled to inculcate the principles of parity of esteem, mutual understanding and tolerance among and between groups in Northern Ireland and in the Republic, but were further challenged by the reality that Tones formula was rooted in theism.

Theists considered all the available evidence and found God. Atheists looking at the same book of evidence came to the opposite conclusion. The rest of us, the agnostics, sat on the fence around the borders of logic. All would be tolerable were it not for the attempts by various groups to have their beliefs permeate the practices, laws and constitution of our democracy.

Lets turn the page, terminate the current Republic and establish a new Second Irish Republic rebranding Tones narrow Catholic, Protestant and dissenter vision to comprise instead theist, atheist and agnostic citizens who respect and celebrate each others differences.

Lets try the French way of celebrating the festivals with our believing citizens without allowing their religious beliefs to permeate and determine the rules of our society.

Joe OToole is a former senator and president of Ictu

Read the rest here:
Joe O'Toole: Where did it all go wrong for Irish atheists? - Irish Times

Arrawdah comes from a middle-class Muslim-Malay family. Well-travelled and fluent in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, he seems the epitome of the moderate Islam supposedly practised in Malaysia.

But as a closeted atheist, Arrwadah faces family conflict on a regular basis when his parents ask why he does not attend Friday prayers, when he hides his alcohol consumption from his siblings, and when he eats in secret during the holy month of Ramadan.

But recently, he and a group of atheist friends from various religious backgrounds were outed by a photo going viral on social media, and have since become the target of hate from fundamentalist quarters as well as the subject of a government crackdown.

The non-profit group Atheist Republics Malaysian chapter, or Consulate, met in early August for dinner and drinks, and posted a photo with the caption: Atheists from all walks of life came to meet one another, some for the very first time each sharing their stories and forming new friendships that hopefully last a lifetime! We rock!

The photo, which depicted a group of young, casually dressed Malaysians from different ethnic backgrounds, quickly made the rounds online. Shortly thereafter, the government announced a crackdown to determine if any Muslims were involved in the gathering.

In multiracial and largely Muslim Malaysia, apostasy from Islam is a criminal offence in several states and under a proposal to introduce the strict Islamic penal code known as hudud, the penalty would be death.

Although this punishment is not yet enforceable due to restrictions by federal law, apostates can still be slapped with a hefty fine, sent for detention in Islamic rehabilitation centres, jailed and even whipped.

The Islamic Affairs Department is reported to have said that state religious departments can take action against any Muslims suspected of apostasy depending on where the crime takes place. A federal minister in the Prime Ministers Department, Shahidan Kassim, said during a press conference in parliament that atheists should be hunted down vehemently as the constitution of Malaysia did not allow for atheism. He claimed that the cause of atheism was a lack of religious education, and the youths were misled into a new school of thought.

Dr Maszlee Malik, a senior lecturer at the International Islamic University Malaysia, believes the crackdown is a political red herring meant to draw public attention away from real bread-and-butter issues.

These kinds of activities were well-planned to be sensationalised before the election. [The ruling coalition] Barisan Nasional [BN] will stir religious and racial sentiments, and its unfortunate these youths couldnt read the situation. BN just needs more controversial issues so they can prove to majority rural and conservative Malays that they are the real defenders of Islam.

Maszlee predicts the next big issues in the playbook will be LGBT rights, Christianity and then liberalism as long as these fringe groups are vocal or provocative all to sway people from the real issues such as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad [1MDB] corruption scandal, GST [goods and services tax], kleptocracy, the Chinasisation of the economy, corruption and so on.

This was echoed by Dr Ahmad Farouk Mousa, director of the think tank Islamic Renaissance Front, who said that this move, along with other fundamentalist gestures such as allowing unilateral child conversion, was merely to appease hardliners.

This group is a lifeline to the current ruling coalition in the face of massive corruption. As for the government the state really doesnt have any legitimacy to interfere because what these kids are doing is not curtailing any other citizens temporal rights.

Lutheran pastor Rev Dr Sivin Kit, who is also director of the Centre for Religion and Society, raises the same concerns.

The minister really overreacted calling for hunting down people is disproportionate to the event in question. We received more measured, thoughtful reactions from some state muftis, but the political leaders seemed far more invested than the religious ones. We should be more critical of their reaction as opposed to young people posting up pictures Im actually very cautious and guarded about why the political leaders are so excited about this.

For the youths in the photo, the threatened crackdown poses very real risks. Some have been outed to their families and others have gone digitally underground to avoid threatening messages.

For Arrawdah (not his real name), 26, being an atheist in Malaysia and coming from a conservative Muslim family is an exhausting ordeal.

Theocratic laws have done nothing good for us: arresting good people for doing nothing wrong, subjecting them to punishment that wouldnt be carried out to people of different faiths, separating children from their mothers because of a difference of religion, punishing people for their sexual identity or preferences, punishing people for sex. But I think hardest of all is having to live behind a mask every single day, having to lie to your peers, family, and friends day in, day out. Constantly pretending to be someone youre not in front of your loved ones and not letting them know who you really are. Its draining, he said.

The gathering, he said, was just a casual meeting of like-minded friends and the governments reaction was not commensurate with the crime.

Some choose to discuss topics pertaining to religion, and at times human rights issues dominate the conversations. But to be honest, most of us just want to talk about the latest Game of Thrones episode. The government is overreacting, but Im not surprised. Ideas that bring about social progress, that challenge antiquated religious dogma have always been seen as a threat. Ideas like womens suffrage, gender equality and LGBT rights.

Dr Azmi Sharom, an associate professor at University Malayas Law Faculty, said that the authorities mistrust of otherness wasnt restricted to atheism.

The authorities tend to demonise Muslims who do not follow their school of thought. This includes Ahmadiyas and Shias. The insistence of there being only one school of Islamic thought in Malaysia has become part of the public landscape for many years now. So, no, apostates are not being unfairly demonised the Islamic authorities demonise all who disagree with them. They are equal opportunity demonisers.

Atheist Republic founder Armin Navabi said that the Malaysian government had to think long and hard before taking action against people for merely attending a meeting.

Does the Malaysian government really want their image to be put right next to countries like Saudi Arabia? To treat these people like criminals, people who havent harmed anybody? They must surely see how ridiculous that will look to the rest of the civilised world, he said.

Progress comes in small victories, said Arrawdah. The more exposed the public are to our existence, the more attainable that progress becomes.

See the original post here:
Atheism: the latest whipping boy for Malaysia's pre-election politics? - South China Morning Post

Here is a collection of my favorite quotes about atheism and religion. They're in no particular order: "I would challenge anyone here to think of a question upon which we once had a scientific answer, however inadequate, but for which now the best answer is a religious one. Now, you can think of an uncountable number of questions that run the other way, where we once had a religious answer and now the authority of religion has been battered and nullified by science, and by moral progress, and by secular progress generally. And I think thats not an accident." -- Sam Harris

"Why should I allow that same God to tell me how to raise my kids, who had to drown His own?" -- Robert G. Ingersoll

"If god doesn't like the way I live, Let him tell me, not you." -- Unknown

Eskimo: "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?" Priest: "No, not if you did not know." Eskimo: "Then why did you tell me?" -- Annie Dillard, 'Pilgrim at Tinker Creek'

"Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions." -- Frater Ravus

"'I refuse to prove that I exist,' says God, 'for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.'" -- Douglas Adams

"A man without religon is like a fish without a bicycle" -- Unknown

"Without God, life is everything." -- Rev. Ron

"When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Religion." -- Robert M. Pirsig

"Prayer has no place in the public schools, just like facts have no place in organized religion." -- Superintendent Chalmers, The Simpsons

"Deaths in the Bible. God - 2,270,365 not including the victims of Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the many plagues, famines, fiery serpents, etc because no specific numbers were given. Satan - 10" -- Unknown

"The essence of Christianity is told us in the Garden of Eden history. The fruit that was forbidden was on the tree of knowledge. The subtext is, All the suffering you have is because you wanted to find out what was going on." -- Frank Zappa

"The Christian god makes man human, then burns him when he acts like one." -- HSM

"Blasphemy is a victimless crime" -- Anonymous

"Why would some all powerful being create creatures capable of reason and then demand that they act in a manner contrary to their creation?" -- Josh Charles

"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world." -- Richard Dawkins

"Do I think Im going to paradise? Of course not; I wouldnt go if I was asked. I dont want to live in some fucking celestial North Korea, for one thing, where all I get to do is praise the Dear Leader from dawn till dusk. I dont want this; it would be hell for me." -- Christopher Hitchens

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? -- Epicurus

"It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living." - Sinclair Lewis

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -- Stephen Henry Roberts

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." -- Blaise Pascal

"Blind faith is an ironic gift to return to the Creator of human intelligence." -- Anonymous

"If God wants us to do a thing he should make his wishes sufficiently clear. Sensible people will wait till he has done this before paying much attention to him." -- Samuel Butler

"I cannot believe in a God who has neither humor nor common sense." -- W. Somerset Maugham

"Question: How do you know you're God? Answer: Simple. When I pray to him, I find I'm talking to myself." -- Peter O'Toole

"Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?" -- James Madison

"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." -- George Bernard Shaw

"Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life -- except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men for surrendering our 'godly gift' of reason when we cross their mental thresholds?" -- Christopher Hitchens

"If this is your God, he's not very impressive. He has so many psychological problems; he's so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He's a pretty poor excuse for a Supreme Being." -- Gene Roddenberry

"Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nation, in order to deny the fact of death, which is the only fact we have." -- James Baldwin

"I would believe any religion that could prove it had existed since the beginning of the world. But when I see Socrates, Plato, Moses, and Mohammed I do not think there is such a one. All religions owe their origin to man." -- Napoleon Bonaparte

"The existence of a world without God seems to me less absurd than the presence of a God, existing in all of his perfection, creating imperfect man in order to make him run the risk of Hell." -- Armand Salacrou

"It is an insult to God to believe in God. For on the one hand it is to suppose that he has perpetrated acts of incalculable cruelty. On the other, it is to suppose that he has perversely given his human creatures an instrument -- their intellect -- which must inevitably lead them, if they are dispassionate and honest, to deny his existence. It is tempting to conclude that if he exists, it is the atheists and agnostics that he loves best, among those with any pretensions to education. For they are the ones who have taken him most seriously." -- Galen Strawson

"The Way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason." -- Benjamin Franklin

"Once miracles are admitted, every scientific explanation is out of the question." -- Johannes Kepler

"None of the miracles with which ancient histories are filled, occurred under scientific conditions. Observation never once contradicted, teaches us that miracles occur only in periods and countries in which they are believed in and before persons disposed to believe in them." -- Ernest Renan

"Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from its readiness to fit in with our instinctual wishful impulses." -- Sigmund Freud

"Only the atheist realizes how morally objectionable it is for survivors of a catastrophe to believe themselves spared by a loving God while this same God drowned infants in their cribs." -- Sam Harris

"If he is infinitely good, what reason should we have to fear him? If he is infinitely wise, why should we have doubts concerning our future? If he knows all, why warn him of our needs and fatigue him with our prayers? If he is everywhere, why erect temples to him?" -- Percy Bysshe Shelley

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" -- Douglas Adams

"Why should I fear death? If I am, death is not. If death is, I am not. Why should I fear that which cannot exist when I do?" -- Epicurus

"Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned." -- Anonymous

"You believe in a book which has talking animals, wizards, witches, demons, sticks turning into snakes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water, and all sorts of magical, absurd, and primitive stories; and you say that I am the one who is mentally ill?" -- Dan Barker

"The continually progressive change to which the meaning of words is subject, the want of a universal language which renders translation necessary, the errors to which translations are again subject, the mistakes of copyists and printers, together with the possibility of willful alteration, are themselves evidences that human language, whether in speech or print, cannot be the vehicle of the Word of God." -- Thomas Paine

"As to the book called the Bible, it is blasphemy to call it the word of God. It is a book of lies and contradictions, and a history of bad times and bad men. There are but a few good characters in the whole book." -- Thomas Paine

"One's convictions should be proportional to one's evidence." -- Sam Harris

"Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion, and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish." -- Anonymous

"A faith which cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets." -- Arthur C. Clarke

"The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer." -- Anonymous

"Wherever morality is based on theology, wherever the right is made dependent on divine authority, the most immoral, unjust, infamous things can be justified and established." -- Ludwig Feuerbach

"I cannot see why we should expect an infinite God to do better in another world than he does in this." -- Robert G. Ingersoll

Is your favorite quote missing from here? E-mail it to atheistapologist@gmail.com and I'll add it!

See the original post here:
Atheist Apologist: My Favorite Atheism Quotes

KUALA LUMPUR: Some Malay atheists in Malaysia are worried and fearful in recent days there was a call by a minister to track them down while a Muslim cleric issued a reminder that the penalty for apostasy under Islam is death.

I am worried. I have already accepted that something might happen to me that I might be killed, Halim (not his real name), told Channel NewsAsia.

I say this because I see how extreme people have become, how my Facebook friends (could) turn into real-life threats for me with their comments that it is halal (permitted) to kill atheists, apostates how eager they are to kill to gain merits in heaven, he said.

Another self-professed atheist, Chaidir (not his real name), expressed worry for his friends who are less fortunate. I worry for them because they are poor and have no connections. That makes them so much more vulnerable. At least for me, I come from the middle class and have more access to help, he said.

According to Chaidir, he still fasts during the holy month of Ramadan when he is with his parents as he does not want them to know he is an atheist.

Both Halim and Chaidir stressed that they do not preach their atheist beliefs to anyone. A persons belief is a private matter. We dont believe in proselytising what we believe in, said Halim.

On Tuesday (Aug 8), Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Shahidan Kassim said the government should track down atheists. I suggest we track them down and identify each of them. After that, we have to bring them back to the right path, he said. This is a religious country. We have Islam, we have other religions - Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism - there is no one without a religion."

The Negri Sembilan state Mufti Mohd Yusof Ahmad was quoted by Malay daily Sinar Harian as saying Islam prescribes death against Muslims who leave the religion for atheism, if they are stubborn and refuse to repent.

However, he conceded that Shariah courts in the country cannot implement such punishments, and said religious authorities must then redouble their efforts to curb the spread of atheism.

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Mohamed Nur Jazlan told Channel NewsAsias Sumisha Naidu that the issue needs to be handled with care. "Apostasy is a matter that I think would need to be dealt with care," said Nur Jazlan.

Asked whether there will be a campaign against atheists, he said: "I wouldn't encourage it."

Analysts expressed concern over the calls to hunt down atheists.

Unfortunately the minister's comments reflect a steadily growing intolerance within the Malay community over religious matters, Professor Zachary Abuza of the National War College in Washington DC told Channel NewsAsia.

This was a reflection that many see Malaysia's ethnic and religious minorities as a roadblock to the full implementation of sharia law (in the country), said Prof Abuza, who specialises in Southeast Asia politics and security.

Malaysia isn't the moderate state that it used to be. There have been profound societal changes, and minorities should be very concerned, Prof Abuza added.

Counter-terrorism expert and Islamic scholar, Ahmad el-Muhammady, expressed concern over the calls to hunt down atheists as well. Asked whether the violent fringe would be provoked by the comments to attack atheists, Ahmad said: Yes, this opinion can be taken wronglyby extremists To me, it is not a well-thought-out remark that can be easily misunderstood by uneducated minds.

But thus far, there is no indications (of violence). The intelligence agencies are monitoring, he said.

This was confirmed by Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, head of counter-terrorism of Special Branch, the intelligence arm of the Royal Malaysian Police. He told Channel NewsAsia there was no intel on potential attacks.

Malaysia has recorded at least one case where a militant, the late Zainuri Kamaruddin, tried to kill a young Muslim woman accused of converting to Christianity. Zainuri died in an air strike in Syria earlier this year where he was fighting alongside the Islamic State (IS).

According to constitutional law expert Shad Saleem Faruqi, professor of Law at Universiti Malaya, the Federal Contitution does not criminalise atheism.

The Federal Constitution is silent on apostasy. It nowhere bans apostasy nor does it permit it. Neither does the Penal Code punish apostasy, though insulting religion is an offence under section 298 of the Penal Code, said Prof Faruqi.

The issue is complicated because states are allowed to pass laws to punish offences against the precepts of Islam. Nine out of the 14 states (have) enactments (that) criminalises apostasy, he added.

Prof Faruqi said some view apostasy as a heinous crime in Islam. The alternative view that it is a sin, not a crime, that Prophet Muhammad in the Treaty of Hudabiyah permitted Muslim apostates to live in peace is not heeded."

See the original post:
Malaysia's atheists fearful following calls by a minister to 'track them down' - Channel NewsAsia

The Atheist Republic (Twitter,Facebook, andwebsite) is the largest public atheist Facebook page.The page has more than 1.7 million likes, which makes the Atheist Republic the most popular atheist community on any social network. The Atheist Republic hasconsulatesthroughout the globe in the major cities of the world. Its founder, Armin Navabi, is a friend and colleague. Here is the series of interviews with the consulates of the Atheist Republic: Atheist Republic Brisbane Consulate.

*Audio interview edited for clarity and readability.*

Scott Douglas Jacobsen:Wasthere a background in atheism,familially?

Geoff Speakman: My parents never spoke either for or against religion. I formed my own opinions about religion and the existence of gods.

Jacobsen: Within that family background, was there a surrounding culture that brought forth a critical mindset towards religion? If so, how? If not, why not?

Speakman: Not really. Mine was a normal childhood minus religion. We were migrants who came from England to Australia, which may have insulated me from cultural and family ties to religion.

Jacobsen: Through these threads of family and surrounding culture, what made for the pivotal moments in development as an atheist?

Speakman: There was no pivotal moment. I have always been free of religious indoctrination.

Jacobsen: Also, a- as a prefix in atheism means many things because it is both denial and affirmation. What is affirmed there to you? What is denied to you?

Speakman: I have chosen the description atheist to best describe mynonbeliefin religious teaching. I am considering changing my description to anti-theist due to the bloodshed that religious division causes worldwide.

Jacobsen: How did you find the Atheist Republic? What do you do for them?What are your tasks and responsibilities?

Speakman: I came acrossthe Atheist Republicon Facebook. I was asked by them to be an administrator of the Brisbane Consulate where I approve applications to join and keep a watch for hateful or bigoted posts.

Jacobsen: How does an Atheist Republic consulate work? What are its daily operations? How do you make sure the operations function smoothly?

Speakman:The Atheist Republicis simply a Facebook group oflike-mindedpeople worldwide.

Jacobsen: Why volunteer for them? What meaning comes from it?

Speakman: I volunteered because I believe that communication and the sharing of ideasarethe way to overcome division,mistrust, and conflict. The internet provides such communication. The internet is a revolution that will unite the people of the world.

Jacobsen:How doesthe Atheist Republic, in your own experience and in conversing with others, give back to the atheist community and provide a platform for them even to simply vent from social and political conventions that hold them either in contempt or in begrudging silence for fear of loss of life quality?

Speakman:The Atheist Republicprovides a place where atheists can find each other, have a feeling of belonging andorganizethemselves.

Jacobsen:What do you hope for the future of atheism? What are the movements next steps?

Speakman: Ideally the internet will expose theists to ideas that will convert them into rational, peace loving citizens. I hope that United Atheist Republic Consulates can assist in bringing about peace in the world.

Jacobsen:Any feelings or thoughts in conclusion?

Speakman:These are critical times for the future of our planet and for mankind. Tough decisions need to be made regardingstabilizinghuman population and preserving our environment. Theists mustrealizethat the future of our planet is not in the hands of gods and that they must take responsibility for the making of their own future.

Jacobsen:Thank you for your time,Geoff.

Speakman:Youre welcome.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. He works as an Associate Editor and Contributor for Conatus News, Editor and Contributor to The Good Men Project, a Board Member, Executive International Committee (International Research and Project Management) Member, and as the Chair of Social Media for the Almas Jiwani Foundation, Executive Administrator and Writer for Trusted Clothes, and Councillor in the Athabasca University Students Union. He contributes to the Basic Income Earth Network, The Beam, Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Check Your Head, Conatus News, Humanist Voices, The Voice Magazine, and Trusted Clothes. If you want to contact Scott: [emailprotected]; website: http://www.in-sightjournal.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/InSight_Journal.

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Geoff Speakman, Atheist Republic Brisbane Consulate - The Good Men Project (blog)

SmartNews Keeping you current Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (Public Domain)

smithsonian.com August 9, 2017 12:14PM

In many parts of the world, secularism is on the rise, even in the United States where there has been a slow but steady drop in the number of people who affiliate themselves with a religion. Despite those changes, Benedict Carey at The New York Times reports that a new study reveals that an implicit bias against atheists, or those who dont believe in any supernatural deity, remains, with most peoplejudging atheists as less moral than religious people.

For the study, researchers surveyed 3,256 people in 13 countries from North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, collecting data on their age, religious affiliation and belief in god. Among brain teasers and random questions on a questionnaire, they included aquery describing a man who tortured animals as a child and as an adult went on to abduct and kill five homeless peoplewho are buried in his basement. One half of the subjects were asked: Which is more probable? 1) The man is a teacher; or 2) The man is a teacher and does not believe in any gods.

The other half were asked: Which is more probable? 1) The man is a teacher; or 2) The man is a teacher and a religious believer.

Carey reports that 60 percent of people given the option selected the man as an atheist. Only 30 percent of people given the option selectedhim as a religious believer.

Agence France-Presse reports that the bias was strongest in more religious countries including the United States, United Arab Emirates and India. New Zealand and Finland, both very secular nations, were the only countries in the study that did not show a bias against non-believers. The study appears in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

It is striking that even atheists appear to hold the same intuitive anti-atheist bias, study co-author Will Gervais, psychology professor at the University of Kentucky,tells AFP. I suspect that this stems from the prevalence of deeply entrenched pro-religious norms. Even in places that are currently quite overtly secular, people still seem to intuitively hold on to the belief that religion is a moral safeguard.

ButRyan F. Mandelbaum at Gizmodo reports that atheists dont exactly need to worry about villagers armed with implicit biases and pitchforks. In a commentary in Naturepublished along with the recent study, Arizona State University psychologists note that most relationships are not as cut and dryas the survey question presents. Atheism is rarely the only piece of information known about interaction partners, they write, and it is possible that, when included with the social information that individuals collect naturally, atheism will be perceived as less indicative of immoral behavior.

In the United States, at least, the social stigma around atheism may have caused people tochoose to hide their non-belief, however.Daniel Cox at FiveThirtyEight reports that Gervais was also the lead author on astudy published earlier this year which found that one in three people in the U.S. surveyed in the sample did not disclose their lack of belief. Using that data, theresearchers suggest thatnumber of people who identify as atheist in the U.S. might actually be as high as 20 percent to even35 percenta significant jump fromthe 3 percent to 11 percent who have self-identified as atheists on recent Pew and Gallup polls.

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Jason Daley is a Madison, Wisconsin-based writer specializing in natural history, science, travel, and the environment. His work has appeared in Discover, Popular Science, Outside, Mens Journal, and other magazines.

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Survey Finds Most People Are Biased Against Atheists, Including ... - Smithsonian

This is merely a thought experiment, though it is almost undoubtedly the case anyway, but what if he was outed as an atheist or openly admitted it? There is no way he is genuinely religious. He is unbelievablynarcissistic and the only god in his life is the one he sees in the mirror; the one who lives underneath the cat-fur rug.

The thought experiment has merit, perhaps. I wonder what would happen with the cognitive dissonance that those Republican voters would experience. Maybe it would allow them to reject him, finally, with warrant, giving them good rationalisation as to why we did end up being a completely lost cause.

On the other hand, it could really act as a moment of normalisation for atheism amongst those of the rabid right. They would have to admit, if they were (in their dissonance) to maintain that Trump was the awesomest of the most awesome, that atheists are okay, and that atheism doesnt turn you into the antichrist (Obama got there first, anyways).

There is evidence to suggest that atheists are the bottom of the pile for candidates US voters would opt for. In 2011, this research by Gervais, Norenzayan and Sharifffound the following:

METHODOLOGY: With the help of fellow UBC researcherAra Norenzayanand University of OregonsAzim Shariff, Gervais posed several hypothetical questions and scenarios to 350 American adults and nearly 420 university students in Canada.

CONCLUSION: Lack of trust is the reason why some people of faith are prejudiced against atheists.

IMPLICATION: Political aspirants who dont believe in God or are members of religious minorities may need to convince voters that they are trustworthy. A 2007 Gallup poll found that only 45 percent of Americans would vote for a qualified atheist president, the lowest figure among several hypothetical minority candidates.

SOURCE: The full study, Do You Believe in Atheists? Distrust Is Central to Anti-Atheist Prejudice (PDF), is published in theJournal of Personality and Social Psychology.

How do we go about breaking this prejudice down? Would Trump admitting he was an atheist help us?

I dont like being categorised with rapists

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What if Trump Was an Atheist? - Patheos (blog)

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in Prime Ministers Department Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim has urged mufti and state governments to take action against atheists in the country as their practice is against the Federal Constitution.

He suggested that authorities go after atheists and identify them, adding that they had deviated.

This is a country with religion. There are Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and others.

The Constitution clearly states about Islam being the federal religion while other religions are also allowed to be practised in the country. There is no mention on atheism.

They (atheists) clearly lack knowledge in religion, hence they choose not to be a believer.

To all the mufti and state governments, please pay attention.even though there are not many atheists, he told a press conference at the Dewan Rakyat today.

On Monday, the government reportedly said that it would investigate alleged claims which went viral in social media that Muslims had joined the Kuala Lumpur Atheist Club.

Shahidan said the club might draw the interest of people due to its persuasive ways in spreading atheism.

You know nowadays people tend to glamourise outspoken people in social media. Keyboard warriors are always glorified.

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'Atheism is against Federal Constitution' - New Straits Times Online

Updated August 09, 2017 11:01:52

Justin Brierley knows a thing or two about miracles: each week, he manages to get atheists to listen to Christian radio.

But, as you probably guessed, it's not Christian radio as you'd imagine it. Already this year on his British program Unbelievable? he's given a microphone to a doctor arguing for the complete decriminalisation of abortion, a sexual freedom campaigner defending the use of pornography, and a neuroscientist who says the human quest for meaning can be explained by evolution.

Other past episodes include illusionist Derren Brown questioning the veracity of miracle accounts, given the susceptibility of the mind to be tricked, and perhaps the most famous atheist in the world Richard Dawkins laying into the "capriciously malevolent bully" God of the Old Testament.

There's no catch, either. Unbelievers aren't brought onto the show to be harangued or interrupted. They're given equal time to the Christians they're debating and Brierley acts as an impartial moderator.

If you were flicking through channels in the car, you might not guess you were listening to a station called Premier Christian Radio. So why does Brierley do it?

Well, he says his station does a "great job of talking to Christians about Christian things", but he wanted to burst the bubble.

"I'm confident that Christians have nothing to fear from hearing from sceptical people," he said.

That's why for the past 11 years, Brierley has been inviting people onto the air to hear why they don't believe, putting them into conversations with leading Christian thinkers like philosopher William Lane Craig, New Testament scholar NT Wright and Oxford mathematician John Lennox.

Originally, he had only British Christian listeners in mind, but since his show became a podcast, the audience has expanded to include nonbelievers from all over the world, including Australia.

"One of the most common emails I get is, 'You're the only Christian radio station I would ever think of listening to'," he said.

Brierley says many Christians appreciate having a show which deals with questions they themselves might have had and which helps them navigate their own interactions with nonbelievers.

But he frankly admits that not everyone liked the idea.

"I'll be honest with you, when the show first started, it got pushback from some Christian listeners who were very uncomfortable with having atheists on air," he said.

He could see their point you don't tend to tune into Christian radio to have your cherished beliefs challenged.

But he says it's not like you can avoid scepticism in a digital world.

"We might as well have that kind of a conversation in an environment where we at least know we've got a reasonable Christian on the other side," he said.

Brierley doesn't shy away from the fact that he'd love it if people converted after listening to his program. But he also says simply improving the tone of the faith debate is its own reward.

Unbelievable? was born when "new atheism" was at its peak, with Richard Dawkins and the late journalist Christopher Hitchens leading the charge against faith with their respective books The God Delusion (2006) and God Is Not Great (2007).

Brierley says he thinks the conversation has improved since then, with many atheists he encounters keen to disassociate themselves from the new atheism movement.

"I think it went through a pretty dire patch for a while," he said.

"The tone of the conversation, certainly from the new atheists side, was of a kind of condescending, dismissive attitude towards people who hold a faith."

Brierley says you have a much better chance of changing people's minds when you engage in a friendly, personable way.

He says we live in an age where "we tend to dehumanise people" who disagree with us, but just getting people of different beliefs into the same room for a chat makes them realise they're not talking to the enemy.

"The show I hope will give people who are sceptical an insight into why Christian faith is in my opinion a credible option," he said.

"And I hope it will also give Christians listening an insight into the fact that atheists by and large are nice, reasonable people they're not out to get you."

After more than a decade as the impartial moderator, Brierley decided to put his own cards on the table with his book Unbelievable? Why After 10 Years Of Talking With Atheists I'm Still A Christian.

The first point he makes is that while his show deals primarily with what objective evidence there is for Christianity, it was actually a subjective religious experience that led him to faith when he was a teenager. Simply put, he says he felt the presence and love of God.

But he was aware this subjective experience wasn't going to convince anyone else, which is why he looked towards apologetics basically, a wonky word for the rational defence of Christianity.

"What I discovered was some real, credible intellectual reasons for believing in God."

He points to the fine tuning of the universe, the existence of moral objectivity, the universal search for meaning, and the historical evidence for the life of Jesus as some of the reasons he thinks Christianity has the better case.

"In all of these arguments, I'm not trying to deride atheism. I'm just saying I don't see how that worldview makes sense of the world as I see it," he said.

Atheists have an answer for all of these arguments, of course, which is why his show will never be short of things to debate.

Topics: christianity, religion-and-beliefs, united-kingdom

First posted August 09, 2017 10:48:42

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Unbelievable?: Meet the man who puts atheists on Christian radio - ABC Online