Category Archives: Atheist

WASHINGTON (BP) Nearly half, 47 percent, of the global population believes that religion does more harm than good, Ipsos said in its latest poll on religious beliefs and tolerance, though the firm did not explore the reasons behind the perception.

In the U.S., 39 percent of respondents expressed the belief, Ipsos, a multinational research firm, said. The perception is most common in India, at 73 percent; in various Western European countries, ranging from a high of 70 percent in Sweden, to 66 percent in Great Britain and low of 49 percent in Italy; and in Japan, where 52 percent agreed with the perception.

The belief is lowest in Thailand, a largely Theravada Buddhist population, polling at 27 percent. South American countries were also among the lowest, ranging from 39 percent in Colombia to 32 percent in Peru.

Japan saw the biggest growth in a negative view of religion, growing by 26 percentage points since the Ipsos 2017 Global Advisor survey, followed by Sweden, where the number grew by 8 percentage points. The largest dips were seen in Hungary, dropping 16 percentage points to 37, and in Argentina, dropping 16 percentage points to 33.

Ipsos based its findings on a survey of 26 countries through the Ipsos Global Advisor online survey platform, conducted between Jan. 20 and Feb. 3. Ipsos interviewed 19,731 adults ranging in age from 18 to 74, depending on the country, including online and in-person inquiries.

Large generational and geographical variations were seen among the countries studied, with questions focused on the prevalence of religious affiliation and practice, religious beliefs, the role of religion and the extent to which it defines personal identity and morality.

Most geographic differences tend to follow a similar pattern, opposing a highly religious Global South to a mostly secular Global North, Ipsos said in releasing the data. However, major generational shifts are emerging in many of the 26 countries surveyed where younger people are less likely than older adults to identify as Christian, especially Catholic, and more likely to identify as Muslim or of some other faith.

In 11 of the 12 countries where at least 15 percent of respondents identified as Protestant, Evangelical or simply Christian, Gen Zers those born in or after 1997 are less likely to identify as such when compared to boomers, those born in or before 1964, Ipsos found. In Belgium, Italy, Peru, Poland, France and Chili, generational gaps exceed 20 percentage points.

Generational differences vary when it comes to not having a religion, i.e., identifying oneself as either atheist, agnostic or just spiritual, Ipsos said. In nine countries, Gen Zers were more likely than boomers to say they had no religion.

When asking whether respondents believed in God as presented in the Scriptures, Ipsos did not separate the Bible from the Torah nor the Quran. In the U.S., 52 percent of respondents said they believe in a God of the Scriptures, 22 percent professed a belief in a higher power that is different from God as presented in Scripture, 12 percent were atheist and 16 percent wouldnt say.

In other findings, 52 percent of respondents expressed a belief in heaven, but it was not clear whether they had in mind a heaven as expressed in the Bible or the Quran. Nearly half, 49 percent, believe in supernatural spirits, while 41 percent believe in the devil and/or hell.

In addition to the U.S., Ipsos included in its study Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chili, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and Turkey.

Results are availablehere.

Read the rest here:

47 percent globally say religion does more harm than good in Ipsos ... - Kentucky Today

Component images generated by MidJourney

In 2009 atheist biologist Richard Dawkins offered a scientific test to decide between Darwinian evolution and intelligent design (ID). The results are in, and as guest Casey Luskin explains on a new episode of ID the Future, the evidence has broken strongly in favor of intelligent design. At the time Dawkins presented the test, he was confident that comparative DNA evidence supported Darwins tree of life and its idea of universal common ancestry. He made the point in his 2009 bookThe Greatest Show on Earthand in two interviews. As heput it, The single most convincing fact or observation you could point to in favor of Darwinian evolution over against ID would be the pattern of resemblances that you see when you compare the genes of any pair of animals you like and then plot out the resemblances and they form a perfect hierarchy, a perfect family tree. And the only alternative to it being a family tree is that the intelligent designer deliberately set out to deceive us in the most underhanded and devious manner.

But 14 years later the picture looks very different. Dr. Luskin details the various ways that the rapidly developing field of phylogenomics is uncovering data that powerfully fits the ID model of lifes history and strongly undermines the idea of universal common ancestry via mindless evolution. As Luskin says ina recent Evolution News article, Now, years later, scientists have sequenced a great number of whole genomes. And as a consequence, they know that Dawkins was wrong. Every gene does not deliver approximately the same tree of life. On its own terms, the Dawkins test for evolution has come up for ID.

So why havent evolutionary biologists given up on universal common ancestry? Luskin says that some have, while others reflexively invoke auxiliary hypotheses and employ question-begging computer models to generate tree-like ancestries in the face of contrary data. Luskin compares the behavior to astronomers who protected the dying geocentric model of the solar system by invoking epicycles to explain away contrary astronomical data. Better to let the Dawkins Test speak for itself, Luskin says. Download the podcast or listen to it here.

FREE: Download the free mini-book Top Five Evidences for Intelligent Design, by geologist Casey Luskin, by going here.

Link:

The Dawkins Test Returns an Answer: Intelligent Design - Discovery Institute

OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomas state superintendent must also demand that the Bible be removed from public school libraries if he continues his push to ban books containing graphic pornography, an advocacy group said.

In a letter to Superintendent Ryan Walters, officials with the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote that the Bible contains nearly 150 verses displaying a pornographic view, yet other books the Republican official has publicly targeted do not contain the graphic sexual content from which he wishes to protect children.

In a statement, the group said Bible verses contain sordid tales of victims forced to marry their rapists, graphic sexual depictions, and countless references to sperm, intercourse, menstruation, homosexuality, bestiality, adultery, and whores.

The best solution is to allow a diversity of viewpoints in school libraries and trust students to explore topics themselves. But the Bible must go if the Department of Education continues to believe Oklahoma law requires it to remove any books containing sexual content, the group said.

We want to make it clear that we are adamantly opposed to banning books, Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. But the religious zealots cant have it both ways. They cant scour books looking for sexual references or content to offend them regardless of literary or social value and context then say that the true obscenity found in The Bible must be judged differently.

In response, Walters said he has a hard time taking any atheist group seriously that tries to compare LGBTQ-themed books like "Gender Queer" and "Flamer" to the Bible.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based group, which has more than 40,000 members, focuses on upholding the constitutional separation between church and state.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson didnt reference 'Gender Queer' when drafting any of our founding documents, Walters said in a statement. It is disappointing that this is even a discussion. One cannot rewrite history and force liberal extremism under the guise of religious freedom. I will continue to defend our faith while its under attack by woke radicals.

State Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, said Oklahoma is comprised of many different faiths, and state policy needs to respect them all.

She said the groups request is fair, and that theres been a push for similar action in other states where leaders have attempted to ban books in school libraries.

It is shocking, but so appropriate, she said.

State Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, said the Bible is "different" than the books Walters is attempting to censor.

He said the Bible does not use the same graphic sexual depictions in pictures, images or written descriptions as the books Walters is targeting. He also questioned how many public school libraries actually have Bibles on their shelves.

Theyre essentially trying to remove the rights of parents to protect their children from obscene material, Standridge said. And to bring the Bible in the conversation is again despicable because their only goal is to somehow put pornography in front of children. I dont understand why an adult would want to do that.

State Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, acknowledged there are verses in Psalms and the Song of Solomon that may not be appropriate for some children, but he fears the Bibles removal could affect access to other literature.

If were going to consider some of that, even in the adult-version Bible, as graphic and pornographic, then I think theres a lot of books that would wind up being taken out because theres a lot of symbolism and different things like that, he said.

He said lawmakers want to ensure that any content on school library shelves is age-appropriate, and said the Bible should have a place on the shelves, as long as its an age-appropriate version.

State Sen. Blake Cowboy Stephens, R-Tahlequah, said hell never support removing the Bible from school, and said he finds it humorous that the advocacy group is calling for the removal in a state that embraces a very conservative way of life.

I will take my last breath in defending keeping that Bible in front of every person thats on this planet because I believe its the best book that was ever written, Stephens said. I love the Lord and I love his work.

Janelle Stecklein covers the Oklahoma Statehouse for CNHI's newspapers and websites. Reach her at jstecklein@cnhinews.com.

Read more:

Advocacy group: Bible must be banned if other books stripped from ... - cnhinews.com

[1/4] A security guard stands next to the Trinity icon at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in the town of Sergiyev Posad, Russia, July 18, 2022. The famous icon, which was created by Russian painter... Read more

May 16 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to hand over the historic 15th-century Trinity icon from a museum to the Russian Orthodox Church because of its importance to believers, the Kremlin's spokesman said on Tuesday.The Church, whose conservatism Putin has espoused as part of his vision for Russia's national identity, is one of the most ardent institutional supporters of Russias war in Ukraine.

Its head, Patriarch Kirill, said last year that those who died fighting in Ukraine would be purged of their sins.

Icons are stylised, often gilded religious paintings considered sacred in Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Andrei Rublyov's Trinity, one of the holiest and most artistically important Russian icons, is thought to have been painted to honour Saint Sergius of Radonezh in Sergiyev Posad, near Moscow. It depicts three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre in the Book of Genesis, the first of the Bible.

The icon has been transferred several times during periods of internal strife.

In 1929, the authorities of the officially atheist communist Soviet Union put it in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery. During World War Two it was put into safe storage for a time.

In 2022, the work was moved for religious celebrations back to a monastery in Sergiyev Posad: the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, spiritual centre of the Russian Church and a UNESCO World Heritage Site."We could only dream that this sacred object would be returned to the Church, so that our people could pray before [it]," Kirill said in an address to the Church's ruling Holy Synod, expressing his "deepest gratitude" to Putin.

The Moscow Patriarchate said in a statement that the icon would be displayed for a year at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in central Moscow before returning to Sergiyev Posad.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "This concerns a large number of believers in our country, for whom this is a very sacred object. For these, our believers, of course, hiding it in a museum doesn't fulfil their desire."

On Sunday, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg said it would transfer the tomb of Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and saint of the Russian Church, to another Russian monastery, in an effort to bolster national unity.

Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

More here:

Putin gave Orthodox Church famed icon because of its importance ... - Reuters

It is said that Boramma dreamt that her boy Siddarama would become king one day. Luckily for her, he scaled the summit twice in life.

Siddaramaiah is all set to become Karnatakas new chief minister, which will be his second term for which he worked ever since Congress lost the 2018 election under his stewardship.

The chief ministers chair did not come easy for Siddaramaiah, 75, who had to face stiff resistance from a formidable, equally-deserving contenderKarnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar.

Siddaramaiah joins an elite club of politicians who have occupied the chief ministers chair more than once - S Nijalingappa, Veerendra Patil, D Devaraj Urs, Ramakrishna Hegde, H D Kumaraswamy, and B S Yediyurappa.

Born at his native Siddaramanahundi on the outskirts of Mysuru in August 1947, Siddaramaiah tended to cattle with his father in the hinterland before starting school directly from Class 4. He went on to acquire a degree in law, because he simply did not score enough marks in Class 12 (pre-university) to study medicine.

Also Read |Why exit polls get the pulse wrong

In his formative years, Siddaramaiahs worldview on politics, socialism and even anti-Congressism took shape. He kept a beard like all Lohia-ites of the time and became a rationalist, almost atheist.

His political career began in 1978 when he contested a taluk board election, which required quite a bit of convincing his father. His father Siddarame Gowda had lost a gram panchayat election and was averse to politics. He had warned his son Siddaramaiah not to trust people in politics. However, Siddaramaiah won the taluk board election.

In the 1978 Assembly election, Siddaramaiah contested for the Chamundeshwari segment from Charan Singhs Lok Dal and lost.

Siddaramaiah contested again in 1983 as an Independent and won. He was appointed as the first president of the Kannada Kavalu Samiti, a watchdog body for the local language.

In a long career in electoral politics, Siddaramaiah has won nine out of 14 Assembly elections. This includes the one time he unsuccessfully contested a Lok Sabha election in 1991 from the Koppal constituency, which is dominated by the Kuruba community that he belongs to.

Known for being administratively adept, Siddaramaiah holds the record of presenting 13 budgets as the states finance minister.

Having joined the Janata Party and later Janata Dal, Siddaramaiahs relationship with JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda is the stuff of legend. Gowda was once his mentor before becoming a bitter rival.

After the split of the Janata Dal in 1999, Siddaramaiah and Gowda built the JD(S) which won 58 seats in the 2004 polls. Gowda, who did not succeed in making Siddaramaiah the CM in 1996, was seen as denying the opportunity to him in 2004 to favour his son H D Kumaraswamy.

In 2006, Siddaramaiah was expelled from the JD(S) after he started mobilising the Ahinda - the Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits.

Rustic and sharp-tongued, Siddaramaiahs detractors accuse him of being a rank casteist. But everyone agrees that he is among the few who can take on the might of the BJP-RSS ideology.

This will be Siddaramaiahs last political innings. Well, he had said that the 2013 polls would be his last. Recently, he introduced his grandson Dhavan as his political heir.

Political road:

1978: Contested first Assembly poll as Bharatiya Lok Dal candidate and lost1983: Won as an Independent from Chamundeswari1985: Won as Janata Party candidate and became minister for sericulture, transport and animal husbandry.1989: Lost to M Rajasekara Murthy of Congress1991: Lost to Basavaraj Patil Anvari of Congress in Lok Sabha poll 1994: Became finance minister1996: Deputy chief minister under J H Patel1999: Lost to Congress A Guruswamy2004: Won from JD(S) and became DCM again2006: Joins Congress and wins by 257 votes2008: Won from Varuna2013: Won from Varuna and became CM2018: Won from Badami, lost in Chamundeshwari2023: Won from Varuna and became CM

Read this article:

Siddaramaiah, the Congress's southern satrap - Deccan Herald

Kirk Cameron has had a tough year, not unlike poor, pregnant Mary. We tried to go to libraries across the country and weve been turned away, he told a church gathering this week in Charlotte, N.C., of touring his conservative childrens book As You Grow, about a tree SYMBOLIZING FAITH getting burned by people with torches LIBERALS IN RAINBOW TUTUS PROBABLY in spreads that look an awful lot like the January 6 insurrection.

Im using All Caps, because Kirk likes to say the quiet part out loud.

Sky tree got burned, you guys! he told the children in attendance at the climax of his terrible, terrible childrens book, which has animals in it, because theyre an effective way to get children to listen to your demagoguery.

You like stories? he asked the young audience, who surely deserved better; did Christ really die on a cross for this. You like animals?

You do? GREAT, that leads us into the news of the day: Kirk revealed at the event that he has a new childrens book called The Pride Before the Fall scheduled to come out June 1, aka, the first day of Pride month, because hes a huuuuuge dickhead.

The same cast of ideologically compromised animals are backa tiger, a cheetahthis time to bring mans sins (re: allowing LGBTQ+ families to exist) to bear for an audience of 3-year-olds, who will definitely understand the idea that Kirk Cameron is writing these books so that bad laws dont get made and the laws stay good, as he told the crowd in Charlotte.

Theres so much here. The flimsy story stretched over the struts of evangelical Christianity, the deliberate provocation of people in LGBTQ+ communities, who are truly the ones shut out of the inn when it comes to civil rights protections.

What gets my secular goat though is just how bad these stories are. Theyre the childrens lit equivalent of the Trump walking on water portrait. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, it doesnt offend me as an atheist, it offends me as a writer. The animal heads drawn onto bad AI-art-looking bodies, the crude metaphors of the trees and the heavens, the stodgy writing, the lack of anything enjoyable, plot-wise or language-wise.

Literary Hub reached out to Kirk Cameron to ask what he said to criticism (ours) that his previous childrens book was poorly written, cliched and heavy-handed. At the time of publication, we had not heard back.

Like Loading...

Read the original:

Kirk Cameron, aka right-wing Raffi, has a new kids' book for Pride ... - Literary Hub

I am proud to be a Christian, Sanghis will burn after learning this, says atheist DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin at a Christmas event  OpIndia

Read the rest here:

I am proud to be a Christian, Sanghis will burn after learning this, says atheist DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin at a Christmas event - OpIndia

God Help Me: Surfing Millionaire Shared About Converting From an Atheist to a Believer Back in 2016  EssentiallySports

Read the rest here:

God Help Me: Surfing Millionaire Shared About Converting From an Atheist to a Believer Back in 2016 - EssentiallySports

Im an atheist, but I fell in love with the spirituality and magic of Quito, Ecuadors capital  Toronto Star

Continued here:

Im an atheist, but I fell in love with the spirituality and magic of Quito, Ecuadors capital - Toronto Star

The following experience was shared by Joseph G., a police officer in Miami, Florida., on the Near Death Experience Research Foundation website:

I went to the emergency room of the hospital because of a bad reaction to a tetanus shot. While in the emergency room, I was given two shots of penicillin. After the second shot, I fell to the floor.

All of a sudden, I found myself floating at the ceiling, watching the turmoil going on in the room. My body was on the gurney jumping and shaking. The room was full people working on me; pounding on me.

The nurse who gave me the shots was sitting on the floor in the corner, hysterical. I saw them with the electric paddles trying to start my heart, with no luck. I thought I heard someone say that I was dead.

Suddenly, this doctor rushed into the room, shoving everyone out of the way. He was carrying this long syringe with a long needle and plunged it into my chest. That was the last thing I remember.

A week or so later, I suddenly woke up. I was in a hospital room. As I woke up, a doctor entered the room. I recognized him as the one with the needle. The first words I said to him were, I guess its a good thing you came when you did.

He was totally shocked! He asked the nurse who had I talked too? She told him, No one, he just woke up from a coma. He told the nurse that no one was to speak to me including her until he came back.

When he returned, he had a large group of doctors with him. He asked me to repeat what I said. I did. He said there was no way that I saw him, that I was dead by then. He asked me to tell him what else I remembered. I told them all I remembered as it happened and described all I saw.

They were all shocked because I was dead during the whole thing. I remember that later he told me that before my episode he was [an] atheist. But no more.

It was quite a story in the Miami Herald for quite a long time.

From that time until today, I dont fear dying, In fact I look forward to it. I feel that God rejected me, because he has some purpose for me.

Since that episode, I have had many experiences that would kill anyone else, but not me.

[For] example, right now, I am recovering from a broken neck. The top three [vertebrae] were broken and that usually results in being paralyzed.

Follow

Read the original:

Atheist Doctor Becomes a Believer After Near-Death Experiencer ...