Every time there is a terrorist act committed by Muslims against westerners there are calls for Muslims to denounce terror. This has always been something of an absurd request because most victims of terror are, themselves, Muslim – it should be fairly obvious that they don’t support terror. Still, the requests always come and Muslims…
Numbers don’t lie: Islamophobia vs. Statistics
Pundits like Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher would like you to believe that Islamophobia is about religion, rather than race. They would also like you to believe that Islam is an inherently violent religion – that violence in the Middle East and attacks like those in Paris about 10 days ago are due…
Neil deGrasse Tyson answers the question “Does the Universe Have a Purpose?” (animated by MinutePhysics)
We are inclined, as humans, to believe that we are special as a species and individually. People who are especially selfish are described as “thinking the universe revolves around them” but to varying degrees, humans think this way. We live constantly with our own perspective and from that perspective we appear to be pretty fracking…
If we’re going to paint with a broad brush, what if we stop saying Muslim and switch to ‘religious people’?
As events in France unfold around the mass shooting at the Charlie Hebdo attack, a familiar pattern is emerging. Anti-Muslim sentiment is rising along with the plea from more empathetic, humane people that we avoid painting an entire religion and culture with a broad brush. It is a pattern that we saw in Australia a…
MIT physicist theorizes that consciousness is a state of matter
Not being a religious person, this is a pretty huge idea for me. If it proves to be true it may allow us to learn more about the universe and our place in it than any other idea to date, including evolution and the big bang. I do not believe in any of the established…
Religion gets equal time: Watch “Creationist Cosmos”
When Neil deGrasse Tyson rebooted Cosmos creationists, who don’t agree with basically any of it, cried fowl. They demanded equal time to explain their version of the universe and now they’ve got it. Watch as Jared, community outreach leader from the Creationist Baptist Church of Alabama explains absolutely everything you need to know about life,…
The Muppet version of Jesus Christ Superstar
I’m not much of a fan of Christianity. Based on the evidence I’ve seen I don’t even believe that there was ever such a person as “Jesus of Nazereth” – divine or otherwise. However, I’ve always liked Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar and Muppets. Apparently Christo Graham of Lennoxville, Québec feels the same way.…
How US evangelicals are exporting hate to Uganda and beyond
Evangelicals have failed in their efforts to marginalize and demonize LGBT people in the United States and working to generate an increase hate in other parts of the world. Uganda recently passed legislation that criminalizes homosexuality by Ugandan citizens, even outside of Uganda. The law even means the death penalty, in some cases, for homosexual…
Watch the Dancing Stormtroopers in the Spanish ‘Procession of the Knights of the New Hope’
Spanish churches are big on processions and just because the Jedi Church is new and based on a movie franchise doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten how to do a parade. The Jedi Church of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain recently held their “Procession of the Knights of the New Hope.” It featured a Millennium Falcon, lots of…
The wonderful counter-protest that greeted the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas City
On Thursday, Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps passed away. His loyal minions decided to go ahead with a planned protest of a Lorde concert in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday. The photo above is the counter protest that greeted them. It is a great demonstration of why the religious right continues to lose ground…