Tag Archives: secularism

WWJFKD: What Would John F. Kennedy Do (About Iran)?

An Egyptian elementary school teacher and Islamic Brotherhood supporter, Ala al-Din, leaving Friday prayers in Cairo last week, told a reporter for Ynet, Eldad Beck, something I regard as quite chilling: [A]ll Egyptian Muslims are willing to embark on Jihad … Continue reading

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Terry Eagleton Asks: What Does It Mean to Live in a Secular Society?

Terry Eagleton, in a recent essay for the New Statesman, suggests a sure-fire method for determining just how secular your society truly is. It has to do with the degree to which universal compulsion on matters religious has been abandoned (both in law and cultural … Continue reading

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Is Atheism the New Normal?

Recently perusing a back issue of The New Yorker (from May 21, 2007), I noticed an article by Anthony Gottlieb on post-9-11 atheism titled “Atheists with Attitude” (77-80), the conclusion of which I found arresting: [O]ne can venture conservative estimates … Continue reading

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Ethics and War in a Secular Age

Decoupling religion from war is not an easy thing. The poet Stephen Spender, in reflecting upon World War II, wrote these lines (in his poem, “Rejoice in the Abyss”): Against an acrid cloud of dust, I saw The houses kneel, … Continue reading

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Nearly One Third of Americans Say to the Clergy: Don’t Marry Me. Don’t Bury Me.

In the Guardian of London (and reposted at AlterNet), Michelle Goldberg has an essay on secularism in America. Money quote: [N]o religious group in the United States is growing as fast as those who profess no religion at all. The … Continue reading

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Geoffry Robinson Tells the Story of How He Hid Salmon Rushdie

At the Daily Beast, Geoffery Robertson tells how he hid Salmon Rushdie from the Ayatollah Khomeni here.

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IRAQ GOES SECULAR? By Bitter Experience with Religious Sectarian Politics, Have the Iraqis Learned to Love RICHARD DAWKINS?

Well, not exactly. But the thesis of New York Times’s Baghdad reporter, Mudhafer al-Husaini, is that the Iraqi elections were a vindication of SECULAR (as opposed to religious) politics: The initial results showed good gains for secular parties and Prime … Continue reading

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Great Polling Numbers for Obama Today: Look Especially at Ohio and North Carolina. Know Hope

Source: FiveThirtyEight.com

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NY Times Graph: The Trendline for Religious Unbelief is UP

PZ Myers today posted this interesting graph on religious belief in the United States (from the NY Times):  

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What This Election Is About: Which Candidate—Obama or McCain—Will Steer Us Further in the Direction of the Ideals Expressed in This Clip?

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