Kimberly Winston
Kimberly Winston is a freelance religion reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
All Stories by Kimberly Winston
Judge rejects California city’s religious war memorial
By Kimberly Winston — February 27, 2014
(RNS) On Thursday (Feb. 27), a U.S. district judge ruled that a granite monument depicting a soldier kneeling in prayer before a cross lacked “a secular purpose” and has “the unconstitutional effect” of endorsing religion over nonreligion.
After standoff, NC high school approves secular club
By Kimberly Winston — February 17, 2014
(RNS) The Secular Student Alliance, a national organization for nonreligious college and high school students, announced Monday that lawyers for Pisgah High School in Canton, N.C., have said the school will permit a chapter of the group.
NC high school faces legal challenge for refusing secular club
By Kimberly Winston — February 13, 2014
(RNS) The conflict began last October when Ben Wilson, 17, asked assistant principal Connie Weeks for permission to establish a local chapter of Secular Student Alliance, a national organization of nonreligious students.
HBO filmmaker’s loss of faith parallels his subject’s: Darwin
By Kimberly Winston — February 12, 2014
(RNS) “Questioning Darwin,” a new, hourlong documentary airing on HBO in February, juxtaposes the story of the 19th-century naturalist with looks into the lives of contemporary American Christians who believe the world was created in six days.
Darwin Day celebrations evolve with parties, proclamations
By Kimberly Winston — February 11, 2014
(RNS) A growing number of Americans are marking the 1809 birthday of the British naturalist whose masterpiece “On The Origin of Species” has never been out of print since its publication in 1859.
Atheists vow to fight monument rejection in Levy County, Fla.
By Kimberly Winston — February 7, 2014
(RNS) Local officials in Florida this week rejected an atheist monument proposed for a courthouse lawn, another example of the hurdles religious minorities will face as they continue to press for equal access to displays on public lands.
Excerpts from the Ham on Nye showdown
By Kimberly Winston — February 5, 2014
(RNS) The two-and-a-half-hour debate Tuesday (Feb. 4) between Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis and Bill Nye the Science Guy was a much-hyped showdown between the creationism and evolution camps. Here are some morsels.
Ham-on-Nye debate pits atheists, creationists
By Kimberly Winston — January 30, 2014
(RNS) Bill Nye may be “The Science Guy,” but Ken Ham is the “Answers in Genesis” man, and a debate between the two over the origins of life has nonbelievers and Christians wringing their hands.
Books project helps atheists make the case for unbelief behind bars
By Kimberly Winston — January 22, 2014
(RNS) “Not all prisoners are religious, and I wanted them to know that to turn your life around and be a good and productive member of society does not require a belief in God,” says Leslie Zukor, founder of the Freethought Books Project.
Racy Orthodox Calendar pushes gay rights ahead of Russian Olympics
By Kimberly Winston — January 15, 2014
(RNS) While there have been other collections of religious pin-up men, the Orthodox Calendar aims to make a political point against the Orthodox churches that the creators say are complicit in trying to keep gays and lesbians in the closet.
Did your absentee father make you an atheist?
By Kimberly Winston — January 13, 2014
(RNS) “I am certainly not predicting that every atheist is the result of one hypothesis, much less mine,” said Catholic psychologist Paul C. Vitz. “I am just saying there is a tendency for more things to go together than you’d expect normally.”
Seventh-day Adventist pastor plans to flirt with atheism for 12 months
By Kimberly Winston — January 3, 2014
(RNS) California pastor Ryan Bell is flirting with atheism for 12 months. His unorthodox resolution is only an experiment, he says. He is not an atheist. “At least not yet."
Physicist Aaron Adair is skeptical about the star of Bethlehem
By Kimberly Winston — December 23, 2013
(RNS) Could the star of Bethlehem have “risen in the east” and led the Magi to the infant Jesus? Physicist Aaron Adair has his doubts. A Q&A.
Atheists battling supernatural villains: Q&A with Justin Aclin
By Kimberly Winston — December 20, 2013
(RNS) "Writing 'S.H.O.O.T. First' was part of that process of being able to admit that I am a full-on atheist."
In season of giving, atheist groups’ charity rebuffed
By Kimberly Winston — December 19, 2013
(RNS) As the holiday season peaks, atheist and humanist groups around the country have seen their charitable impulses rebuffed by both Christian and secular organizations.
