Kimberly Winston
Kimberly Winston is a freelance religion reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
All Stories by Kimberly Winston
Atheists postpone protests after Bangladeshi disaster
By Kimberly Winston — April 25, 2013
(RNS) Atheist and secular groups were divided on whether to continue with a series of protests aimed at Bangladeshi institutions after a building collapse in the capital city killed at least 244 people.
Atheists rally around jailed Bangladeshi bloggers
By Kimberly Winston — April 24, 2013
(RNS) A international consortium of nonbelievers is planning rallies Thursday (April 25) outside Bangladeshi embassies and consulates to demand the release of several Bangladeshi bloggers who were arrested on charges of blasphemy.
SIDEBAR: Atheists embrace Sunday-morning music
By Kimberly Winston — April 16, 2013
HOUSTON (RNS) Atheists may not have hymns, but that doesn’t mean they ain’t got the beat.
Atheists find a Sunday-morning connection with other nonbelievers
By Kimberly Winston — April 16, 2013
HOUSTON (RNS) Despite the rows of chairs, the coffee hour and the passed collection plate, don’t call Houston Oasis an "atheist church,'' leader Mike Aus said. He and other nonbelievers are aiming for something new: a community that looks to nurture the common human qualities that can unite people.
American Atheists wrestles with its cherished ‘grumpy’ image
By Kimberly Winston — March 29, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas (RNS) The annual Easter weekend convention of American Atheists is a delicate balancing act between the group’s image as the angry bulldog of secular organizations and its need to attract younger and less strident nonbelievers.
A year after losing faith, atheist pastor finds a new calling
By Kimberly Winston — March 26, 2013
(RNS) When Teresa MacBain declared her loss of faith last Easter, she expected to lose her pulpit and many friends. She did. But in the year since, she's gained a new community and a new sense of confidence.
After giving up religion, atheists try giving up something else for Lent
By Kimberly Winston — March 18, 2013
(RNS) What would an “atheist Lent” look like? A group of young nonbelievers are finding out, observing the Christian practice minus its religious context.
At St. Francis Shrine in the city of St. Francis, pride in a new Pope Francis
By Kimberly Winston — March 14, 2013
(RNS) In San Francisco, the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi is attracting attention after the new pope's decision to take the 13th-century saint as his namesake.
SIDEBAR: Muslims embracing atheism often face a lonely journey
By Kimberly Winston — March 3, 2013
(RNS) Muslims who abandon their faith often face challenges not faced by those who leave other religions. Divorce and disowning are common, as is the threat of physical violence.
One woman’s journey out of faith, family and fear
By Kimberly Winston — March 3, 2013
(RNS) A young woman stood outside a Greyhound bus with a ticket in her hand and a backpack over her shoulder. She was guilty of two offenses: rejecting her father's choice of husband and renouncing her family's Islamic faith. Deciding whether to boarding that bus, she said later, would be the hardest thing she had done in her 18 years.
Scholars seek to reclaim a dirty word: secularism
By Kimberly Winston — February 22, 2013
(RNS) A conference at Georgetown University this week focused on cleaning up what many Americans consider a dirty word: secularism. The goal of the "Secularism on the Edge" conference was, in part, to define what secularism is and what it is not.
Sidebar: Selections from the new ‘Jefferson Bible’
By Kimberly Winston — January 11, 2013
(RNS) Selections from the American Humanist Association's new version of the "Jefferson Bible." By Kimberly Winston.
Humanists slice and dice the world’s sacred texts
By Kimberly Winston — January 11, 2013
(RNS) "A Jefferson Bible For the 21st Century'' takes Thomas Jefferson’s slice-and-dice Bible one step further. By Kimberly Winston.
Secularists see ‘HumanLight’ as new December holiday
By Kimberly Winston — December 20, 2012
(RNS) In addition to Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, secular humanists have added a new celebration to the crowded calendar. HumanLight, observed on Dec. 23, is a secular celebration of human potential that is growing in acceptance. By Kimberly Winston.
The `nones’ now form the world’s third-largest ‘religion’ *
By Kimberly Winston — December 18, 2012
(RNS) A new report on global religious identity shows that while Christians and Muslims make up the two largest groups, those with no religious affiliation — including atheists and agnostics — are now the third-largest “religious” group in the world. The study, released Tuesday (Dec. 18) by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, […]
