freethought (atheist)
Détente on Christmas * Beard passes * Christ Bless Mississippi: Religious Freedom Recap
By Brian Pellot — December 4, 2014
This month's religious freedom news and views from around the world. Read with caution. Prozac optional.
Myanmar journalists draft Religion Newswriters Resolution on Covering Religious Freedom and Conflict
By Brian Pellot — November 19, 2014
Religion Newswriters assembled 15 journalists, editors and media professionals from across Myanmar for an intensive training course on how best to cover religious freedom and conflict. Here’s the resolution they bring back to their newsrooms.
Atheist coalition wants you to know they are ‘Openly Secular’
By Kimberly Winston — September 24, 2014
DECATUR, Ga. (RNS) A coalition of nearly 30 atheists, humanists and other nonreligious groups is taking a page from the gay rights movement to encourage people to admit they are “openly secular.”
Why I stopped saying America’s Pledge of Allegiance
By Brian Pellot — September 9, 2014
Atheists launched a “Don’t Say the Pledge” campaign on Monday to protest the phrase “under God.” I stopped saying the Pledge in my tweens for more reasons than one.
Philip Pullman: Atheists can learn from Jesus without believing he was the son of God
By Chris Stedman — August 4, 2014
World Humanist Congress speaker and "His Dark Materials" author Philip Pullman talks with RNS about atheism, Humanist funerals, and what atheists can learn from Jesus.
Supreme Court won’t wade into fight over graduations in churches
By Kimberly Winston — June 16, 2014
(RNS) In 2012, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the decision to hold a public high school graduation ceremony at a Wisconsin megachurch was “offensive” and “coercive.”
5 survival tips for reporting between religious red lines
By Brian Pellot — June 12, 2014
Where the First Amendment ends, common sense should kick in. Too often it doesn’t. Here are five tips to help keep you out of hot water when covering sensitive religious issues abroad.
Atheists lose latest legal fight over ‘In God We Trust’
By Lauren Markoe — May 28, 2014
(RNS) Court after court has affirmed that printing and engraving the country's motto on its money does not violate the U.S. Constitution.
What an atheist learned from working with Zoroastrians
By Chris Stedman — May 28, 2014
What can atheists learn from working with faith communities? Humanist Zach Cole reflects on what he learned from Zoroastrians, and why atheists should partner with religious communities for service to humanity.
Apocalypse when? New documentary examines failed prophet Harold Camping
By Kimberly Winston — May 21, 2014
(RNS) Three years after his failed prophecy about the end of the world, a new film about doomsday prophet Harold Camping offers an intimate glimpse inside the last days of his Family Radio empire.
Turbulence: tranquility through the storms
By Omid Safi — April 26, 2014
Turbulence in flight, and in life, often leaves us nauseous. And yet beyond that turbulence, there is a calm.
There is serenity. Can we access it?
What to call acts of terrorism committed by group of Muslims? Islamic? Islamist? Or something else?
By Omid Safi — April 19, 2014
By accurately labeling the terrorism associated with 9/11 as "Al-Qaeda terrorism", we avoid the dangers of legitimizing the terrorist organizations or demonizing an entire religious or ethnic block of humanity.
Is atheism without works dead? The shifting landscape of nontheistic service
By Chris Stedman — April 17, 2014
Some Christians believe that faith without works is dead. Perhaps we could say the same of atheism. Fortunately, more and more nontheists are demonstrating that atheism is alive and well.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum at World Trade Center legitimizing claims of Al-Qaeda?
By Omid Safi — April 7, 2014
For the 9/11 Memorial Museum to use the language of “Islamic terrorism” is to bestow upon Bin Laden and al-Qaeda the religious legitimacy that they desperately craved—and do not deserve.
Why is this Muslim author advocating for atheists?
By Chris Stedman — March 26, 2014
Qasim Rashid is a Muslim who frequently advocates for atheists—surprising some theists and atheists alike. He talks with RNS about his advocacy, his book, and more.
