 The raised lettering on the red, yellow, and blue sculpted "Freethought Action Hero" award declares its first recipient: Jennifer Lovejoy of Asheville, North Carolina. It will be conferred during the forthcoming Carolinas Secular Conference, September 28-30, at the Charleston Marriott, 170 Lockwood Boulevard, Charleston, SC. FreeThoughtAction Vice President Joseph McDaniel Stewart will make the presentation Saturday evening, September 29, as one of the highlights of the banquet.
FreeThoughtAction is best known for its “Don’t Believe In God? You Are Not Alone” and “One Nation Indivisible” billboard campaigns and is an independent marketing adjunct of the American Humanist Association.
“With this award," said Stewart," Jennifer Lovejoy is being recognized as a true Freethought Action Hero for her courage, persistence and willingness to take a stand. Her ability to weather withering local criticism during the controversial 2010 North Carolina ‘One Nation Indivisible’ billboard campaign has been an inspiration to all of us who work for a more rational and secular America.”
"I've never considered myself a hero," Lovejoy said. "To me the billboard campaign was an opportunity to reach people who may have otherwise felt alone. It is people who matter to me."
Jennifer Lovejoy is a disabled Army veteran, wife and mother of two boys. She currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina, where she has been the spokesperson for Western North Carolina Atheists for three years. She is also founder and current president of Western North Carolina Humanists, a group involved in several community service projects, including Relay for Life and Light the Night. (For more information visit WNCHumanists.org .) 
The award is a colorful, sculpted 10.5 inch representation of an androgynous action hero with arms and hands raised, and the letter “A” for "Action" emblazoned on its chest. “We'll be presenting more of these awards in the future," added Stewart, "but I’m honored to be able to confer the very first on Jennifer Lovejoy. This one is long overdue.”
The Carolinas Secular Conference is being organized by the Carolinas Secular Association, a regional coalition consisting of secular freethought organizations across the Carolinas. Other awards to be presented during the conference include the “Carolinas Freethinker of the Year” award, to be presented to Amy Monsky, president of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry and Camp Director of Camp Quest–South Carolina; and the “Special Achievement” award to be presented to Justin Griffith, creator of the "Rock Beyond Belief" festival last year at Fort Bragg.
Featured speakers and special presenters at the conference include: Maggie Ardiente, director of development and communications for the American Humanist Association; Edwina Rogers, executive director of the Secular Coalition for America; and Mike Werner, former president of the American Humanist Association. Also in attendance will be Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. This will be its second annual Carolinas Secular Conference. The first was held in Carolina Beach, NC, in November, 2011.
For a high resolution image of Jennifer Lovejoy, free for media use, please go to: http://www.freethoughtaction.org/images/Jennifer.jpg .
For a high resolution image of the FREETHOUGHT ACTION HERO Award, free for media use, go to: http://www.freethoughtaction.org/images/P9241206-800.jpg .
# # #
FreeThoughtAction ( http://FreeThoughtAction.org ) is an independent marketing adjunct of the American Humanist Association ( http://AmericanHumanist.org ).
The Carolinas Secular Conference ( http://CarolinasSecularConference.org ) is organized to provide an opportunity for learning and sharing, bringing in speakers to inform and train, as well as to award grass roots achievement by individuals across North and South Carolina. Attendees will join in a live network of planning to meet the challenges of the next year and the coming decade. Beyond its role as a working event, the Carolinas Secular Conference aims to be a joyous celebration of the growing secular movement and culture and an opportunity for nontheists of all stripes to make new friends across the region.
The Carolinas Secular Association ( http://CarolinasSecularAssociation.org ) is a recently incorporated regional “coalition of reason” consisting of secular freethought organizations across the Carolinas and is responsible for organizing the conference.
David Niose, president of the American Humanist Association and author of Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans, will be speaking at the first-ever congressional briefing on "The State of Secular America," hosted by the Secular Coalition for America on October 1.
MORE: http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2012-09-take-action-ask-your-representative-to-attend-the-fi
The red letter "A" that Nathaniel Hawthorne's heroine was forced to wear as a badge of shame in the classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" is now proudly chosen by atheists to wear on jewelry made from ceramic, silver, gold and wood.
MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/christians-have-crosses-jews-have-stars-and-atheists-have--what-exactly/2012/09/25/96e658c4-0739-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html
In a provocative move within a religious organization that has sought to display strict political neutrality, an official of the Mormon church has disseminated a presentation across the key swing state of Nevada that urges members to vote and speak "with one voice" in the coming Presidential election that pits Mormon Mitt Romney against President Barack Obama.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/romney-2012-church-leader-pushes-mormon-voter-registration/story?id=17231506
The Alliance Defending Freedom is a dishonest organization playing fast and loose with the tax exemptions of churches in order to gain power and control elections.
MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/information-not-intimidation-religious-right-group-falsely-accuses-au-of
Americans United, for one, does not seek, and has never sought, to restrict religious beliefs and practice in the United States. All we want is for religion to be kept out of the government (and government to be kept out of religion) because that's what the U.S. Constitution requires. Our founders did not base our government of "biblical values," as Perry claims, but on the values of freedom and equality. You can be a good American regardless of your views about religion.
MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/satan-separation-and-absurdity-texas-gov-rallies-christian-warriors-to
NEWTON, N.C. -- A pastor from the Victory Empowerment Center, International, has been accused of building a relationship through text messages with a 13-year-old girl.
MORE: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/police-hickory-pastor-jail-suspect-sexual-abuse-ch/nSK2F/
(CBS News) A north Texas school board voted Monday to change its corporal punishment policy to allow district employees to paddle students of the opposite sex, CBS DFW reported.
MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57520051/texas-school-board-changes-spanking-rules/?tag=stack
Religious travel generates at least $8 billion a year for shrine-centered economies and provides employment for thousands, according to academics -- and being able to measure the celestial and spiritual elements of pilgrimage in monetary terms is far from a modern phenomenon; it's as ancient as the act of spiritual travel itself.
MORE: http://travelkit.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/25/14097686-religious-pilgrimages-spur-multibillion-dollar-industry?lite
Schlafly labors through 6000 words and many equations trying to debunk one of the best-tested ideas in all of science, making ridiculous claims that "relativity has been met with much resistance in the scientific world". This may have been true when it was first proposed in 1905 and 1915, but it was widely accepted by nearly all physicists by the 1920s, when numerous experiments confirmed it.
MORE: http://www.skepticblog.org/2012/09/26/does-einstein-threaten-religion-too/
ScienceDaily -- Like photographers assembling a portfolio of best shots, astronomers have assembled a new, improved portrait of humankind's deepest-ever view of the universe.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120925142555.htm
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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Explores the Moon in 3-D
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120925171805.htm
Thousands of images from Australia's Great Barrier Reef and other coral locales are being stitched together into an eye-popping array of 360-degree panoramas for Google Maps' Street View feature -- but this million-dollar-plus project isn't just about pretty pictures. It's about sharing the wonders and the woes of the world's coral reefs with people around the globe.
MORE: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/25/14103244-googles-360-degree-tours-give-you-deeper-view-of-great-barrier-reef
London (CNN) -- He once described Britain as a "toilet" -- now, radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri is to be flushed out of the UK legal system and into a potential life sentence in America, the end of an era for perhaps London's most famous anti-Western preacher.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/25/world/europe/abu-hamza-al-masri-profile/index.html
Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- Ten days after four Americans were killed in their Libyan city, hundreds marched in Benghazi and took over the headquarters of a radical Islamist group tied to the attack.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/africa/libya-benghazi-counter-protest/index.html
Somalia's shaky transitional government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, has been battling Islamic guerrillas for years.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/22/world/africa/somalia-legislator-killed/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2
In June, the Boko Haram militant Islamist group claimed responsibility for a series of church bombings that killed dozens.
The group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden," has referred to itself as the "Nigerian Taliban." It seeks to overthrow the government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/23/world/africa/nigeria-blast/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A Pakistan government minister has personally offered a $100,000 reward for anyone who kills the man who made the anti-Islam movie that is drawing ire throughout the Muslim world.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/23/world/meast/pakistan-film-bounty/index.html
(CNN) -- A 14-year-old Pakistani girl who had faced life in prison for allegedly burning the Quran will have her case heard in juvenile court, the girl's lawyer told CNN.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/pakistan-blasphemy-girl/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
CAIRO: Egyptian activists are angry after a court in the country on Monday said it would try Coptic Christian Alber Saber for blasphemy after he posted an anti-Islam video online that had led to widespread protests in Egypt and across the Islamic world.
MORE: http://www.bikyamasr.com/78346/egypt-to-try-christian-alber-saber-for-blasphemy-after-posting-anti-islam-clip/
(CNN) -- A radical group inspired by al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack along the Egyptian-Israeli border.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/23/world/meast/israel-egypt-border-attack/index.html?hpt=imi_c2
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Three militants, Israeli soldier dead after border firefight
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/meast/israel-egypt-border-attack/index.html
Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iran blocked YouTube and its owner Google over the weekend because of an inflammatory movie trailer about the Prophet Mohammed that has infuriated Muslims in many countries around the world.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/meast/iran-youtube-blocked/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5
See also...
Iran's president ranges far in interview: talks Israel, slams homosexuality
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/meast/iran-ahmadinejad-interview/index.html
Republicans and Democrats can still come together on one issue: God. Both parties showed us during their presidential conventions just how much they absolutely love God, and how much they wanted the rest of us to love God, too.
MORE: http://www.americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2012-09-god-awful-political-conventions
See also...
Rubio Shows Why 'In God We Trust' Must Go
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-humanity-naturally/201208/rubio-shows-why-in-god-we-trust-must-go
(CNN) - A newly revealed, centuries-old papyrus fragment suggests that some early Christians might have believed Jesus was married. The fragment, written in Coptic, a language used by Egyptian Christians, says in part, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife ..."
MORE: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/18/fragment-suggests-jesus-was-married/
FULTON -- With armed police guards stationed at each exit, a pastor-turned-atheist made a case against God yesterday at Westminster College's annual fall symposium.
MORE: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/sep/19/atheist-shares-great-news-at-westminster-symposium/
Cranford, NJ -- American Atheists today announced the addition of atheist Jay Jay French, founder, manager, and guitarist of the international, multiplatinum selling rock-and-roll band Twisted Sister, to the roster of speakers headlining the 2013 National Convention in Austin, Texas, March 28-31, 2013.
MORE: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/twisted-sister-founder-jay-jay-french-speak-2013-national-convention
(AP) TULSA, Okla. - A 17,000-member megachurch deep in Oklahoma's Bible Belt has been rattled by allegations that five employees waited two weeks to report the rape of a 13-year-old girl in a campus stairwell, allegedly by a church worker.
Tulsa police say the girl is among at least three victims of alleged sex crimes by two former employees of Victory Christian Center who face criminal charges. A child crimes investigator says more victims could surface as police continue to investigate.
MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57517379/tulsa-megachurch-rattled-by-sex-abuse-claims/?tag=exclsv
The cheerleaders at Kountze High School in Kountze, Texas, (about 90 miles northeast of Houston) had been using banners with Bible verses to motivate the football team during games. School administrators, however, received an anonymous complaint and rightly ordered the practice stopped.
Examples of signs included: “But thanks be to God, which gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” and “If God be for us who can be against us?”
Now some of the squad members and their parents are gearing up for a legal fight with talk of suing the school district for religious discrimination. The cheerleaders say making the banners was their personal choice and that the signs were made with supplies purchased by students and not the school.
MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/give-me-a-u-for-unconstitutional-texas-cheerleaders-fight-to-display-bible
A Ten Commandments monument that has graced the landscape of a Pennsylvania high school for decades is the latest target of the atheist attack group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). The group has filed suit in U.S. District Court to have the granite display, erected by a local organization years ago, removed from the front of Valley High School in the community of New Kensington. The atheists claim that the parents of children who attend the school had complained about the unobtrusive display. The FFRF refers to the religious display as a “tombstone-like monument,” complaining that it is “directly in front of the main school entrance, near two footbridges that students and visitors use to enter the building.”
MORE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/item/12903-penn-school-officials-battle-atheist-group-over-ten-commandments-display
See also...
UT will keep prayer before football games; foundation won't sue
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/sep/19/ut-we-will-keep-offering-prayers-home-football-gam/?partner=yahoo_feeds
On Oct. 7, the ADF is sponsoring “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” an annual event during which evangelical pastors are urged to openly violate the law be endorsing or opposing candidates for public office.
MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/altar-call-americans-united-letter-urges-clergy-to-reject-church
Two weeks ago, the weekly bulletin at the Church of St. Catherine of Siena on the Upper East Side of Manhattan carried a blunt political message from a priest on the parish staff.
MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/nyregion/romney-endorsement-in-church-bulletin-raises-outcry.html?_r=0
See also...
Church Official Pushes Mormon Voter Registration in Key Swing State
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/romney-2012-church-leader-pushes-mormon-voter-registration/story?id=17231506
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA - The bells of Holy Family Catholic church echo from above, but below, an anti-abortion sign makes an even louder statement.
"Even though, it's not a specific candidate, it's a direct reflection on the Republicans," Citrus Heights resident Max Roelen said.
MORE: http://www.news10.net/news/local/article/210291/2/Pro-life-sign-outside-of-Citrus-Heights-church-sparks-controversy?hpt=us_bn10
The Lamoille Union School Board meeting started with the pledge of allegiance, but that sound of people reciting it, in unison, is one you won't again hear at every meeting. It was a decision that had many get up from their seats and walk out.
MORE: http://www.fox44abc22yourvoice.com/story/19579409/lamoille-union-school-board-votes-down-pledge-of-allegiance-before-meetings?hpt=us_bn7
The leader of an Amish splinter sect and his followers were found guilty today of violating federal hate crime laws for conducting a series of bizarre attacks in which they shaved the hair and beards of other Amish whose religious beliefs they disagreed with.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/amish-bishop-found-guilty-beard-shaving-attacks/story?id=17283193
(AP) ATLANTA - Chick-fil-A gave another statement about recent reports that it will stop giving money to groups that oppose gay marriage.
MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57517287/chick-fil-a-makes-statement-on-controversy/?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.9
New ads scheduled to appear in the New York City subway system call for support of Israel in its war against "the savage," a reference to militant Muslims.
The ads, put out by a group called the American Freedom Defense Initiative, are aimed at criticizing violent attacks perpetrated by radical Islamists, according to Pamela Gellar, the founder and director of the group.
--snip--
The American Freedom Defense Initiative is principally a venture made up of Gellar and author Robert Spencer, who runs the website Jihad Watch. The organization is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Gellar noted they have more than 30,000 Facebook followers, donors, and participants in their events.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/york-city-subway-ads-calls-jihadists-savages/story?id=17280805
The inflammatory film has been blamed for violent protests across the Middle East, including in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans died, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, when militants attacked U.S. diplomatic facilities there on Sept. 11.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/family-anti-islam-filmmaker-joins-hiding/story?id=17255528
See also...
Actress in anti-Islamic film files lawsuit against filmmaker and YouTube
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/us/california-anti-islam-film-lawsuit/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
Judge: YouTube doesn't have to take down anti-Islam video
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/tech/california-anti-islam-film/index.html?hpt=us_c2
Just one step less crazy that flat-earthism and geocentrism is another internet fad: the expanding earth model.
MORE: http://www.skepticblog.org/2012/09/19/cracking-earth-and-crackpot-ideas/
Light from the young galaxy captured by the orbiting observatories shone forth when the 13.7-billion-year-old universe was just 500 million years old.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919135419.htm
See also...
NASA's Solar Fleet Peers Into Coronal Cavities
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120920164652.htm
NASA Mars Rover Targets Unusual Rock Enroute to First Destination
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919201958.htm
Dawn Sees Hydrated Minerals On Giant Asteroid
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120920202045.htm
Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyovers Draw Excited Fans
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120920101200.htm
Astrochemistry Enters a Bold New Era With ALMA
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120920120551.htm
Gravity is literally forty orders of magnitude weaker than all the other known forces in the Universe. (That means the gravitational force is a factor of 1040 weaker than the other three forces. Or -- and I’ll write it out just this once -- we’d need to increase its strength by 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in order to have it be comparable to the other known forces.)
MORE: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2012/09/19/the-greatest-unsolved-problem-in-theoretical-physics/
See also...
Experiment Corrects Prediction in Quantum Theory
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919135312.htm
ScienceDaily -- Genetically, culturally and ethically the Khoe-San have something special to add to this world. The largest genomic study ever conducted among Khoe and San groups reveals that these groups from southern Africa are descendants of the earliest diversification event in the history of all humans -- some 100,000 years ago, well before the 'out-of-Africa' migration of modern humans.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120920141139.htm
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How Organisms Evolve New Functions: Evolution Is as Complicated as 1-2-3
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919135411.htm
ScienceDaily -- It's an age old question: Why do we do good? What makes people sometimes willing to put "We" ahead of "Me?" Perhaps our first impulse is to be selfish, and cooperation is all about reining in greed. Or maybe cooperation happens spontaneously, and too much thinking gets in the way.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919142144.htm
See also...
People Change Moral Position Without Even Realizing It
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919190608.htm
In their report, Lewandowsky and colleagues offer some strategies for setting the record straight.
* Provide people with a narrative that replaces the gap left by false information
* Focus on the facts you want to highlight, rather than the myths
* Make sure that the information you want people to take away is simple and brief
* Consider your audience and the beliefs they are likely to hold
* Strengthen your message through repetition
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919191212.htm
ScienceDaily -- Newly formed emotional memories can be erased from the human brain. This is shown by researchers from Uppsala University in a new study now being published by the academic journal Science. The findings may represent a breakthrough in research on memory and fear.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120920141155.htm
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Your Memory Is Like the Telephone Game, Altered With Each Retelling
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919125736.htm
Paris (CNN) -- After a week of deadly international protests against an anti-Islam film, a French satirical magazine is pouring oil on the fiery debate between freedom of expression and offensive provocation.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/world/europe/france-mohammed-cartoon/index.html?hpt=ieu_c2
MOSCOW -- Yoko Ono, the artist and widow of legendary Beatles singer John Lennon, and Amnesty International have announced that members of Pussy Riot will be among this year's winners of the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace. The group will be awarded an unspecified grant during a ceremony in New York City on Friday.
The Russian feminist punk collective became famous worldwide after Russian authorities put three members on trial for a subversive stunt in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral. In February members of the group jumped on the cathedral’s altar and performed what they called a "punk prayer," begging for divine intervention to rid Russia of President Vladimir Putin.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/09/yoko-gives-peace-grant-to-jailed-russian-punk-group/
Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- They may be a far cry from their Western counterparts fighting for the acceptance to breast-feed -- or go topless -- in public, but two girls clobbered a cleric recently in a small town in Iran when he admonished one of them to cover herself more completely.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/world/meast/iran-hijab-fisticuffs/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
An Egyptian atheist is in "serious danger" following his arrest and assault after protestors threatened to kill him and burn down his house in connection to the dissemination of a film insulting the Prophet Mohammed, his lawyer has warned.
MORE: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/voices/2012/09/egyptian-atheists-and-innocence-muslims
(CNN) -- Several diplomatic facilities were shuttered Friday as many brace for intensified protests over the anti-Islam movie "Innocence of Muslims," as well as recently published cartoons in a
French publication of a figure resembling the Prophet Mohammed.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/world/anti-islam-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
See also...
Egypt charges Coptic Christians linked to infamous video
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/18/world/film-protests/index.html?hpt=imi_c2
In Yemen, protests mask diverse views on anti-Islam video
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/18/opinion/opinion-yemen-protests-alazzany/index.html?hpt=wo_bn8
In August, Allen estimated about a quarter of the attacks are being carried out by infiltrators from the Taliban, the Islamic militia that ruled most of Afghanistan before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/17/world/meast/us-afghanistan-attacks/index.html
See also...
Suicide attacks kill 13 in Afghanistan
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/18/world/asia/afghanistan-attack/index.html
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rife with Islamic extremists and has been the site of recent clashes between Pakistani security forces and militants.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/world/asia/pakistan-unrest/index.html
Damascus (CNN) -- As the 18-month-long Syrian conflict festers, the government and the opposition welcome and need Christian support.
But some Christians fear radical Islamists have been swelling rebel ranks.
They also fear the same fate as a number of Christians during the war in Iraq, where militants targeted them and spurred many to leave the country.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/world/meast/syria-christians/index.html?hpt=wo_t3
See also...
Growing jihadi presence in Syria 'alarming,' U.N. investigator says
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/17/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html
The National Union of Somali Journalists said the bombings took place just after sunset and that the al-Shabaab jihadist movement had claimed responsibility for the attack.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/world/africa/somalia-bombing/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
The east African nation has made headlines after a parliamentarian introduced an anti-gay bill that called for death for certain homosexual acts.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/world/africa/uganda-gay-play-arrest/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2
(CNN) -- A growing religion in southern Africa is posing a threat to the survival of wild leopards.
For the Nazareth Baptist Church, also known as the Shembe, leopards are seen as a symbol of pride, beauty and wealth, while their skins are viewed as essential attire for church elders who wear them around their necks during traditional ceremonies.
A mixture of Christianity and Zulu culture, the Shembe is one of the biggest traditional religious groups in South Africa with around 5 million members. There are fears from conservationists that as the church grows, Africa's leopards, already listed as "near threatened" by the International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will be pushed towards extinction.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/world/africa/leopards-shembe-south-africa/index.html
Greencastle, PA -- The Greencastle-Antrim School Board apparently has a problem with the United States Constitution. Mr. Ernest Perce V, acting initially as the Pennsylvania State Director for American Atheists, Inc. and a long-time (and s0metimes controversial) activist in Pennsylvania, had received multiple complaints about inappropriate prayers being recited at school board meetings. In fact, Mr. Perce had personally attended one of these meetings to verify these complaints. He had personally witnessed the recital of “The Lord’s Prayer” by the Board. The prayer had been recited after the meeting had already convened. As well, not only did the Board invoke the prayer,
But they led it, as well…
MORE: http://freethoughtblogs.com/alstefanelli/2012/09/12/atheists-confront-school-board/
This week a group of atheists, agnostics, humanists and other non-believers in Maine took the initial step toward flexing their collective political muscle in Augusta. They launched a Maine chapter of the Secular Coalition for America, a lobbying organization that has traditionally worked at the federal level.
MORE: http://www.mpbn.net/News/MaineNewsArchive/tabid/181/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3475/ItemId/23745/Default.aspx
The American Humanist Association, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates on behalf of humanist and atheist causes, filed a complaint last month with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission saying that the cross, which falls on the commission’s land and sits at the intersection of Md. 450 and U.S. 1, is an unconstitutional use of a religious symbol on public land.
The group said it will take the battle to court if no action is taken.
MORE: http://www.gazette.net/article/20120914/NEWS/709149522/1029/atheists-demand-bladensburg-s-peace-cross-be-removed&template=gazette
See also...
Atheists want Bladensburg Peace Cross to be removed
http://www.wtop.com/41/3039646/Atheists-want-Bladensburg-Peace-Cross-to-be-removed
(AP) LOS ANGELES - A newspaper investigation has found the Boy Scouts of America failed to report hundreds of suspected child sex abusers to authorities and often helped cover up the accusations over two decades.
--snip--
The newspaper found that in about 400 cases, there is no record of the Scouts reporting cases to police after parents, boys and staff members notified leaders.
MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57513866/report-dredges-up-boy-scouts-sex-abuse-scandal/?tag=stack
A Tennessee high school teacher who supported an atheist student has been transferred to another school.
MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-education-of-mr-yoakley-brave-bible-belt-teacher-sanctioned-for
Insanity, it has been said, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
In light of that, the state of Louisiana might want to get a mental health check-up. Legislators and some education officials there keep promoting creationism in public school science classes -- and they keep getting busted on it.
MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/central-confusion-la-school-board-supplements-science-education-with
Linda Harvey of the Christian group Mission: America said she wants kids to know that bullying is wrong. She also wants them to know that "something called gay" is wrong too.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/christian-brochure-linda-harvey-mission-america-bullying-bad/story?id=17228590
A North Dakota State College of Science football player was caught kissing another man during a game, revealing the player is homosexual.
MORE: http://kvrr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16343&Itemid=57&hpt=us_bn10
As church political activity becomes more common, an increasing number of Catholic parishioners are saying they are turned off by pulpit politics.
MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/pew-ado-catholic-leaders-endorse-candidates-despite-growing-flock
The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Family Research Council, which sponsors the Values Voter Summit, as a hate group.
MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/advice-ignored-politicos-attend-values-voter-summit-despite-pleas-from
See also...
'Values Voter' Summary: In The Religious Right's America, It's Their Values And Your Loss
http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/values-voter-summary-in-the-religious-right-s-america-it-s-their-values-and
There are more than enough science-dependent issues in presidential politics to warrant a live presidential debate focused on those issues. A live debate would be much better than simply submitting written answers to questions. Read the answers the two campaigns submitted and you will see why -- they only sort-of answer the question, and as quickly as possible turn their answer to their campaign's talking points.
MORE: http://www.skepticblog.org/2012/09/10/science-debate-2012-answers/
See also...
The Top American Science Questions: 2012
http://www.sciencedebate.org/debate12/
Spherical objects concentrated at an outcrop Opportunity reached last week differ in several ways from iron-rich spherules nicknamed "blueberries" the rover found at its landing site in early 2004 and at many other locations to date.
Opportunity is investigating an outcrop called Kirkwood in the Cape York segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The spheres measure as much as one-eighth of an inch (3 millimeters) in diameter. The analysis is still preliminary, but it indicates that these spheres do not have the high iron content of Martian blueberries.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120914154003.htm
See also...
First Planets Found Around Sun-Like Stars in a Cluster
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120914133446.htm
ScienceDaily -- The genetic building blocks behind the human heart's subtle control system have finally been identified.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120914132034.htm
The Unification Church believes that Jesus was divine, but that he is not God, a stance that puts it outside the bounds of traditional Christianity. The church follows Moon as its messiah.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/world/asia/south-korea-moon-funeral/index.html?hpt=ias_c2
A man purported to be a filmmaker involved with the anti-Islam video sparking violent unrest in the Middle East and North Africa was escorted by deputies from his Cerritos, Calif., home shortly after midnight Saturday morning, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
MORE: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/15/13876716-suspected-anti-islam-filmmaker-questioned-by-federal-probation-officers?lite
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a response to the 14-minute movie trailer "Innocence of Muslims" that sparked protests in more than 20 countries. The trailer, which depicts the Prophet Mohammed as a child molester and ruthless killer, has roiled the Muslim world.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/world/asia/afghanistan-troops-attacks/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
See also...
Suicide blast kills 16 in Afghanistan
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/world/asia/afghanistan-violence/index.html
Angry protesters in the Sadr City district of northeast Baghdad carried banners, Iraqi flags and images of radical Shiite and anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as they railed against what they see as an insult to their faith.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/world/meast/iraq-protests/index.html
(AP) KARACHI, Pakistan - Hundreds of Pakistanis protesting an anti-Islam film broke through a barricade near the U.S. Consulate in the southern city of Karachi on Sunday, sparking clashes with police in which one demonstrator was killed and more than a dozen injured.
MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57513779/violent-anti-u.s-protests-continue-in-pakistan/?tag=stack
See also...
Islamist militants attack Egypt security headquarters in Sinai
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/16/13900058-islamist-militants-attack-egypt-security-headquarters-in-sinai?lite
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rife with Islamic extremists and has been the site of recent clashes between Pakistani security forces and militants.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/world/asia/pakistan-unrest/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
See also...
Blast kills at least 8, injures dozens at Pakistan market
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/world/asia/pakistan-explosion/index.html
(CNN) -- Global reaction to the attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions in Egypt and in Libya, where U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed amid Muslim outrage over a film mocking the Prophet Mohammed.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/meast/libya-reax/index.html
(CNN) -- A pro-al Qaeda group responsible for a previous armed assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is the chief suspect in Tuesday's attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, sources tracking militant Islamist groups in eastern Libya say.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/africa/libya-attack-jihadists/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2
Islamabad (CNN) -- In a period of about three weeks she went from being a virtually unknown 14-year-old Pakistani girl to making headlines around the world as a Christian teen facing a life sentence for allegedly burning pages of the Quran.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/11/world/asia/pakistan-rimsha-masih-blasphemy/index.html
A semi-official religious foundation in Iran has increased a reward it had offered for the killing of British author Salman Rushdie to $3.3 million from $2.8 million, a newspaper reported, days after protests coursed through the Muslim world over alleged insults to the Prophet Muhammad.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-iran-adds-reward-rushdies-death-17247292
A Taliban spokesman said Monday that the terror group would use "all our strength" to kidnap or kill the U.K's Prince Harry, who has just begun serving a four-month tour of duty as a chopper pilot in Afghanistan.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/taliban-threatens-kill-prince-harry/story?id=17203733
Baghdad (CNN) -- At least 79 people were killed and roughly 270 others wounded Sunday in a fresh wave of violence largely targeting Iraqi security forces and predominantly Shiite areas, government officials said.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/09/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html
Members of the Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics (CAA) spoke at the official city-approved speakers’ platform during the Democratic National Convention on September 4, 2012 in the pouring rain. They were advocating the separation of church and state.
The speakers were: CAA member Piller Gregerson, CAA Vice President Mary Snow, and CAA President Shawn Murphy. Below is a video of excerpts of Mary Snow's speech. The first part of her speech was not captured in this video, however the full transcripts for each speech can be found at the links directly below:
CAA member Piller Gregerson
http://freethoughtaction.org/gregerson.html
CAA VP Mary Snow
http://freethoughtaction.org/snow.html
CAA President Shawn Murphy
http://freethoughtaction.org/murphy.html
ONLINE COVERAGE:
Atheists Left Questioning, Disappointed as Democrats Affirm God at Convention
http://global.christianpost.com/news/atheists-left-questioning-disappointed-as-democrats-affirm-god-at-convention-81279/
5 Questions For: Southern atheists at the Democratic Convention with mixed feelings about Obama
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/04/5-questions-for-southern-atheists-at-the-democratic-convention-with-mixed-feelings-about-obama
Atheist Protest at DNC Demands Leaders 'Separate Their Religion From Their Office'
http://global.christianpost.com/news/atheist-protest-at-dnc-demands-leaders-separate-their-religion-from-their-office-81202/
Atheists plan protest at Democratic National Convention today
http://www.examiner.com/article/atheists-plan-protest-at-democratic-national-convention-today
Atheists Will Protest at the DNC Later Today
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/09/04/atheists-will-protest-at-the-dnc-later-today/
Atheists Advocate Separation of Church and State at DNC
http://www.atheists.org/atheists-advocate-separation-church-and-state-dnc
Earlier...
Protesters assigned time slots at DNC
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/02/protesters-assigned-time-slots-at-dnc/
I hope nobody tells the Religious Right honchos that there's no mention of God in the U.S. Constitution. They'll start a drive for a constitutional amendment.
MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/platform-piety-tv-preacher-pushes-democrats-to-add-nod-to-god
Religiosity has declined in the U.S. by 13 percent since 2005, according to a new poll (PDF). The Millennial generation, born between 1981 and 2000, is the least religious yet, with one in four identifying themselves as religiously unaffiliated, atheist, or agnostic in a 2010 PewResearchCenter survey. That works out to about 15 million Americans who describe themselves as "convinced atheists," more than many mainline Protestant denominations, Jews, or Muslims.
Is there a market for merchandise for the godless? Retailers who cater to evangelical Christians with items including books, apparel, gifts, and Bibles represent $4.63 billion annually, according to the Association for Christian Retail. Those who sell to nonbelievers tend to be small business owners who are true nonbelievers. While bumper stickers and T-shirts are obvious favorites, books about evolution, educational games for children, and science-themed jewelry also hold appeal, says Derek Colanduno, an Atlanta computer programmer who hosts a podcast for skeptics.
MORE: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-07/can-the-godless-market-evolve-beyond-bumper-stickers
See also...
Myths and truths about atheism
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120902/OPINION04/309030008/Myths-truths-about-atheism?nclick_check=1
Thanks to a new law privatizing public education in Louisiana, Bible-based curriculum can now indoctrinate young, pliant minds with the good news of the Lord--all on the state taxpayers' dime.
MORE: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/07/photos-evangelical-curricula-louisiana-tax-dollars
For the first time in recent memory, the Greencastle-Antrim School Board did not recite the Lord’s Prayer at its meeting Thursday, instead choosing a moment of silence.
Without missing a beat, the overflow crowd that filled the Greencastle-Antrim Middle School library broke the silence by reciting the Lord’s Prayer in unison.
MORE: http://www.herald-mail.com/news/hm-lords-prayer-not-recited-at-greencastleantrim-school-board-meeting-20120906,0,3544581,full.story
Earlier...
Atheists want school boards to stop prayer at meetings
http://www.abc27.com/story/19300761/atheists-want-school-boards-to-stop-praying-at-meetings
Later this week, the Secular Coalition for America will open its phone lines to anyone and everyone in Maine who a) doesn't believe in God, b) can't be sure there is a God or c) believes, regardless of his or her spiritual underpinnings, that government at any level should not be doing anything in the name of the man (or woman) upstairs.
MORE: http://www.pressherald.com/news/whats-next-on-the-atheist-agenda__2012-09-09.html
See also...
Atheist Lobbying Group Organizes In D.C.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/09/06/atheist-lobbying-group-organizes-in-dc
CARSON CITY - An organization that represents atheists is starting a Nevada chapter that will lobby legislators against holding the sectarian prayers that open each legislative session.
MORE: http://www.lvrj.com/news/atheist-organization-opens-nevada-chapter-opposes-opening-prayer-at-legislative-session-168844586.html
ALTO PASS, Ill. (CBS) -- Atheist activist Rob Sherman says the U.S. Supreme Court is his last chance to block public funding for repair of a massive cross in Southern Illinois.
MORE: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/09/06/atheist-activist-goes-to-supreme-court-to-block-state-funding-for-cross/
ATLANTA -- Three states where members of the clergy and justices of the peace today marry gay couples argued on Friday that it's a violation of states' rights for the federal government to then "unmarry" those people under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
MORE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48957124/ns/us_news-christian_science_monitor/#
See also...
When football, same-sex marriage and politics collide
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/08/when-football-same-sex-marriage-and-politics-collide/?hpt=hp_t3
Atheist. Biologist. Writer. Thinker. Richard Dawkins has developed an international reputation of spreading the word that evolution happened and that there is no "intelligent design" or higher being, as you might gather from the title of his book "The God Delusion."
MORE: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/06/richard-dawkins-evolution-is-not-a-controversial-issue/comment-page-4/
See also...
Dawkins: Creationists know nothing
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/living/2012/09/05/orig-red-chair-richard-dawkins.cnn
(SPACE.com) Former president Bill Clinton has lent his support to the 100-Year Starship initiative, a project started by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA ) to research interstellar travel.
MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57508552/bill-clinton-backs-interstellar-voyage-project/?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.10
The exhibits will tell the shuttle program's history with interactive displays and other features that allow visitors to learn as much as they want about the spacecraft that carried astronauts into space for 30 years.
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905162606.htm
See also...
NASA's 'Mighty Eagle' Robotic Prototype Lander Aces Major Exam
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905185745.htm
NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Prepares for Trek Toward Dwarf Planet
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830141842.htm
Cheers, Voyager: 35 Years of Exploration
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905185542.htm
"The quantum world is still full of uncertainty, but at least our attempts to look at it don't have to add as much uncertainty as we used to think!"
MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120907125154.htm
See also...
Mathematicians Offer Unified Theory of Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Altering Einstein Field Equations
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120906092059.htm
Quantum World Only Partially Melts: Ultracold Atoms Reveal Surprising New Quantum Effects
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120906141848.htm
Comics go beyond the Higgs boson
http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13732992-comics-go-beyond-the-higgs-boson?lite
Arguing that it is "biased" for his children to be given free Gideon Bibles in class but not free atheist literature, an Ontario father is launching a human rights case that aims to drive the Gideons out of the province's public schools.
MORE: http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/08/29/human-rights-case-seeks-equal-billing-for-religion-and-atheism-in-schools/
First time author, Robert W. Griffiths, describes writing Slaying the Dragon, his critique of what he believes is the negative role that religion has and continues to have on society.
MORE: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/books-in-wales/2012/09/08/enter-the-dragon-slayer-91466-31781460/
They said the daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee has a strong bond with Buddhists due to the influence of her late mother, Yook Young-soo, who was a pious Buddhist. The aides added that she is also close to several prominent Protestants.
Because of this background, some analysts say Park is de facto affiliated with the three key religions and this would help her relationship with Buddhists during her presidential campaigns.
MORE: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/09/116_118974.html
The phrase "Jesus is a monkey" was painted on the walls of Latrun Monastery in large orange letters, as well as the words "Migron" and "Maoz Esther," referring to two illegal Israeli settler outposts in the West Bank.
--snip--
Israeli extremists have previously retaliated against both Islamic and Christian sites when they were forcibly evacuated from illegal West Bank outposts or settlements.
In February, a Greek Orthodox monastery in Jerusalem was similarly targeted when Israeli extremists wrote "Death to the Christians" on the walls and slashed the tires of churchgoers' vehicles.
Many mosques in the West Bank have also been set on fire in recent years and racist graffiti sprayed on the walls, including the words "price tag" and "Mohammad is a pig."
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/04/world/meast/israel-monastery-attack/index.html
After three weeks behind bars, Rimsha Masih, a mentally challenged Christian girl whose imprisonment drew condemnation from religious rights groups around the world, was released today.
MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/International/pakistani-christian-girl-accused-blasphemy-released-bail/story?id=17191412
About 80% of the attacks against civilians are by anti-government forces such as the Taliban, the report said.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/04/world/asia/afghanistan-violence/index.html
Iraqi authorities blamed al Qaeda for what they describe as coordinated assaults targeting mostly Shiite areas.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/01/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html
Two Islamist groups, MUJAO and the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine, now control Douentza, according to Ansar Dine military leader Omar Hamaha.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/01/world/africa/mali-rebels/index.html
"Our True Father passed into the spiritual world at 1:54 AM Monday, September 3rd, Korea time," a message on a Unification Church English-language website said.
MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/02/world/asia/south-korea-reverend-moon-dead/index.html
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The raised lettering on the red, yellow, and blue sculpted "Freethought Action Hero" award declares its first recipient: Jennifer Lovejoy of Asheville, North Carolina. It will be conferred during the forthcoming Carolinas Secular Conference, September 28-30, at the Charleston Marriott, 170 Lockwood Boulevard, Charleston, SC. FreeThoughtAction Vice President Joseph McDaniel Stewart will make the presentation Saturday evening, September 29, as one of the highlights of the banquet. 
