Atheists Mobilize Storm Relief Efforts

The Secular Coalition for America today encouraged participation in broad efforts by the nontheist community to assist with relief in the aftermath of storm "Sandy," which battered the East Coast earlier this week.

MORE: http://secular.org/news/press-release-atheists-mobilize-storm-relief-efforts

The war on bible banners: Christian legal group claims that atheists use bullying tactics to stifle religious speech at public schools

Religiously-themed run-through banners appear to be gaining in popularity at public schools in the south, as evidenced by the number of complaints that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has recently received. FFRF, a national state-church watchdog based in Madison, Wisconsin, has received several complaints about the practice and recently sent letters to Kountze, Texas; Newton, Texas; Bossier Parish, Louisiana; Stone County Schools, Mississippi, and Thackerville Schools, Oklahoma. FFRF was notified that the Stone County district ordered cheerleaders to stop making religious banners. The Kountze case has received massive media coverage and is being litigated.

MORE: http://www.goddiscussion.com/103376/christian-atheist-bible-banners/

Misleading Measure: Clergy Explain The Truth Behind Florida's Deceptive Amendment 8

No one could reasonably argue that clergy hate religion, so if they don't support a "religious freedom" measure, what does that say about Amendment 8?

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/misleading-measure-clergy-explain-the-truth-behind-florida-s-deceptive

Atheists may not be welcome in Indy

Asked whether there’s a certain type of player Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson hopes to bring to the organization, interim coach Bruce Arians said this:  "A high quality person who has passion for football and cares about faith, family and football."

MORE: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/31/atheists-may-not-be-welcome-in-indy/

Deeply Religious Newburgh Man Crushed By Falling Crucifix, Loses Leg

NEWBURGH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – David Jimenez believed his devotion to a crucifix was responsible for his wife being cured of cancer. Well, the crucifix fell on him, crushing one of his legs.

MORE: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/10/26/deeply-religious-newburgh-man-crushed-by-falling-crucifix-loses-leg/?hpt=us_bn7

The Monsters Among Us

While vampires represent the upper crust, a monster that is anything but has recently become incredibly popular: the zombie.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121030093613.htm

See also...

Zombie 'rush': Why fake scares are so much fun
http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/31/14783353-zombie-rush-why-fake-scares-are-so-much-fun?lite

The science behind Halloween's scariest creatures
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49630340/ns/technology_and_science-science/#__utma=14933801.1796274438.1343881820.1351648245.1351735080.19&__utmb=14933801.3.10.1351735080&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1343881820.1.1.utmcsr=(direct)|utmccn=(direct)|utmcmd=(none)&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Ccover=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Earned%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=145268148

The Halloween Horror of the Dark Universe!

If we were to have a Universe that contained dark matter and dark energy in the proportions described above, and that had its origins consistent with the theory of cosmic inflation, we would expect there to be very, very specific patterns in the temperature fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background! This background is a left-over relic from the Big Bang, and comes to us (mostly) untouched from when the Universe was only 380,000 years old, when we formed neutral atoms for the first time!

MORE: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2012/10/31/the-halloween-horror-of-the-dark-universe/

See also...

Additional Kepler Data Now Available to All Planet Hunters
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121029133542.htm

Looking Beyond Space and Time to Cope With Quantum Theory
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121028142217.htm

Causation Warps Our Perception of Time

ScienceDaily -- You push a button to call the elevator to your floor and you wait for what seems like forever, thinking it must be broken. When your friend pushes the button, the elevator appears within 10 seconds. "She must have the magic touch," you say to yourself. This episode reflects what philosophers and psychological scientists call "temporal binding": Events that occur close to one another in time and space are sometimes "bound" together and we perceive them as meaningful episodes.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121031142005.htm

See also...

How the Brain Controls Our Habits: Neuroscientists Identify a Brain Region That Can Switch Between New and Old Habits
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121031111425.htm

1092 Human Genomes Sequenced to Determine Standard Range of Human Genetic Variation

ScienceDaily -- Completing the second phase of the 1000 Genomes Project, a multinational team of scientists reports that they have sampled a total of 1092 individuals from 14 different populations and sequenced their full genomes. The researchers described the feat as a collegial effort to equip biologists and physicians with information that can be used to understand the normal range of human genetic variants so that a patient's disease genome can be interpreted in a broader context.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121031141719.htm

Exhaustive Family Tree for Birds Shows Recent, Rapid Diversification

ScienceDaily -- A Yale-led scientific team has produced the most comprehensive family tree for birds to date, connecting all living bird species -- nearly 10,000 in total -- and revealing surprising new details about their evolutionary history and its geographic context.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121031141906.htm

Egypt's Brotherhood: Shariah Must Be Charter Base

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said Wednesday it is committed to enshrining Islamic Shariah law as the main source of a new constitution, seeking to mollify ultraconservative Islamists who accuse the group of not advocating strongly enough for Islamic rule.

MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypts-brotherhood-shariah-charter-base-17612201

'Heroic' Iran, 'resistive' Syria behind Sandy, pro-Assad group claims

"Sources confirmed to us that Hurricane Sandy that is slamming the U.S. was set off by highly advanced technologies developed by the heroic Iranian regime that supports the resistance, with coordination of our resistive Syrian regime," pro-government group News Network of the Syrian Armed Forces said in a Facebook posting.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/31/world/meast/syria-sandy-facebook-claim/index.html?hpt=wo_t2

Godless "Humanism Works!" Campaign Continues with Billboard, Newspaper Ads

Humanists in the Palouse are continuing to reach out to local residents with a new billboard and newspaper insert as part of the ongoing "Humanism Works!" campaign that began in July.

MORE: http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2012-10-godless-humanism-works-campaign-continues-with-billb

See also...

Sounds Like Humanism To Me, Too
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/10/10/sounds-like-humanism-to-me-too/

"Under God" Pledge Case to be Reviewed by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has agreed to hear the appeal from a humanist family challenging a state law that requires daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag in public schools. The plaintiffs claim daily classroom affirmation that the nation is "under God" violates state constitutional prohibitions against religious discrimination.

MORE: http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2012-10-under-god-pledge-case-to-be-reviewed-by-massachusett

See also...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court To Hear Case Against Pledge Of Allegiance
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/massachusetts-supreme-court-case-against-pledge-of-allegiance_n_2047799.html

Pew Survey Reveals Religion's Fading Influence

The growth in the unaffiliated is clearly coming at the expense of Protestants, whose decline mirrors the unaffiliated increase. The generational gap in the findings is also quite striking. Thirty-two percent of young adults 18-29 years of age now identify themselves as unaffiliated, in contrast to only 9% of those age 65 and over.
MORE: http://www.americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2012-10-pew-survey-reveals-religions-fading-influence

Religious Right Opposition to Healthcare Reform Is Deadly

In almost every measure, the quality and affordability of healthcare in the US is embarrassing. While we spend more on healthcare than any other country, "all adults in the United States are at risk for receiving poor health care, no matter where they live; why and from whom they seek care; or what their race, gender, or financial status is."

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roy-speckhardt/religious-right-oppositio_b_2009631.html

Religious Freedom on the Brink

Should we place the right to speak one's mind over that of protecting the "honor" of religious beliefs? Or do we want to continue following the dictates of the ancient past; copying laws established to forbid certain types of world views and killing people for violating them?

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roy-speckhardt/religious-freedom-on-the-_b_1961414.html

Why New Religions? The Sociology of Cults and the Need to Belong

Contemporary sociologists do not actually differentiate between cults and ‘new religious movements' (NRMs), but see them rather as similar human phenomena, according to Lorne L. Dawson, author of Comprehending Cults: The Sociology of New Religious Movements.

MORE: http://www.americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2012-10-why-new-religions-the-sociology-of-cults-and-the-nee

Christian preacher blames gays for Hurricane Sandy

An anti-gay Christian preacher is already blaming Hurricane Sandy on gays.

MORE: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/christian-preacher-blames-gays-hurricane-sandy291012

See also...

Hurricane Sandy is God's Vengeance for Lisa Miller
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/hurricane-sandy-gods-vengeance-lisa-miller

Documents: Former scout leader admitted to abusing children

According to the documents, Thomas Menghi Jr. admitted to sexually assaulting at least 10 boys. The 69-year-old man now lives in Monroe, down the street from an elementary school.

MORE: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/documents-former-scout-leader-admitted-abusing-chi/nSn37/

The American Medical Student Association and its promotion of woo in medical school

And then there’s the American Medical Students Association (AMSA), specifically its various initiatives in “integrative medicine.” I fear that each successive generation of medical students is more prone to embracing unscientific medicine than the last.

MORE: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/10/29/the-american-medical-student-association-and-its-promotion-of-woo-in-medical-school/

Atheist Parent Says Canadian Public Schools 'Indoctrinating' Kids With Free Bibles

A school district in Chilliwack, British Columbia has said that it will continue offering free Bibles to students despite protests from an atheist parent who describes the handouts as "religious marketing."

MORE: http://www.christianpost.com/news/atheist-parent-says-canadian-public-schools-indoctrinating-kids-with-free-bibles-84128/

Christian and atheist soldiers both pay the ultimate price

This year, as for all years past, many of those who died fighting will not have their representative at London's Cenotaph. Yet for some time now the humanists have asked for their representative to stand alongside those from the country's religions at the official ceremony. They are, after all, the second largest belief group in the Armed Forces after Christianity. Other cities already accept their presence: Edinburgh, Belfast, Sheffield and Birmingham among them. But so far they have been kept away from the major national monument in Whitehall.

MORE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9640831/Christian-and-atheist-soldiers-both-pay-the-ultimate-price.html

Police, protesters clash at Republic Day march in Turkey

Tensions mounted ahead of Monday's Republic Day holiday, when the governor of Ankara banned the planned march organized by secularist opposition groups that are deeply critical of Turkey's Islamist-rooted government.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/world/europe/turkey-holiday-clash/index.html?hpt=ieu_c2

The unbelievers: Post-Alber Saber, more atheists struggle to assert their identity

Five male members of an atheist group congregate in one of Cairo's crowded downtown bars, sipping beer and Pepsi as they discuss their thoughts on religion, sex, science, culture, politics and Egypt's new ruling regime.

--snip--

The Internet has connected many non-believers together, introducing them to a virtual community that shares many of their outlooks.

The widespread taboo of  "thou shall not question" was gradually weakened with the advent of forums, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and credible research online.

MORE: http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/unbelievers-post-alber-saber-more-atheists-struggle-assert-their-identity

Suicide bomber kills 7 in Nigerian church

The Boko Haram militant Islamist group has previously claimed responsibility for church bombings that killed dozens.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/28/world/africa/nigeria-church-bombing/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2

U.N. says 20,000 homeless after Myanmar clashes

(CNN) -- More than 20,000 people have been displaced by fighting between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar that saw Islamic organizations canceling the religious holiday of Eid al-Adha, a U.N. official said Sunday.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/28/world/asia/myanmar-unrest/index.html

See also...

Myanmar steps up security after sectarian clashes kill 50
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/world/asia/myanmar-unrest/index.html

Q&A: What's behind sectarian violence in Myanmar?
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/26/world/asia/myanmar-rohingya-violence-explainer/index.html

Iraq suffers violence on third day of Eid festival

The violence comes a day after a wave of attacks in Iraq killed at least 31 people and wounded nearly 100, with the Shiite-dominated government blaming the attacks on Sunni insurgents with ties to al Qaeda.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/28/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html?hpt=imi_c2

See also...

Sunni extremists: We set off bombs in Iraq, more to come
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/29/sunni-extremists-we-set-baghdad-bomb-more-to-come/?iref=allsearch&hpt=imi_c2

Shootings, explosions take at least 12 lives in Iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/24/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

Al Qaeda leader calls for kidnapping of Westerners

(CNN) -- Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is calling on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, citing the success in the abduction of American aid worker Warren Weinstein in Pakistan.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/27/world/asia/al-qaeda-kidnap-threat/index.html?hpt=imi_c2

In rebuke to Taliban, Pakistan college named for Malala

Swat, Pakistan (CNN) -- In a message of defiance to the Taliban, authorities in Swat have decided to rename a government college after Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old girl who was shot in the head after demanding education for girls.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/world/asia/pakistan-college-malala/index.html

Israeli airstrike hits Hamas target

The two belonged to Hamas' Izzedine al Qassam brigade, which three hours earlier fired mortars into Israel.

MORE: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/27/israeli-airstrike-hits-hamas-target/?hpt=hp_t2&hpt=imi_c2

A preacher gives an interesting gay rights speech. (Wait for it..)

In Memory of Paul Kurtz and Leon Jaroff

We lost two towering figures in the world of rationalism over the weekend. On Saturday October 20, Leon Jaroff died at the age of 85. Then on Sunday October 21 we learned that Paul Kurtz had died at the age of 86. Both men hit their peak prior to the explosion of blogs, podcasts, social media, and as a result, the skeptical community. They therefore might not be that well known to many of the younger skeptics in the community. Their legacy, however, is worth knowing.

MORE: http://www.skepticblog.org/2012/10/22/in-memory-of-paul-kurtz-and-leon-jaroff/

See also...

Paul Kurtz Has Died
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/10/21/paul-kurtz-has-died/

A Tribute to Paul Kurtz, Secular Philosopher
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/a_tribute_to_paul_kurtz_secular_philosopher/

Humanists Mourn Death of Paul Kurtz, Humanist Philosopher and Advocate
http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2011-11-humanists-mourn-death-of-paul-kurtz-humanist-philoso

Atheist Group Argues In Court For Right To Perform Weddings

A secular organization, the Center for Inquiry, argued in federal court Monday that Indiana’s marriage statute is unconstitutional because it does not allow non-religious organizations to marry people.

MORE: http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/atheist-group-argues-court-perform-marriages-38549/

See also...

Atheist group fights for right to solemnize marriages in Indiana
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/23/atheist-group-fights-for-right-to-solemnize-marriages-in-indiana/

Atheist group sues Indiana over 'unconstitutional' marriage statute
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/24/atheist-group-sues-over-indiana-unconstitutional-marriage-statute/?test=latestnews

Atheist comedian George Carlin to get street named for him... near a church

George Carlin (1937-2008), the comedian who made millions laugh with his wry observations about life and the human condition, is about to get a block on a street named after him in his birthplace, the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhatten. It's the 400 block of the street he grew up on, 121st, and it's the result of a long campaign on his behalf by fellow comedian, Kevin Bartini. The new name is George Carlin Way, which is a bit ironic since, while Carlin may have gotten his way in publicizing his views of the Catholic Church he grew up in (and religion itself), the Church forced a compromise on which block would have its name changed.

MORE: http://www.examiner.com/article/atheist-comedian-george-carlin-to-get-street-named-for-him-near-a-church

Atheists rally for inclusion at Texas Freethought Convention

At the rally, renowned scientist Richard Dawkins read aloud what he calls discrimination in the Texas Constitution.

"Nor shall anyone be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a supreme being," he said.

MORE: http://austin.ynn.com/content/headlines/288907/atheists-rally-for-inclusion-at-texas-freethought-convention

Three Cheers For Religious Liberty: Forcing Your Faith Onto Others Isn't 'Freedom'

Religious freedom need not be a complicated concept. You can believe what you like. You have the right to worship the god (or gods) of your choice - or worship no god at all if you like.

The problem is, some people are never satisfied with exercising that private right. They demand that they be allowed to use government channels to impose what they believe on others.

MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/three-cheers-for-religious-liberty-forcing-your-faith-onto-others-isn-t

See also...

Faith, Football and the First Amendment
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/opinion/faith-football-and-the-first-amendment.html?_r=1&

Bench the Bible verses
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/texas-high-school-should-bench-the-bible-verses/2012/10/23/1bad35c8-1c89-11e2-ad90-ba5920e56eb3_story.html

Noble Advice: Keep The Church Out Of Partisan Politics

A poll released this month by LifeWay Research, which is the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, found a whopping 87 percent of Protestant pastors disagreed that clergy should endorse candidates in church.

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/noble-advice-keep-the-church-out-of-partisan-politics

Backroom Backing: North Carolina City Quietly Votes To Fund Jehovah's Witnesses Convention

As part of a backroom deal, the city council of Raleigh, N.C., has decided to provide $150,000 so the Jehovah's Witnesses can hold a major event locally.

MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/backroom-backing-north-carolina-city-quietly-votes-to-fund-jehovah-s

Misguided Ministry: Indiana Public School Ends Youth Pastor's Outreach

Imagine the uproar if clergy representing Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Scientology or some other faith were given access to public school students.

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/misguided-ministry-indiana-public-school-ends-youth-pastor-s-outreach

Boy inspires 'In God We Trust' Utah license plate

A new license plate design is coming to Utah. The state is rolling out new plates that read "In God We Trust."

The plate was inspired by 11-year-old Tate Christensen. He is an avid license plate collector and found through his research 12 other states had "In God We Trust" plates. He thought the plate would be a perfect fit for Utah.

MORE: http://fox13now.com/2012/10/23/boy-inspires-in-god-we-trust-utah-license-plate/?hpt=us_bn10

Loudoun committee recommends county-sponsored holiday display

The board's Finance, Government Services and Operations Committee voted Monday to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a county-sponsored display that would feature secular and religious symbols, including a decorated evergreen tree, a Nativity display, a menorah, Santa Claus with a reindeer and sleigh, and seasonal greenery.

MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/loudoun-committee-recommends-county-sponsored-holiday-display/2012/10/23/b5d82faa-1d37-11e2-ba31-3083ca97c314_story.html

Kansas City church faces scrutiny for political signs

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - A woman who lives near Morning Star Baptist Church is concerned about political signs on church property.

MORE: http://www.kctv5.com/story/19886272/kansas-city-church-faces-scrutiny-for-political-signs?hpt=us_bn9

Evolution is a religion! Proclaims creationist quacks

Science is fundamentally different than religion because nothing is regarded as divine indisputable knowledge. Science does not rely on ancient men claiming to speak for god; science relies on empirical evidence and reason. Christian fundamentalists believe that every word in the Bible must be taken literally such as Genesis. No atheist believes that everything Charles Darwin wrote cannot be challenged. No one thinks of him as a divine prophet and the philosophical foundation of science dictates that evidence trumps any kind of human authority. It is not who is right but what is right that’s important.

MORE: http://www.chicagonow.com/an-agnostic-in-wheaton/2012/10/evolution-is-a-religion-proclaims-creationist-quacks/

Ghost Busting: Study Examines Influence of Media Messages On Perceptions of Paranormal Investigators' Credibility

ScienceDaily -- The fourth installment of the Paranormal Activity films topped the box office last week. Television channel SyFy's hit show Ghost Hunters scares up big ratings, and has spawned copycat series on networks ranging from Biography to Animal Planet.

--snip--

"It wasn't just any story about paranormal investigators that made people believe in ghosts and haunted houses," Brewer said, "it was a story about how they were scientific."

--snip--

Still, his findings do offer some solace to skeptics. Another version of the article in the study was identical to the "scientific" version until the end, where an extra paragraph was added. It quoted a professor debunking the investigators' expertise. That article's group was swayed by the opposing viewpoint and rated the investigators' credibility at levels below the first group.

"What the media can do, the media can take away," Brewer said.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121024141633.htm

Foster Kids Do Equally Well When Adopted by Gay, Lesbian or Heterosexual Parents, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily -- High-risk children adopted from foster care do equally well when placed with gay, lesbian or heterosexual parents, UCLA psychologists report in the first multi-year study of children adopted by these three groups of parents.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121019094534.htm

See also...

3.4% of Americans identify as LGBT
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/19/3-4-americans-identify-as-lgbt/?hpt=us_bn1

Parenting and Temperament in Childhood Predict Later Political Ideology

Consistent with theory from political psychology, Fraley and colleagues found that children with authoritarian parents were more likely to have conservative attitudes at age 18, even after accounting for their gender, ethnic background, cognitive functioning, and socioeconomic status. Children who had parents with egalitarian parenting attitudes, on the other hand, were more likely to hold liberal attitudes as young adults.

In terms of temperament, children with higher levels of fearfulness at 54 months were more likely to be conservative at age 18, while children with higher levels of activity or restlessness and higher levels of attentional focusing were more likely to espouse liberal values at that age.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121022162655.htm

See also...

Summer Babies Less Likely to Be CEOs
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121023134818.htm

Parents Look On the Bright Side of Kids' Worries
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121024093316.htm

Friendship 2.0: Teens' Technology Use Promotes Sense of Belonging, Identity
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121022121726.htm

Science Reveals the Power of a Handshake

ScienceDaily -- New neuroscience research is confirming an old adage about the power of a handshake: strangers do form a better impression of those who proffer their hand in greeting.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121019141300.htm

Grandmas Made Humans Live Longer: Chimp Lifespan Evolves Into Human Longevity, Computer Simulation Shows

ScienceDaily -- Computer simulations provide new mathematical support for the "grandmother hypothesis" -- a famous theory that humans evolved longer adult lifespans than apes because grandmothers helped feed their grandchildren.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121023204142.htm

See also...

Fuller Picture of Human Expansion from Africa
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121022145445.htm

Did Bacteria Spark Evolution of Multicellular Life?

Since first starting to study choanoflagellates as a post-doc, King has been trying to figure out why some choanoflagellates live their lives as single cells, while others form colonies. After years of dead ends, King and undergraduate researcher Richard Zuzow discovered accidentally that a previously unknown species of bacteria stimulates one choanoflagellate, Salpingoeca rosetta, to form colonies. Because bacteria were abundant in the oceans when animals first evolved, the finding that bacteria influence choano colony formation means it is plausible that bacteria also helped to stimulate multicellularity in the ancestors of animals.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121024101758.htm

See also...

Evolution of New Genes Captured
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121022145340.htm

Milky Way's Black Hole Getting Ready for Snack

ScienceDaily -- Get ready for a fascinating eating experience in the center of our galaxy. The event involves a black hole that may devour much of an approaching cloud of dust and gas known as G2.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121022145447.htm

See also...

Astronomers Uncover a Surprising Trend in Galaxy Evolution
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121019135427.htm

NASA's NuSTAR Spots Flare from Milky Way's Black Hole
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121023145224.htm

84 Million Stars and Counting: VISTA Creates Largest Ever Catalogue of Center of Milky Way Galaxy
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121024093038.htm

Pope names first Native American saint

Tekakwitha's canonization follows what has been judged a miracle by the Roman Catholic Church in the 2006 case of an American boy with a flesh-eating bug.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/21/world/europe/vatican-new-saints/index.html

Atheist boy refused membership in Scouts

An atheist 11-year-old from the United Kingdom was recently banned from the Scouts after he refused to pledge allegiance to God and the Queen.

MORE: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/atheist.boy.refused.membership.in.scouts/30849.htm

See also...

The Scouts should be open to atheists as well
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/9627716/The-Scouts-should-be-open-to-atheists-as-well.html

George Pratt's faith in atheism: Scouts must Promise to Obey - and if they don't, they're out
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/george-pratts-faith-in-atheism-scouts-must-promise-to-obey--and-if-they-dont-theyre-out-8222605.html

Atheist preacher brings his message to Brighton

Brighton was named the UK’s most godless city after the 2001 Census results were published.

A quarter of people in Brighton specifically ticked the ‘no religion’ box, the highest proportion in the country, and only 1.5% of the city population went to church, compared with 7% nationally.

MORE: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9999479.Atheist_preacher_brings_his_message_to_Brighton/

Irish atheist student says school forced him to attend prayer meeting

A young Irish atheist has made an official complaint after his school forced him to attend a multi-denominational prayer service.

MORE: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-atheist-student-says-school-forced-him-to-attend-prayer-meeting-175135681.html

See also...

Irish atheist pupil who was forced to pray claims human rights violation
http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2012/10/irish-atheist-pupil-who-was-forced-to-pray-claims-human-rights-violation

'Minang atheist' appeals to Supreme Court

Alexander Aan, 31, a South Sumatra civil servant who was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment for defaming Islam after declaring himself an atheist on a social media website, has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.

MORE: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/22/atheist-appeals-supreme-court.html

See also...

Indonesian Atheist Alexander Aan Appeals Verdict In Blasphemy Case
http://global.christianpost.com/news/indonesian-atheist-alexander-aan-appeals-verdict-in-blasphemy-case-83730/

Turkey: Fazil Say, pianist, composer, atheist, on trial for blasphemy

Blasphemy: In Turkey, Fazil Say, popular composer and performer, is on trial for insulting Islam. The internationally known artist is being prosecuted under laws against inciting hatred and insulting the values of Muslims. Say rejects the charges, and demands his right to freely express himself in what is supposed to be a secular country.

MORE: http://www.examiner.com/article/turkey-faz-l-say-pianist-composer-atheist-on-trial-for-blasphemy

Extremist Islamist Group in Syria Rejects Truce

An al-Qaida-inspired Islamist group has rejected the short holiday cease-fire proposed by the international peace envoy to Syria.

MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/envoy-syrian-government-rebels-agree-truce-17550376

Instability feared in Lebanon after assassination

Lebanese tanks, armored personnel carriers and soldiers have patrolled the two cities in wake of the car bombing that killed the nation's top intelligence chief. On Monday, seven people were killed in unrest in Tripoli in clashes among rivaling groups of Sunnis and Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, NNA reported.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/23/world/meast/lebanon-violence/index.html?hpt=imi_c2

See also...

A look at some of the key players in Lebanon's latest crisis
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/21/world/meast/lebanon-unrest-players/index.html

Shot Pakistani schoolgirl can stand, communicate, hospital says

The latest progress report -- more detailed than previous updates -- suggests that the girl shot after she defied the Taliban by insisting on the right of girls to go to school could make a good recovery.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/19/world/europe/uk-pakistani-teen-activist/index.html?hpt=ias_c2

Explosions in and around Baghdad kill at least 9

Overall, violence in Iraq has dropped since the peak of sectarian attacks between 2005 and 2007, but lethal attacks continue to occur almost daily.

MORE: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/23/explosions-in-and-around-baghdad-kill-at-least-9/?hpt=hp_t3&hpt=imi_c2

See also...

Twin blasts kill 11 in Iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/20/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

Death toll at 4 as Israeli planes hit Gaza after Palestinians fire dozens of rockets

(CNN) -- As dozens of Palestinian rockets rained down on southern Israel, the country's air force carried out new raids on positions in Gaza on Wednesday. Two days of air strikes have so far killed four Palestinians.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/24/world/meast/mideast-violence/index.html?hpt=imi_c2

Born a Skeptic

The Secular Movement Can Reshape Public Policy

With a new survey from Pew showing that about one in five Americans are now religiously unaffiliated, it would be reasonable to ask what impact, if any, the rapidly growing secular movement will have on public policy. (Among those under 30, the percentage is even higher: one in three.) This enormous demographic, silent for so long, is finding its voice, and the fallout could be significant.

MORE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-humanity-naturally/201210/the-secular-movement-can-reshape-public-policy

Earlier...

"Nones" on the Rise
http://freethoughtactionblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/nones-on-rise.html

Godless Conference Coming to Little Rock

Atheists, agnostics, humanists, and other secular people from all over Arkansas are traveling to Little Rock for the inaugural Reason in the Rock conference. The one-day event will be held Saturday, October 27, from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM in the Darragh Center Auditorium of the Central Arkansas Library, 100 Rock Street, in the River Market District of downtown Little Rock.

MORE: http://www.unitedcor.org/national/news/godless-conference-coming-little-rock

Marriage Law And Religion: Sectarian Lobbies Seek To Wed Church And State

Voters in four states will cast ballots on marriage equality next month, among them my adopted home of Maryland. Polls show that the Maryland measure, which allows same-sex couples to wed, just might pass.

Religious Right groups, of course, are doing all they can to ensure that doesn't happen. They're mustering all of the arguments we've heard before: Same-sex marriage will somehow harm families, it's condemned by the Bible, it will lead to people marrying bicycles, etc.

MORE: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/marriage-law-and-religion-sectarian-lobbies-seek-to-wed-church-and-state

Straying Flock: Overwhelming Majority Of Catholics Ignore Voting Instructions From Bishops

A survey of 1,000 self-identified Catholic voters found that overwhelming majorities feel no obligation to vote the way the bishops tell them to.

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/straying-flock-overwhelming-majority-of-catholics-ignore-voting

Counterfeit Caucuses: State Legislators Say They're For Religious Freedom, But Don't Buy It

These are theocracy-minded folks dedicated to advancing the Religious Right's definition of religious liberty and undermining the wall of separation between church and state. They want the right to impose their religion on the rest of us.

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/counterfeit-caucuses-state-legislators-say-they-re-for-religious-freedom

Let's Do Lunch!: Religious Right Attacks Kids Making New Friends In School

In an effort to gently prod youngsters to meet some new people, many schools are taking part in "Mix It Up at Lunch Day" on Oct. 30. The idea is for students in public schools to eat lunch with someone they don't know. They just might find they have some things in common.

The program was launched by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) 11 years ago. It sounds pretty positive. But to the American Family Association (AFA), Mix It Up at Lunch Day is yet another manifestation of the "gay agenda."

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/let-s-do-lunch-religious-right-attacks-kids-making-new-friends-in-school

Severe Sermon: Iowa Pastor Lashes Out At Woman Who Dared Question His Political Involvement

In a misogynistic and violent sermon given Oct. 7, Youngblood was quoted in the Des Moines Register as saying "don't call yourself a Christian" if you’re going to challenge him and he'd "like to slap" the woman who made the complaint.

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/severe-sermon-iowa-pastor-lashes-out-at-woman-who-dared-question-his

Texas attorney general intervenes in lawsuit to allow cheerleaders to use Bible verses

Abbott has filed court papers to intervene in a lawsuit that cheerleaders at Kountze High School filed against the school district complaining that a new policy violated their freedom of speech. In September, district officials told the cheerleaders to stop using Bible verses at football games after the Freedom From Religion Foundation complained.

MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/texas-attorney-general-intervenes-in-lawsuit-to-allow-cheerleaders-to-use-bible-verses/2012/10/17/99e5094e-187d-11e2-a346-f24efc680b8d_story.html

See also...

Texas AG attacks atheists, defends Christian cheerleaders
http://www.examiner.com/article/texas-ag-attacks-atheists-defends-christian-cheerleaders

Banner Blowhards: Texas Governor's Cheers Are Not For The First Amendment
http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/banner-blowhards-texas-governor-s-cheers-are-not-for-the-first-amendment

Texas cheerleaders can keep Christian banners, for now, judge rules
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/18/14539901-texas-cheerleaders-can-keep-christian-banners-for-now-judge-rules?lite

Group seeks lawyer in war memorial case

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) -- An atheist group is reportedly taking steps toward re-igniting their fight against a local war memorial.

MORE: http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/blackstone/woonsocket-atheist-group-seeks-lawyer-in-war-memorial-case

Controversy Over Atheist Speaker Spurs Discussion of District 99 Parent Notification Procedures

Officials received hundreds of emails last month about Downers Grove North's Constitution Week speaker Jessica Ahlquist, a Rhode Island teen who sued her school to have a prayer removed from the gymnasium wall.

MORE: http://woodridge.patch.com/articles/jessica-ahlquist-atheist-constitution-week-downers-grove-north-district-99

Billy Graham's organization removes Mormonism from its list of cults

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association this week removed Mormonism from its list of religious cults, the Charlotte Observer reports. Mormons consider themselves Christians, though not all of their beliefs align with mainstream Christian doctrine.

MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57535071/billy-grahams-organization-removes-mormonism-from-its-list-of-cults/?tag=contentAux;mostDiscussed

See also...

Evangelistic Association’s website cuts Mormonism from listing of ‘cults’
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/10/18/3603920/graham-family-ties-tighten-with.html

War on Christmas 2012 Kicks Off! Christians Sue Santa Monica to Fight City's Atheist-Inspired Nativity Scene Ban

"In a highly disappointing action, the Santa Monica City Council voted 5-0 June 12 to ban all December displays, including the Nativity Scenes and menorah, from Palisades Park," the Christian group wrote on its web site this summer.

MORE: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/war-on-christmas-2012-kicks-off-christians-sue-santa-monica-to-fight-citys-atheist-inspired-nativity-scene-ban/

Why Anti-Blasphemy Laws Ban All Religions

The inevitable conclusion driven by the internal logical of anti-blasphemy theory is that all theism and atheism is committing offensive blasphemy against one another, one way or another, so all expressions of theism and atheism must be banned. All the churches, temples, mosques, and atheist discussion groups must be rendered illegal and closed. No one can express any sort of opinion for fear of offending the precious feelings of others.  

Ergo, those who promote anti-blasphemy laws are not thinking beyond their noses. That's because their true priority is to gain the upper hand over those who dare disagree with them. Which is arrogance by threat of the highest order. Theists are engaging in incredible speculations as to the existence and nature of supernatural entities that they cannot even demonstrate exist. Yet a substantial number of them want to punish those who do nothing more than point out -- whether it be careful but damning analysis or biting satire -- that one, more or all theist doctrines are false. It's a crass power play dressed up as prevention of upsetting the sensibilities of believers that for some reason so delicate that they must be protected by threats legal or otherwise.

MORE: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Why-Anti-Blasphemy-Laws-Ba-by-Gregory-Paul-121012-659.html

Released Files Detail Alleged Abuse in Boy Scouts

The so-called "perversion files" were reportedly kept at Boy Scouts headquarters in Texas and contain memos between scouting officials and letters from victims. They span 20 years -- from 1965 to 1985 -- and include the names of more than 1,200 alleged pedophiles.

MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/released-files-detail-alleged-abuse-boy-scouts/story?id=17512745

Cancer Diagnosis Does Not Make Young People Religious, Research Suggests

ScienceDaily -- A sociologist of religion from the University of Copenhagen has interviewed 21 young patients diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer about their religious beliefs. She concludes that a cancer diagnosis will not make young people, who are not religious already, turn to religion. But it can confirm already existing beliefs.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121018123058.htm

Had Enough Yet?

Did we think Jerry Springer was bad? I'd rather see people breaking chairs over each other's heads than sitting still for "Discovery," "History" or "Learning" channels to program scientifically un-proven rubbish. Yet it goes on and on, every day, with almost weekly alerts coming across my desk for more and more casting calls for "psychics, mediums and ghost hunters wanted."

MORE: http://www.skepticblog.org/2012/10/16/had-enough-yet/

Quackademic medicine invades the military again

As much as I write about the infiltration of quackademic medicine into medical academia, there is one particular area that is being increasingly invaded by such quackery. It's an area that you wouldn't necessarily expect, although anyone who’s read The Men Who Stare at Goats might not be so shocked. Yes, I'm referring to the military, and, as I've documented time and time again, increasingly our men and women in uniform are being subjected to abject quackery.
MORE: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/10/18/quackademic-medicine-invades-the-military-again/

Defense of Marriage Act ruled unconstitutional by second appeals court

A federal appeals court in New York on Thursday became the second appeals court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that the law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman is unconstitutional.

MORE: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/18/14537805-defense-of-marriage-act-ruled-unconstitutional-by-second-appeals-court?lite

Bible Belt Christian pretends to be gay

Timothy Kurek talks to HLN's "Evening Express" team about why he pretended to be gay for a year.

MORE: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/17/bible-belt-christian-pretends-to-be-gay/comment-page-1/

Gallup survey claims 3.4 percent in U.S. are LGBT

According to the survey, which was conducted between June and September, 4.6 percent of African-Americans identify as LGBT, 4 percent of Hispanics, 4.3 percent of Asians and 3.2 percent of whites. Overall, a third of those identifying as LGBT are nonwhite, the report said.

MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57535450/gallup-survey-claims-3.4-percent-in-u.s-are-lgbt/?tag=cbsnewsHardNewsFDArea;fdmodule

Man asks state to pardon 11 executed for witchcraft

Retired New Haven Police Sergeant Tony Grieco is trying to get the state to pardon or clear the names of 11 people executed in the 1600's for witchcraft in Connecticut.

MORE: http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/new_haven_cty/man-asks-state-to-pardon-11-executed-for-witchcraft?hpt=us_bn7#.UH_m264hQ85

Male Politicians Have 'Bigger Heads' in More Gender-Equal Cultures

ScienceDaily -- When it comes to analyzing gender stereotypes in the media, studies have shown that photographs of men focus on male faces while photographs of women are more focused on women's bodies. A recent study from Psychology of Women Quarterly, a SAGE journal, finds that this type of "face-ism" is even more extreme in cultures with less educational, professional, and political gender discrimination.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121017181351.htm

See also...

Female Pulitzer Prize Winners Require Higher Qualifications, Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121018123054.htm

NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds More Shiny Objects on Mars

When NASA's Curiosity rover found a shiny object on Mars last week, researchers believed it was just part of the rover. But now, the rover has found more bright objects in Mars' soil, leading NASA officials to believe it is something native to the planet.

MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/10/nasas-curiosity-rover-finds-more-shiny-objects-on-mars/

Felix Baumgartner Successfully Lands After Highest Freefall from Edge of Space

ScienceDaily -- Austria's Felix Baumgartner earned his place in the history books on Sunday (Oct. 14, 2012) after overcoming concerns with the power for his visor heater that impaired his vision and nearly jeopardized the mission. Baumgartner reached an estimated speed of 1,342.8 km/h (Mach 1.24) jumping from the stratosphere, which when certified will make him the first man to break the speed of sound in freefall and set several other records* while delivering valuable data for future space exploration.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121014170655.htm

See also...

China's Wingsuit Flying World Championship
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/10/chinas-wingsuit-flying-world-championship/

Calif. Man Established World Record with Jet Pack Flight Over Pacific
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/10/calif-man-established-world-record-with-jet-pack-flight-over-pacific/

Pope Is No Fan of Russian Punk Rockers

MOSCOW -- The Pussy Riot trial last summer captured worldwide attention and support from cultural icons like Madonna, Sting, and Paul McCartney. Now the case has attracted attention from a higher power: the pope. But unlike those musical superstars, Pope Benedict XVI has reportedly backed their condemnation.

MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/pope-is-no-fan-of-russian-punk-rockers/

Ireland's first abortion clinic opens to protests

The first abortion clinic on the island of Ireland opened Thursday in downtown Belfast, unleashing angry protests on the street and uniting Catholic and Protestant politicians in calls to investigate the new facility.

MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57535515/irelands-first-abortion-clinic-opens-to-protests/?tag=cbsnewsHardNewsFDArea;fdmodule

British Atheist Richard Dawkins Explores Sin and Morality in New TV Series

"If there is no God watching us, why be good?" poses the description on a new television series by evolutionary scientist Richard Dawkins on Britain's Channel 4. The program, running through October and taking Dawkins from a London inner-city to America's Bible Belt, examines the argument that "religion's absolutist moral codes fuel lies and guilt".

MORE: http://global.christianpost.com/news/british-atheist-richard-dawkins-explores-sin-and-morality-in-new-tv-series-83113/

University of Windsor drops convocation prayer after campus atheists protest

Shawna Scott, one of the leading advocates for the prayer's removal, took particular umbrage with the line "eternal God" as "the source of all goodness, discipline and knowledge."

MORE: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/university-windsor-drops-convocation-prayer-campus-atheists-protest-185028435.html

See also...

University removes convocation prayer
http://uwindsorlance.ca/2012/10/09/university-removes-convocation-prayer/

Atheist schoolboy, 11, is banned from the Scouts as he refuses to pledge allegiance to God and Queen

An 11-year-old boy has been banned from joining the Scouts because he does not believe in God and refuses to swear allegiance.

MORE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2219513/Atheist-schoolboy-11-banned-joining-Scouts-refuses-swear-duty-God.html

Pianist Vs. Muezzin: Atheist On Trial For Insulting Islam In A Divided Turkey

That a world-renowned pianist could be indicted for joking about Islam is worrisome to the country's many secularists, and this gets to the heart of Turkey's central dichotomy.

MORE: http://www.ibtimes.com/pianist-vs-muezzin-atheist-trial-insulting-islam-divided-turkey-849317

Court resumes in trial of Egyptian atheist

Saber, 27, was arrested in September after a mob surrounded his house and accused him of ripping up a Koran and publishing anti-Islamic comments online.

MORE: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/10/18/Court-resumes-in-trial-of-Egyptian-atheist/UPI-22611350584254/

See also...

Trial of 'atheist' Alber Saber resumes
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/trial-atheist-alber-saber-resumes

And...

Egyptian teacher fired for cutting the hair of girls who didn't wear headscarves
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/18/14538277-egyptian-teacher-fired-for-cutting-the-hair-of-girls-who-didnt-wear-headscarves?lite

Mali Islamists destroy tombs in Timbuktu

(CNN) -- Al Qaeda-linked rebels in northern Mali destroyed historic and religious landmarks in Timbuktu on Thursday, claiming the relics are idolatrous, residents told CNN.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/world/africa/mali-shrines/index.html?hpt=iaf_c1

See also...

Fear grows as Mali extremists compile list of unmarried mothers
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/12/world/africa/mali-women-lists/index.html

Suspected al-Qaida attack on Yemen army base kills 26

ADEN, Yemen - At least 13 soldiers and 13 suspected al-Qaida militants were killed in an attack on an army base in the southern province of Abyan on Friday, medical and military sources said.

MORE: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/19/14550140-suspected-al-qaida-attack-on-yemen-army-base-kills-26?lite

After attack on Malala, Taliban threaten journalists who cover it

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani Taliban sought to silence the teenage education activist Malala Yousufzai by shooting her in the head. They're also trying to stifle the widespread criticism of the attack in the news media by threatening journalists in Pakistan.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/19/world/asia/pakistan-taliban-media-threat/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

See also...

Attack on Pakistani schoolgirl galvanizes anti-Taliban feeling
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/16/world/asia/pakistan-activist-reaction/index.html

Girl shot with Malala: Memory of attack 'still in my head'
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/17/world/asia/pakistan-teen-attack/index.html

And...

Who are the Pakistani Taliban?
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/17/world/asia/pakistan-taliban-profile/index.html

Bomb kills 17 in Pakistan
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/13/world/asia/pakistan-blast/index.html

Afghan woman beheads daughter-in-law for refusing prostitution, police say

In 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan, near Afghanistan, the Taliban issued an official edict mandating that no more girls should be able to go to school. That was after the Taliban had regained their stake in the control in the region after the 2001 invasion.

Girls and women's families sometimes abuse and kill them. In July, the Taliban executed a woman in public, justifying the killing by saying she had committed adultery.

In 2011, people around the world were appalled to learn about a then-13-year-old named Sahar Gul who had been married off to a member of the Afghan Army. Sahar said her husband raped her, and enraged that she didn't immediately conceive, her in-laws locked her in a basement for months. They tortured Sahar with hot pokers and ripped out her nails. Ultimately, she said, they wanted to force her into prostitution as punishment for failing her obligation as a woman.

MORE: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/18/afghan-woman-beheads-daughter-in-law-for-refusing-prostitution-police-say/?hpt=hp_t3

See also...

Suicide attack on army base wounds dozens of Afghan soldiers
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/17/world/asia/afghanistan-attack/index.html

Bombs kill 12 in gas-rich area of southwest Pakistan
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/11/world/asia/pakistan-blasts/index.html

In message, al Qaeda leader purportedly calls for more protests

(CNN) -- In an audio message credited to Al Qaeda's top leader, the speaker praises last month's deadly attack on a U.S. Consulate in Libya and calls for more protests against offensive depictions of the Prophet Mohammed.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/13/world/meast/zawahiri-message/index.html

Security official for U.S. Embassy in Yemen killed

The killing of Qassim Aqlan, a Yemeni national, bears the hallmarks of al Qaeda, the officials said.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/11/world/meast/yemen-us-embassy-shooting/index.html

"Nones" on the Rise

The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.

In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14%)

--snip--

One important factor behind the growth of the religiously unaffiliated is generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones. Among the youngest Millennials (those ages 18-22, who were minors in 2007 and thus not eligible to be interviewed in Pew Research Center surveys conducted that year), fully one-third (34%) are religiously unaffiliated, compared with about one-in-ten members of the Silent Generation (9%) and one-in-twenty members of the World War II-era Greatest Generation (5%). Older Millennials (ages 23-30) also are substantially less likely than prior generations to be religiously affiliated.

But generational replacement is not the only factor at play. Generation Xers and Baby Boomers also have become more religiously unaffiliated in recent years. In 2012, 21% of Gen Xers and 15% of Baby Boomers describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated, up slightly (but by statistically significant margins) from 18% and 12%, respectively, since 2007. The trend lines for earlier generations are essentially flat. Not only are young adults less likely to be affiliated than their elders, but the GSS shows that the percentage of Americans who were raised without an affiliation has been rising gradually, from about 3% in the early 1970s to about 8% in the past decade. However, the overwhelming majority of the “nones” were brought up in a religious tradition. The new Pew Research Center/Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly survey finds that about three-quarters of unaffiliated adults were raised with some affiliation (74%).

MORE: http://www.pewforum.org/Unaffiliated/nones-on-the-rise.aspx

See also...

New Report Finds One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation
http://www.pewforum.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/%E2%80%9CNones%E2%80%9D-on-the-Rise--New-Report-Finds-One-in-Five-Adults-Have-No-Religious-Affiliation.aspx

Pew: 20% of Americans Are Now Atheist, Agnostic or Unaffiliated With a Religion
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/pew-20-of-americans-are-now-atheist-agnostic-or-unaffiliated-with-a-religion/

Study: Protestants no longer a majority in U.S.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57529286/study-protestants-no-longer-a-majority-in-u.s/?tag=categoryDoorTopNews;catDoorTopNews

One in five Americans reports no religious affiliation, study says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/one-in-five-americans-reports-no-religious-affiliation-study-says/2012/10/08/a7599664-11c8-11e2-855a-c9ee6c045478_story.html?hpid=z1

Humanists Recognize Increasing Number of "Nones" as Feeding Secular Movement's Growth
http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2012-10-humanists-recognize-increasing-number-of-nones-as-fe

Survey: One in five Americans has no religion
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/09/survey-one-in-five-americans-is-religiously-unaffiliated/?hpt=hp_c2

 

Are Americans Becoming Less Religious?
http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/local/Are-Americans-Becoming-Less-Religious-173422271.html

None of the Above: The Rise of the Religiously Unaffiliated

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, the national PBS television program produced by Thirteen/WNET, is launching a three-part mini-series, "None of the Above: The Rise of the Religiously Unaffiliated," based largely on a new survey about the views of the 46 million Americans who say they are not affiliated with any particular religion.

--snip--

The first segment, None of the Above: Who Are They, will begin airing on public television stations nationwide on October 12, 2012. It provides an overview of who these religiously unaffiliated people are and what they believe. The story will be reported by R&E Host Bob Abernethy and produced by Marcia Henning.

The second segment, None of the Above: Political Implications, which begins airing on October 19, 2012, focuses on how the growing number of religiously unaffiliated citizens could affect elections and the role of religion in politics. The segment will be reported by R&E Managing Editor Kim Lawton and produced by Patti Jette Hanley.

The third segment None of the Above: Religious Implications, which begins airing October 26, 2012, looks at the possible influence of this trend on religious congregations and institutions. This segment will be reported by R&E Contributing Correspondent Deborah Potter and produced by Susan Goldstein.

MORE: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/current-stories/none-of-the-above-the-rise-of-the-religiously-unaffiliated/13337/

Missing Church: Penchant For Politics May Be Sending Congregants Out The Door

Religious Right activists may feel that time is running out, and they may be trying to maximize their power while they can. That means we can’t just sit back, look at these numbers and wait for the Religious Right to become extinct.

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/missing-church-penchant-for-politics-may-be-sending-congregants-out-the

How to Spread the Good News of Secularism

Five tips for nonbelievers from the Carolinas Secular Conference.

MORE: http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/how-to-spread-the-good-news-of-secularism/Content?oid=4202148

Earlier...

Carolinas Secular Conference Held In Charleston, SC
http://freethoughtactionblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-carolinas-secular-conference-held.html

Atheist Group Forms to Lobby S.C. Lawmakers

About 80 activists from North and South Carolina convened in Charleston over the weekend of Sept. 30 to focus on how to better their groups and facilitate their involvement in the non-theist movement.

MORE: http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992912064017974&ShowArticle_ID=11010910121629734

Atheist group set to form state lobby

ENID, Okla. -- Oklahoma atheists are uniting their voices with non-believers across the U.S. to lobby for more separation between church and state.

MORE: http://enidnews.com/localnews/x1149577407/Atheist-group-set-to-form-state-lobby

See also...

Atheist group tries to get foothold in Nebraska
http://www.omaha.com/article/20121005/NEWS/710059907

'Teen Mom' Kailyn Lowry and fiance Javi Marroquin won't marry in a church

October 9 Teen Mom News reported that Kailyn says she won't marry in a church because of hers and Javi's religious convictions. Kailyn is a known atheist while Javi is catholic.

MORE: http://www.examiner.com/article/teen-mom-kailyn-lowry-and-fiance-javi-marroquin-won-t-marry-a-church

Peace cross sparks free speech debate

Atheist group fighting to take memorial down.

MORE: http://video.foxnews.com/v/1882501538001/peace-cross-sparks-free-speech-debate/

Sunday Scofflaws: It's Time For The IRS To Crack Down On 'Pulpit Freedom Sunday'

The Internal Revenue Service is charged with enforcing this law. I'll concede that the agency hasn’t been very aggressive. For too long, the IRS has put the emphasis on education, not enforcement.

--snip--

Why the hold-up? To the IRS I say: You know what happened this weekend. It's time to get the ball rolling by stripping some of these politicking churches of their tax-exempt status.

MORE: http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/sunday-scofflaws-it-s-time-for-the-irs-to-crack-down-on-pulpit-freedom

Teacher's firing justified

Humanist and secular groups joined the side of a school board yesterday in a court fight over the firing of a public-school science teacher who kept a Bible on his desk and was accused of preaching religious beliefs in class.

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/10/05/foes-teachers-firing-justified.html

See also...

Humanists Back Ohio school Board In Bible Case
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/oct/04/humanists-back-ohio-school-board-bible-case-ar-1195734/

Anti-jihad ads make their way to D.C. subways

The ad by the American Freedom Defense Initiative states, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."

MORE: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/10/anti-jihad-ads-make-their-way-to-d-c-subways/

Ship of Foolishness

Every few months or so, you see a "documentary" on a cable program searching for Noah's ark. Every other year or so, the media picks up a story where someone has "discovered Noah's ark." The latest incident occurred when former Baywatch actress and Playboy model Donna D'Errico was injured trying to climb Mt. Ararat. All it takes is a quick web search to discover that these foolish quests and dubious claims happen over and over again, year in and year out, just like false prophets who proclaim the end of the world in six months. The most famous of these "false alarm" discoveries occurred in 1993, when George Jammal hoaxed a documentary about "discovering" the Ark; it was later revealed he never went to Turkey, and that the "wood" he showed was a piece of pine soaked in soy sauce.

MORE: http://www.skepticblog.org/2012/10/10/ship-of-foolishness/

See also...

101 Reasons Why Noah’s Story Doesn't Float
http://www.biblicalnonsense.com/chapter6.html

Two school districts recognize LGBT Month

(CNN) – American schools recognize African-American History Month and Women's History Month. This year, for the first time, two school districts are celebrating LGBT History Month, which started seven years ago and kicked off this year on October 1.

MORE: http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/08/two-school-districts-recognize-lgbt-month/?hpt=us_bn1

See also...

Celebrating National Coming Out Day
http://www.americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2012-10-celebrating-national-coming-out-day

The Good, the Bad, and the Guilty: Anticipating Feelings of Guilt Predicts Ethical Behavior

In a new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researchers Taya Cohen and Nazli Turan of Carnegie Mellon University and A.T. Panter of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examine the existing research on guilt proneness, exploring how it might influence our behavior in the workplace and beyond.

According to Cohen, Panter, and Turan, guilt proneness isn't the same thing as feeling guilty after you've done something wrong -- people who are guilt prone actually anticipate having negative feelings before they ever commit a moral transgression. Importantly, these people don't need their mother, their boss, or their significant other looking over their shoulder to prevent them from committing moral transgressions because their conscience does it for them.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010141452.htm

See also...

Looking out for Number One Can Make You Happy, If You Have No Choice
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121009171502.htm

Testosterone Increases Honesty, Study Suggests
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010172212.htm

Cambrian Fossil Pushes Back Evolution of Complex Brains

ScienceDaily -- Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, as evidenced by a 520-million-year-old fossilized arthropod with remarkably well-preserved brain structures.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010131436.htm

See also...

Marine Worms Reveal the Deepest Evolutionary Patterns
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121009092533.htm

SpaceX Cargo Mission: Return Science Sample Capability as Important as Space Station Resupply

ScienceDaily -- While the first NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) flight to the International Space Station is historic, the delivery and more importantly the return of science samples is pivotal. Since the retirement of the shuttles, the only return capability available from the space station was via the Russian Soyuz vehicle, with cold stowage even more limited -- but not anymore. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, is now able to provide this service, as well.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010134354.htm

Shiny Object on Mars Update: Likely 'Benign' Plastic

Lost earring? Cigarette butt? Those were just a couple of ideas tossed around loosely by the public about what this unusual object could be, found laying near the Mars Curiosity rover. The rover team is still looking closely at the shiny object, seen in images of the sandy regolith near the rover, and they issued a report today saying their initial assessment is that the bright object is something from the rover, and not Martian material. It appears to be a shred of plastic material, "likely benign," they said, but it has not been definitively identified.

MORE: http://www.universetoday.com/97798/shiny-object-on-mars-update-likely-benign-plastic/

See also...

NASA: Mars rover spots bright glint
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2012/10/09/mars-curiosity-rover-bright-glint/1622603/

Curiosity got shaved?
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/10/09/curiosity-got-shaved/

NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity: Work Resumes With First Scooped Sample
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010152853.htm

More Space Science News

Surprising Spiral Structure Spotted by Astronomers
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010131403.htm

Sweeping X-Ray Imaging Survey of Dying Stars Is 'Uncharted Territory'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010141448.htm

Large Water Reservoirs at the Dawn of Stellar Birth
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121009111238.htm

Saturn's Ever-Changing F Ring
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010152523.htm

NOAA Satellites -- Helping Save Lives for 30 Years
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010111837.htm