11.30.2011

Viewers of Fox News are Misinformed

Fox NewsReplication is a fundamental part of scientific research. Supporting a hypothesis once is not enough; the findings must be replicated before scientists will be satisfied. In this arena, having seven studies that support a particular claim may or may not be impressive. It would depend on the context. For example, seven studies supporting the efficacy of prayer would not be worth much if several times that many failed to support it. But what if seven studies yielded the same or highly similar results in the absence of any evidence to the contrary? That would be enough to make us sit up and take note.

11.23.2011

Catholic Sex Abuse Investigator Convicted of Child Porn

Priest sexual abuseJust when I think the legacy of Catholic child molestation cannot get any worse, it somehow manages to do so. It seems that a child safety coordinator employed by the Catholic Church and tasked with investigating various child abuse allegations was convicted of child pornography. According to the Daily Mail, Christopher Jarvis was responsible for investigating allegations of child sexual abuse over an area that included 120 churches. Jarvis was sentenced to 12 months for possessing over 4,000 pornographic images of children on the computer supplied to him by his employer, the Catholic Church.

11.22.2011

The Other Christian Holiday Traditions

ThanksgivingI've noticed that there are a parallel set of holiday traditions practiced by some Christians that accompany the mainstream holiday traditions practiced by many Americans. What is remarkable about these parallel traditions is that they often seem to involve atheists and other non-Christians. Take Thanksgiving as an example. The mainstream tradition involves gluttony and spending time with extended family one might not get to see regularly. Nothing religious about that whatsoever. However, the parallel tradition some Christians seem to love involves incessantly pointing out that those who don't share their god-belief have nothing to be thankful for.

11.21.2011

Community Service is Not the Answer in Combating Prejudice Against Atheists

In recent post summarizing some of the findings from an article about anti-atheist prejudice published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) wrote that there are two ways atheists should work to counter our negative image:

First, we have to continue doing community service — serving at food banks, donating to charity, giving blood, etc. Show people that we can be good without god.
Second, we have to let people we trust know that we’re atheists. People think poorly of atheists because they don’t think they know any. It’s a shock to their system when they find out someone close to them doesn’t believe in a god… so shock them! Let them know that someone they already trust is an atheist.

The scientist in me wants to point out that this is an empirical question. That is, either or both of these two strategies might work and should be framed as hypotheses until they can be adequately tested. Setting that aside, I'd like to explain why I think Hemant may be right about his second recommendation and wrong about the first.

11.18.2011

Delighting in Hell

Christian hell

I suspect that some Christians experience a sense of sadness from their conviction that the vast majority of the world's people are destined for the hell they imagine. But there is another group of Christians who does not seem to feel this way at all. This group of Christians, a group which I have repeatedly encountered throughout my life, actually seems to delight in the thought of people suffering in their hell. I am sure you have seen the gleam in their eyes when they talk of their hell. You may have even noticed the joy they seem to experience at the prospect of others who do not agree with them suffering for eternity.

11.14.2011

Pull of Misanthropy is Difficult For This Atheist to Resist

cat eyes

Do you ever feel like you are teetering on the edge, tempted to give into frustration and just quit? Maybe it is when you are given the illusory choice between voting for the conservative candidate who is bought and paid for by corporate interests or for the slightly less conservative candidate who is also thoroughly beholden to corporate interests. Or maybe it is when you realize that the majority of your neighbors still believe in angels or that evolution remains "controversial" among many of those with power over how your child is educated. The problem is that this list of things many of us find demoralizing could go on for several pages and still would barely scratch the surface. On so many important metrics, we simply aren't close to where we should be.

11.10.2011

I Did Not Choose to Be an Atheist

BeliefsI never chose to be an atheist, and I hardly think I'm unique among atheists in this regard. I suspect that most atheists did not chose to be atheists. So when a Christian asks me some version of their "what if you're wrong" question, I often point out that this question assumes I have a choice in what I believe about their "god." I do not accept this assumption.

I could not simply start believing something I do not believe because I thought there might be something in it for me. Belief does not work this way.

11.07.2011

U.S. Motto Inaccurate: American Atheists Do Not Trust in God

In god we trust

"In god we trust" has been the national motto of the United States since 1956. It appears on our currency, in our courthouses, and in several government buildings. Some consider it purely ceremonial, void of any religious meaning. Others believe it reflects our status as a "Christian nation." And among secular Americans, only a small minority seem to think it is worthy of our attention. I happen to disagree with this position.