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I Testify: Congress Must Push for the Repeal of Blasphemy Laws Abroad
On January 28, 2020, the testimony of Rafida Bonya Ahmed, a humanist activist and author, was presented before the United States House of Representatives in a joint hearing on “Ending Global Religious Persecution.” For the first... Read More
FIRST PERSON | The Priest Who Made Me an Atheist
I’ve been an atheist for more than forty years, but I didn’t arrive at that position by taking the light and easy path. I was born into a decidedly Irish Catholic family. In fact, my father... Read More
The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
BY KATHERINE STEWART BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING, 2020 352 PP.; $28.00 The mainstream media depicts the religious right as a monolithic group of evangelicals focused on cultural issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. In this telling, as these... Read More
Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt
BY ALEX RYRIE BELKNAP PRESS 272 PP.; $27.95 In his book Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt, author Alec Ryrie, a professor of the history of Christianity at Durham University in England, sets out to give... Read More
The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison
EDITED BY JOHN F. CALLAHAN AND MARC C. CONNER RANDOM HOUSE, 2019 1060 PP.; $50.00 Reviewing a collection of letters by a writer can be a tricky business. The style, themes, and insights that distinguish the... Read More
Donald, Betsy, and Mike: Head Cheerleaders for Private School Vouchers
Consider the term “school choice.” It sounds nice, but in reality it’s a friendly name for a political ideology that, at its core, threatens to undermine public schools, effective state budgeting, and the separation of church... Read More
Dirty Americana, Rock ‘n’ Roll Heretics
Picture this: a blond white woman wearing a black tank top and playing a white electric guitar graces the title page of Music Radar’s recent article shouting out the ten leading blues guitar players in the... Read More
Let Us Say: It’s Time to End the National Prayer Breakfast
President Donald Trump strutted onto the stage at the National Prayer Breakfast last week, brandishing newspapers with bold headlines declaring him acquitted in the Senate impeachment trial. In his address the president took what the Chicago... Read More
Celluloid Jesus
While humanists eschew Jesus as the divine son of God who died on a cross because Eve got smart and people are prone to suck, we can’t deny that Jesus is having a moment on screen.... Read More
Hey, Betsy, Leave Them Kids Alone
If you’re an avid Simpsons fan like me, you’ll recall the time Ned Flanders, the religious “neighboroni” to the Simpson family, becomes the principal of the elementary school. Flanders leads the school in a simple prayer:... Read More