Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
When thinking about weird religious news during the past seven days, perhaps one of the weirdest to go public was yet another end-of-the-world prediction. The weird bit is not that the prediction popped up, but rather that some took it seriously and some media outlets vigorously promoted it. Since I’ve already blogged earlier in the week … Read more
There is an article in the UK’s Guardian all about a myth. It is entitled … Would you Adam and Eve it? Why creation story is at heart of a new spiritual divide OK, let’s give you a quick summary of it. We live in a world where there are people who reject science based … Read more
Each and every year an end-of-the-world prediction will inevitably pop up. Perhaps the most recently well-known example of this was Harold Camping’s 21st May prediction back in 2011. That one is perhaps famous due to the $100 million that his group, Family Radio, spent promoting it via an advertising campaign that included billboards such as … Read more
Each September the #IgNobel awards, a parody of the Nobel Prize, gives out awards to the weirdest bit of real research that has taken place in the past year. While the award itself is satirical social criticism and not a real award, the research it highlights is quite real. It’s also not new, this has … Read more
Religious moral claims often boil down to “because the Bible says so”. No attempt at any reason or justification beyond that is offered. Sometimes there are attempts to articulate a religiously-inspired but reason-based moral stance. Generally what you will find is that it is most probably an example of the infamous is-ought fallacy. The what? … Read more
A massive new survey from PRRI reveals seismic shifts in the religious landscape within the US. The report is based on findings from the single largest survey of American religious and denominational identity ever conducted, based on interviews with more than 101,000 Americans from all 50 states conducted across 2016. The report includes detailed information about … Read more