Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
Balwant Bains (pictured), was the head of Saltley School and Specialist Science College in Birmingham, but because of utterly unreasonable pressure applied by the Muslim-dominated school board he quit. Yes, it is “that” school, the one that made all those headlines. What is new is that he has now given an interview about what happened and so you can read it … Read more
As I’m sure you are aware, right wing evangelical billionaire David Green, the owner of Hobby Lobby, initiated a “religious freedom” lawsuit against Sylvia Burwell, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. The final result was that this Burwell v. Hobby Lobby became a landmark legal case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby last year was finally decided by the United … Read more
I have perhaps been guilty in times past of living inside a religious bubble, and so having now stepped outside, it is always worth pondering the thought that I have just exchanged one bubble for another, hence I often expose myself (intellectually) to things that are clearly not ideas I agree with. Today’s example comes from … Read more
Galileo was famously arrested and then sentenced by the Inquisition for the crime of heresy – his crime? – he simply supported the fact based observation that the earth revolves around the sun, and so was overturning the idea that the earth was the centre of everything. He was also famously quoted as saying to those who … Read more
The more religious people are, the more upset they will often be about the availability of porn, and yet surprisingly enough (to some), that degree of religiosity also correlates with a voracious consumption of porn, so what is going on here? Valerie Tarico, a psychologist and writer in Seattle, has a great article over on AlterNet that … Read more
The rather common religious claim is that without the absolute values sourced from a god your morality is relative and can be whatever you want it to be. This apparently will then leave you free to do whatever you like if you decide that it is OK. The counter argument is the rather obvious observation … Read more