Atheism News – The New York Times

Ginia Bellafante Big City column notes Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis, has been one of few dissenting voices against tremendous cost and effort New York City has put forth in welcoming Pope Francis; submits Francis's visit to city is of nonsectarian benefit as well. MORE

Molly Worthen Op-Ed article describes attending Sunday Assembly in London, secular alternative to Sunday church services that began in 2013; suggests that modern secular humanism is outgrowth of 21st-century liberalism, and urges nonbelievers to remember that heritage as they engage with traditional Christians on issues like same-sex marriage. MORE

David Brooks Op-Ed column observes rise of secularism in global culture, noting some proponents see atheism and agnosticism as active creeds rather than religious absence; offers several recommendations for how secularists could better present their moral philosophies in way that speaks to whole human experience. MORE

T M Luhrmann Op-Ed article describes how many people this Christmas are attending God-neutral movements like Sunday Assembly, which was created by atheists Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans and offers church-like weekly services; observes that growing popularity of these movements show how ritual is important for all people, including atheists, to make sense of the world. MORE

Reza Aslan Lives essay describes experience of saying grace over Christmas dinner while surrounded by family members espousing radically different religious beliefs; says family was able to find commonality through looking beyond symbolism and language that defines their beliefs. MORE

Coalition of atheists in Maryland, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas is fighting to overturn laws preventing atheists from serving in public office, calling bans discriminatory, offensive and unconstitutional. MORE

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column; David Skeel, University of Pennsylvania law professor and Christian, consulted with Patrick Arsenault, postdoctoral fellow and atheist, for his book True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World; unlikely collaboration offers rare example of mutual civility within today's culture wars. MORE

Neil Genzlinger observes arrival of Atheist TV, channel available online and through streaming service Roku, which purports to offer discussion arena and promote idea that religion can and should be criticized. MORE

Secular Coalition for America, alliance of atheists and nonbelievers from across country, dismisses its executive director, Edwina Rogers, experienced Republican lobbyist whose conservative pedigree elevated the profile of the secular movement when she was hired just over two years ago. MORE

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column; women intent on leaving religion behind attend the third Women in Secularism conference to ease the process; anyone leaving a close-knit belief-based community undergoes stresses but process can be especially difficult for women who have grown up Muslim, since they are sometimes accused of trying to assimilate into a Western culture that despises them. MORE

Case of Alexander Aan, who was imprisoned in Indonesia for over 19 months after posting atheist commentaries online, is part of a rise in persecution connected to freedom of religion in the country in recent years. MORE

Op-Ed article by author Barbara Ehrenreich describes mystical experience she had at age 17 that shook her once rationalist and atheist worldview and left her with a life-long puzzle; reflects on frequency with which people claim to have mystical experiences, and the possibility that a God or gods are responsible for them, or whether the universe itself is pulsing with a kind of life that sometimes manifests itself. MORE

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column profiles atheist writer, S T Joshi, whose work includes culling the views of other writers and philosophers who make a case against God. MORE

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column notes that growing number of Alcoholic Anonymous meetings offer a 12-step program for nonreligious people in recovery, agnostics, atheists, humanists or freethinkers; boom in nonreligious AA represents another manifestation of a more visible and confident humanist movement in the United States. MORE

Pope Francis, using his first Christmas address of his papacy, calls on atheists to unite with believers of all religions and work for a peace that can spread across the globe. MORE

New York's nonreligious groups, including atheists, agnostics, skeptics and humanists, are offering gatherings at height of holiday season to foster community, commiserate and reinvent the image of the holiday-hating secularist. MORE

Evangelical organization Answers in Genesis mounts digital billboard, directed at New York City's atheists, on corner of 42nd Street and Eight Avenue, heart of Times Square. MORE

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column profiles Teresa MacBain, former Methodist minister who, after realizing she no longer believed in God, now helps start congregations with the Humanist Community Project at Harvard; MacBain aids atheists, agnostics, humanists and freethinkers replicate communal structure and support that organized religion provides its faithful. MORE

Group American Atheists intends to install 50 public monuments to secularism near displays of the Ten Commandments nationwide; unveils its first totem in Starke, Fla, 1,500-pound gray granite bench engraved with quotations extolling the separation of church and state. MORE

Former Pentecostal preacher Jerry DeWitt holds what is billed as Louisiana's first atheist service in Baton Rouge; DeWitt says nonbelievers often miss the sense of community of church. MORE

Mark Oppenheimer Believes column notes that some people who identify as nonreligious or atheists embrace ritual of Lent as cultural nostalgia and as claiming a sense of community. MORE

Op-Ed article by author Susan Jacoby disputes notion that atheists believe in nothing positive; calls on atheist to speak up in order to demonstrate that atheism is rooted in empathy as well as intellect. MORE

Federal judge in Los Angeles denies request from nonprofit group Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee to temporarily block city's ban on unattended displays in Palisades Park; measure was passed in 2011 by City Council on heels of dispute over atheist displays outnumbering traditional Christian scenes; series of 14 Nativity scenes have been a mainstay in park since 1950s. MORE

Study by Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that for the first time, fewer than half of Americans say they are Protestants, a steep decline from 40 years ago when two-thirds of the population were members; report also shows that nearly 20 percent say they are atheist, agnostic or 'nothing in particular.' MORE

Atheist movement in the United States, long dominated by cranky gadflies, seems to be gaining a new kind of legitimacy and power, even managing to gain converts from the ranks of the clergy. MORE

Nicholas D Kristof Op-Ed column welcomes what seems to be a new intellectual tide that expresses grudging admiration for religion as an ethical and cohesive force; asserts that this trend is exemplified by Alain de Botton book Religion for Atheists, in which he argues that atheists have a great deal to learn from religion. MORE

Atheists who objected to nativity scenes in a Santa Monica park in California win the right to put up their own messages, which now outnumber the religious ones. MORE

Ross Douthat Op-Ed column expresses wonder at the number of Christians who love the work of Christopher Hitchens, who was an avowed atheist. MORE

Author Eric Weiner asserts that for many Americans, the holiday season affords an opportunity to lament the sad state of the national conversation about God; argues that the discourse has been co-opted by True Believers and Angry Atheists, leaving everyone else out. MORE

Growing number of African-Americans do not believe in God; many online Facebook groups, blogs, and YouTube confessionals document their shared struggled of coming out as atheists in a community known for its remarkable religiousness. MORE

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Atheism News - The New York Times