Next up is Maryam Namazie, a blogger and activist who’s been involved with tons of secular organizations: Equal Rights Now, the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain, the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, and Iran Solidarity. 5:00: Namazie is talking about secular activists in the Muslim world who are being persecuted for …
Tag Archive: religion
May 18 2013
[#wiscfi liveblog] Why the Lost History of Secular Women Matters Today
Susan Jacoby is up! She is a journalist and author who’s written a bunch of awesome books, including The Age of American Unreason, which I recently read. 1:50: Susan Jacoby opens with a poem published in 1837 about the trend of women speaking publicly about political causes. Oh, the humanity: 1:53: The reason we’ve been …
May 18 2013
[#wiscfi liveblog] Sexism and Religion: Can the Knot Be Untied?
I’m finally up and watching Katha Pollitt speak! Pollitt is a poet (say that five times fast) and a columnist for The Nation. 10:10: I chose the topic of my talk today because I didn’t know the answer: can religion be disentangled from the misogyny in its texts and its practices. I asked a random …
May 17 2013
[#wiscfi liveblog] The Mattering Map: Religion, Humanism, and Moral Progress
I’m liveblogging Rebecca Goldstein’s talk, “The Mattering Map: Religion, Humanism, and Moral Progress.” Goldstein is a novelist and professor of philosophy at Barnard College. Follow along! 4:18: “Amanda just said in her wonderful talk that she wasn’t going to bore you with philosophy. That’s my job.” I agonized over this talk. Should I publicly address …
Mar 25 2013
Not All Beliefs Deserve Respect
“I’m not trying to be ‘that douche’ but it kind of pisses me off that people here accept other’s beliefs only if they’re liberal. What if I tried to post advertising all over about why ‘I’m not an ally’ or why I think abortion is about the most disgusting crime someone can commit? I hate …
Mar 12 2013
On “Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs” and Being a Counselor
Via JT, here’s a new bill that recently passed in the Tennessee State Senate Education Committee by a 7-2 vote: Republican state Sen. Joey Hensley encouraged fellow senators to pass SB 514 to “prevent an institution of high education from discriminating against a student in the counseling, social worker, psychology programs because of their religious beliefs.” Hensley’s bill …
Feb 28 2013
[guest post] Sorry, You Don’t Own Marriage
My friend Seth, who’s becoming somewhat of a regular around here, returns with some observations about the same-sex marriage “debate” (if you could call it that). I don’t know how many of you reading this right now have read any other of my limited contributions to the blogosphere, but if you have, you’ll know that …
Jan 09 2013
Why You Should Talk To Your Kids About Death
I’ve been reading Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great because, having been an atheist for a long time and through no particular effort of my own or anyone else’s, it’s important for me to understand what the arguments against religion actually are. (Well, and also, that book is hilarious.) Reading Hitchens’ description and critique of …
Dec 25 2012
Christmas From The Outside
Just some personal reflections on Christmas from an outsider. It is impossible to be a person living in the United States, of any ethnicity, religious affiliation, or national origin, and not understand the meaning and significance of Christmas. It’s a religious observance. It’s a sparkling monument to consumerism. It’s a celebration of family, of charity, …
Dec 11 2012
Why Homosexuality is Not Analogous to Murder
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is clearly very worried about the pervasive immorality that’s taking over America these days. First gay sex will become okay, then murder. Yes, he really said that. “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?” Here’s the …








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