soc.atheism Google Group

The Skeptic Tank discussion forum is back

2008-07-28T19:15:10Z

[link]
The Skeptic Tank has re-created a discussion forum since the old
one kind of died when various PHP files or database files got hosed
or corrupted over the years. It got so many message postings that
never got deleted so it kind of crapped up and devolved.
I don't ever censor anything unless it's something really, grossly

DOJ Disputes Atheist's Claim of Religious Intolerance in Military

2008-07-19T12:53:13Z

DOJ Disputes Atheist's Claim of Religious Intolerance in Military
[link]
{EXCERPT} The Public Record, California - Fearing that higher ranking Army
officials would not come to his defense, Hall contacted the Military Religious
Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a watchdog group...

Atheist soldier sues Pentagon

2008-07-12T17:19:56Z

Atheist soldier sues Pentagon
[link]
{EXCERPT} United Press International - Hall contends there is a pattern of
discrimination against non-Christians in the military, saying, "I think it's
utterly and totally wrong....

Pew Forum religion survey

2008-06-25T04:51:50Z

Lots of reporting on this. See, for example:
[link]
The most interesting (for this ng) quote:
'Another finding almost defies explanation: 21 percent of
self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit,
with 8 percent "absolutely certain" of it.'

The speech of Christopher Hitchens at The World Humanist Congress - 8 June 2008 - Washington D.C.

2008-06-20T04:05:28Z

Dear friends,
I've posted on [link] two movies from the last day of The
World Humanist Congress - 8 June 2008 - Washington D.C.
The first movie (in two parts) is Christopher Hitchens' speech at this
great humanist event. You may find more information about his life and
works here: [link]

An atheist soldier from Fort Riley says his higher-ups in Iraq...

2008-05-27T04:33:43Z

An atheist soldier from Fort Riley says his higher-ups in Iraq...
[link]
{EXCERPT} Pitch Weekly, MO He approached his Army chaplain for permission to
hold a meeting of atheists, freethinkers and any other non-Christians. He got

No atheists allowed in foxholes

2008-03-13T03:58:01Z

No atheists allowed in foxholes
[link]
{EXCERPT} World Magazine, NC According to an Associated Press account, Hall
alleges that Gates permits a military culture in which officers are encouraged
to pressure soldiers to adopt...
[link]

Atheist Soldier Says Army Punished Him

2008-03-13T03:57:22Z

Atheist Soldier Says Army Punished Him
[link]
{EXCERPT} The Associated Press (AP) A soldier claimed Wednesday that his
promotion was blocked because he had claimed in a lawsuit that the Army was
violating his right to be an atheist...

SOS Romania - theory of evolution removed from curricula - please support our campaign to bring it back in schools

2008-03-06T00:44:48Z

You are invited to sign the open letter bellow to support teaching of
the theory of evolution and philosophical approaches on religion in
Romanian public schools, by sending us an email at
freedomofconscie...@gmail.com no later than Monday, 24 March 2008.
The whole letter is below and the link to the open letter is here

Research Methods

2008-02-26T06:29:18Z

I did promise that I would try to get back to reading the book,
(1) Research Methods for Social Work, by Allen Rubin an Earl Babbie, 2001,
and to report on whatever I learn that might be relevant to this group.
Recall that this promise arose in the ancient context of a posting of
David V. in which he drew our attention to some online paper claiming

cargo cults

2008-02-22T03:15:06Z

How do we know that the objects collected and used by cargo cults
have religious significance, rather than merely artistic significance
which the people take very seriously?

for anyone, kind of 'meta'

2008-02-21T05:18:51Z

Has this ng devolved into a proctored seminar of some sort?
Brief (I hope) tale on the subject: when I was just starting to read
and post to Usenet, I took up with alt.atheism.moderated. There were
some very bright folks posting there, from a variety of academic
backgrounds as well as from none, but there was an M.D. who was a

Apostate, we need you

2008-02-18T14:46:03Z

I noticed a posting by Apostate in which he offered to pray for someone
on this group. So I infer that he prays and therefore that he might not
be an atheist. In the thread, "who has an actual problem?", I've been asking
about venues in which atheists on this group actually have dealings with the
faithful in matters pertaining to religion, including dealings with

No space in My Space for Atheists

2008-02-02T21:25:55Z

Posted at [link]
January 30, 2008
For Release: Immediately Upon Receipt
MySpace Deletes Largest Atheist Group in the World.
Cleveland, OH. Social networking site, MySpace.com, panders to
religious intolerants by deleting atheist users, groups and content.
Early this month, MySpace again deleted the "Atheist and Agnostic

Washington quote

2008-01-26T04:31:17Z

George Washington to the members of the new church at Baltimore:
"... We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this land[,] the light
of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and
superstition and that every person may here worship God according to the
dictates of his own heart. ..."