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Atheists and Marriage

Tres Community — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:01 -0800

This post is written by user PinkNC in the TrèsSugar Community group Religions of the World.

Here’s the question: If you’re an atheist and you marry a Christian or any other religion, inside of a church, are you a hypocrite because you went through with the ceremony and vowed under a God you do not believe in?

There's lots of great stuff going on in our community - join it, check it out, share your posts or advice in the great groups and maybe we'll feature it here on TrèsSugar!

Richard Dawkins Funds Atheist Camp For Kids

TresSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Famous atheist Richard Dawkins has put his money behind a Summer camp for kids - you can think of it as the anti-Jesus Camp.

At atheist Camp Quest, kids aged 8-17 learn about rational skepticism, moral philosophy, ethics, and evolution - while enjoying traditional camp activities. According to those involved, the project is not about changing what kids think, but about changing the way they think.

Do you think kids should be able to go to camp and just have fun, or is it valuable to include an emphasis on religious or ideological values?

Advertising Is Not Dead! Atheist Bus Campaign Runs in UK

CitizenSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:00:07 -0800

If religious organizations can advertise, why shouldn't atheists be able to? That's what England decided, when atheist ads were proposed and accepted. They are a response to religious ads that ran in 2008, which suggested people who don't believe in god would "spend all eternity in torment."

This Tuesday "There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" was splayed across 800 buses. And next week, the campaign will move underground, where 1,000 ads featuring quotes from Emily Dickinson, Albert Einstein, and Katharine Hepburn will ride the subway.

Of course, you can't help but notice it says there's probably no god. What kind of atheist says that? To see why the atheists hesitated on the nonexistence of god, read more.

"Probably" was an edit made to add ambiguity and appease British advertising guidelines. "There is no god" would, after all, be inaccurate to those who believe.

And maybe those edits were smart because nobody in the already secular country seems to care. The Queen, head of the Church of England, has been, well, mum. And even the Methodist Church welcomed the campaign as a way to get people talking about god. So, what is it? Free speech prattle? A way to talk about God or no god? Or a sign that atheism is becoming more and more accepted?

Source

Not a Prayer. Are Atheists the Marginalized Majority?

LibertySugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:00:40 -0700

Atheists and the faithful are engaged in a war of the books. For the atheists, Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens's God Is Not Great are best-sellers. In the believer corner, The Dawkins Delusion? by the British theologian Alister McGrath and The Secular Age by the Canadian Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor are countering back.

A recent Guardian book review argued that the anti-God squad, which dominates the sale charts, mirrors the faith it rejects. Check out the opinionated assessment of who's more delusional.

In the US, where religious rhetoric often crowds the public sphere (think the pledge of allegiance, "In God We Trust" on currency, George Bush's faithful foreign policy), are atheists a marginalized minority? If the anti-God books are selling more, do you think the US is really less religious than it lets on?

Are atheists forced to stay in the shadows because our society is so saturated with religion?

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Group Therapy: Does Religion Matter in a Relationship?

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:00:00 -0700

I started dating a wonderful guy a month ago. We clicked automatically and we have amazing chemistry. From the beginning, he has known that I am atheist and I have known that he was Christian. I don't mind the fact that he follows a religion and he has stated that he doesn't care for me any less for me because of my choice in beliefs. The only thing that I've been wondering lately is, in the future, could our differences affect us? His family is very religious and I'm afraid of how his family will react, being as how they don't know of my position yet. I really enjoy the company of his mother and I'd hate to think that she might think less of me because I'm not a devout Christian like herself.

Do you have any advice on how to coexist with these completely different sets of beliefs? Or perhaps how to handle his family?

[EDITOR'S NOTE: To be involved in more GROUP THERAPY, click here]

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Briefing Book! Atheist Bus Ads Roll in London Today

LibertySugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:30:07 -0800

Religion: Eight-hundred buses with atheist ads, which were funded by a special campaign, hit the streets in London today. - Boing Boing
Colbert & Colmes: Alan Colmes joined Stephen Colbert and guest-hosted the Colbert Report, Monday night. The two took on the Roland Burris appointment. - Huffingtion Post
Assassination Risk: Ann Coulter told CBS that George Bush is at a greater risk of assassination than Barack Obama.- 23/6
House: Seven habits of highly effective freshmen. - Politico
Anti-green: The mechanical art of destroying the rain forest. - Good

Chronically Awesome? Don’t Put That on Your Resumé

TresSugar — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:00:00 -0700

I thought this was a joke, but this career strategist must have seen these words in resumés before if she’s cautioning job-seekers not to use them. So, uh, if you were planning on telling a prospective employer you’re “habitually pregnant” or an “awesome Republican” - yeah, don’t do that.

Here are some words not to put on your resumé:

Awesome
Democrat
Chronically ill
Habitually pregnant
Atheist

To see what else you shouldn't add to your resumé, read more

Amazing
Phenomenal
Cool
Spectacular
Liberal
Conservative
Republican
Monotheistic
Polytheistic
Healthy
Diabetic

Source

Are You Attracted to Your Opposite?

TresSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:43:59 -0700

You might scratch your head when you pass a beauty with a geek (or Paula Abdul with that cartoon cat), but genetics can help to explain the mismatched pairing.

A new study claims that people are subconsciously drawn to partners whose DNA is different from their own. Why? The diversification is most likely an evolutionary strategy; offspring tend to turn out better when there's a greater variety of DNA to choose from. In the case of a beauty and a geek, their kid would have a better chance of being hot and smart. (One can only imagine how cute Marilyn and Joe's children would have been!)

While scientists maintain that opposite genes are good for reproduction, untrained people have long claimed that two opposites can complement each other in a relationship. Everyone wins, for example, when one partner loves to cook, while the other one gets pleasure out of doing the dishes.

Are you attracted to your opposite? Have you ever been a Republican dating a Democrat, a slob dating a clean freak, a jock dating an unathletic partner, or an atheist dating a believer? Do certain "opposite" characteristics cross the line into deal-breaker territory?

Source

New Holiday Ad Tells You to Be Good, but Not For God's Sake

LibertySugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:30:06 -0800

"Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness's sake." That's the message about to be proclaimed on the side of Washington, DC buses this holiday season. Firing the first shot in what could shape up to be a hard-fought War on Christmas, the American Humanists Association is ready to claim a little holiday turf from traditional religions.

Following in the footsteps of its British counterparts who put atheist ads on London buses, the humanist group hopes the American version will bring some holiday cheer to atheists and agnostics feeling left out during the holiday season. The American Family Association, which wants to keep Christ in Christmas, thinks it's a "stupid ad." To find out what the group had to say the merit of the ad's message, read more.

The president of the American Family Association said: "How do we define 'good' if we don't believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what's good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each defining what's good, it's going to be a crazy world."

If celebrations like Hanukkah and Christmas are rooted in religious beliefs, should atheists just expect to feel a little lonely during the holidays, or are the holidays for the religious and nonreligious alike?

Source

Atheists Try to Get Their Nonbeliefs Moving

LibertySugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0700

London buses will soon find themselves adorned with signs saying "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." The British Humanist Association came up with the idea, with the plan of raising £5,500 ($9,325) and accepting a matching gift from famous atheist Richard Dawkins. But so far, the non-god-fearing group has already raised £20,300 ($34,420).

Dawkins has said of the campaign:

Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride - automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children. . . . This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion.

While some religious people are upset with the campaign, the Methodist Church has welcomed the dialogue. To see why the billboards don't make them nervous, and for some background on religious billboards in the US, read more.

An officer in the Methodist Church said: "This campaign will be a good thing if it gets people to engage with the deepest questions of life. Christianity is for people who aren't afraid to think about life and meaning."

God-themed billboards are nothing new. Throughout the US, signs appearing to come straight from God have sprinkled the highways since 1998. Some say: "Life is short. Eternity isn't. - God;" "One nation under me. - God;" "Big Bang Theory, you've got to be kidding. - God." While the public may be subject to a culture war played out in advertisement, perhaps atheists just want their chance to come out of the shadows, and onto the buses.

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