The so-called "Crackergate" incident in which PZ Myers threatened to desecrate a communion wafer, enraging Bill Donahue and receiving multiple death threats from good Christians, has renewed a discussion over "militant atheism." While "militant atheism" is a meaningless term, there are certainly atheist activists and anti-theists, many of whom are passionate about protecting the separation of church and state, opposing religious extremism, and highlighting the irrationality of religious... Read Full Story

It was the title of the article in the Herald & Review (Illinois) that caught my attention: "'Holiness in the Hood' Draws Youth to Neighborhood Church Celebration." Holiness in the hood? It described a community outreach event conducted by the Love Fellowship Christian Church in Decatur. It sounds like a neat event that almost certainly provided some fun for area families. Up to a point, I think that churches are to be commended for providing this sort of event to the communities which... Read Full Story

I think atheists can generally agree that Christian extremism is a problem. The hard part is agreeing on tactics to oppose it. I have a question for the atheist readers today, one I'd like you to think about before responding. As atheists, should we consider picketing the Christian extremist churches in our communities? Let me elaborate a bit before you answer in case this idea strikes you as absurd on it's face (which it still might be). My goal is not to sell you on the idea but to find out... Read Full Story

No, this isn't a post about online dating. I am referring to the sort of "finding each other" that happens when an atheist living in an oppressively religious environment discovers that there are others who understand what he or she is going through. This is happening now all over Atheist Nexus, a relatively new social networking site similar to Facebook in many ways. If you are an atheist, especially if you happen to reside in the American bible belt, you owe it to yourself to check out... Read Full Story

When the story of then 16 year-old Matthew LaClair first broke, I was captivated. Perhaps it was because I vividly remember what it was like to be an atheist in school. Or maybe it is because I am now on the other side of things, teaching and observing how atheist students are treated by their peers. I am happy to see that Matthew, now 18, is in the news again. However, I am appalled to learn that Matthew's ordeal 2 years ago "bitterly divides the town of Kearny, a community of about 41,000... Read Full Story

Want another example of anti-atheist bigotry to get you riled up? Try this column by Alex McRae in the Times-Herald (GA) on for size. It basically asserts that atheists are boring, opposed to having fun, do not enjoy life, are not creative, and have no sense of humor. If you'd like to stop by and leave the author a comment, I encourage you to do so. You'll see mine among them, pointing out that anti-atheist bigotry is still bigotry. Subscribe to Atheist Revolution Tags: anti-atheist... Read Full Story

Suppose you are an American voter who doesn't particularly care for McCain or Obama. You are no libertarian, and you cannot imagine voting for the Green Party candidate. Fortunately, you have another option besides simply staying home on election day. You can join a group of crazed evangelical Christians and vote for a corpse. But this isn't just any corpse - this one has either been dead for over 2,000 years or never existed at all. Oh yeah! We're talking Zombie Jesus for President. Not... Read Full Story

After Mississippi atheist, Steve Schlicht, wrote a letter to the editor of the Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS) pointing out that the U.S. Constitution includes a First Amendment and not a first commandment, a Christian responded with a letter accusing him of attacking some sort of god. Ridiculous, I know. Anyway, one of our authors, Mims Carter of Pass Christian responded with another letter. Below I have reproduced Mims' letter in its entirety since I do not know how long it will be available on... Read Full Story

It looks like atheist activist, Rob Sherman is in the news again. You may remember him for his lawsuit to stop the "moment of silence" sham in public schools. Or you may remember him for being the target of one of the more egregious examples of anti-atheist bigotry we've seen in awhile. Now he is reported to be back in court to stop the state of Illinois from giving money to rebuild a historic church. Go Rob! According to Chicago Public Radio's City Room, Sherman filed papers in court to... Read Full Story

It has been widely reported around the blogosphere and other independent media outlets that America's mainstream media has been giving Sen. John McCain a free pass for some time. There are all sorts of theories about why this is the case, some more sinister than others, but there is widespread agreement that the trend continues today. I mentioned one example here already concerning blatantly racist statements McCain made in 2000. Now the Los Angeles Times has provided another, and this time... Read Full Story