My Secret Atheist Blog

Experts See Possible Future Conflicts Between Secularists & The Religious In Quebec

2013-05-13T12:41:00.001-04:00

Minnesota Atheists participate in May Day Parade.

Katherine Wilton over at the Montreal Gazette wrote a rather provocatively-titled piece.

Secular vs. religious: more conflicts may be on horizon

It makes some interesting conclusions about a future increase of tension between the religious and non-religious in Quebec. This is given the apparently dramatic increase of secularism within what has inarguably already been the most secular province in the country for decades.

The article takes its cue off the recently released 2011 National Household Survey.

Newly released data from Statistics Canada show that in 2011, 937,545 Quebecers had no religious affiliation, up from 413,190 in 2001 — a 126-per-cent increase.

It seems that the gist here is that the number of secularists is on the rise in Quebec (mostly at the expense of a ever fading religious Catholic population). While the number of recently arrived non-Christians (read: Muslims) is also on a dramatic rise. This, apparently will lead to a great deal of conflict moving forward according to experts like Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies.

“Going forward, we can expect more debates about accommodation; they will be on the radar,” said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies.

“In Quebec, you will see polarization between those who say they have no religion and those who identify with non-Christian faiths.”

The issue of Reasonable Accommodation came to the forefront in secular Quebec and culminated in highly publicized hearings across the province. I can remember hearing a fair bit of what could be considered religious bigotry coming out of it occasionally, but it was a discussion that I believe was worth having.

Wikipedia on Reasonable Accommodation:

There was extensive coverage of related issues in Quebec's news media in 2006 and 2007, which some analysts attributed more to the pressure of competition than to citizen concern. The media play reached such an extent that the premier of the province stated several non-negotiable values, such as "the equality of women and men; the primacy of French; the separation between the state and religion".

This idea played out to the tee recently in a Côte-des-Neiges sports center, where they had time assigned to gender-segregated swimming during the day: "Drainville said the segregated hours sends a wrong message about Quebec, all the while using taxpayer money."

So anyway yes, I believe Jedwab has a fairly valid point. It does seem that Reasonable Accommodation often forces one to consider a conflict between a secular state and a religious group or coalition of religious groups that are, to be frank, asking for special privilege or consideration.

Take for example the religious public school system in Ontario that has been under some fire in the past few years and which a majority of Ontarians have even expressed favour of eliminating altogether (in order to establish a single secular public system in its stead). It is an example of Constitutionally-granted religious privilege. In Quebec, which has been largely secular for decades, publicly funded religious-run school boards were replaced wholesale with a single secular system. In Ontario, I believe it's only a matter of time.

I digress. Back to the article. Although the scene seems to be set for a conflict between (mostly ex-Catholic or culturally Catholic) secularists and newly immigrated Muslims, Jedwab points out that many Muslims may actually be less fundamentalist than the media often portrays or even not religious at all.

Jedwab suggested that not everyone who identified themselves as Muslim practices the religion.

“They vary in their degree of practice and their engagement,” he said. “Look at the number of people in Quebec who identify themselves as Catholic yet we live in one of the least religious parts of North America.”

I can only hope. And when it comes to Catholics, I cannot agree more. I proposed this hypothesis of cultural Catholics in my last post. I think that to some degree countries like France may have already entered this stage and the apparent conflicts between Islam and their secular government may be a sign of future times for Quebec. (Or it could just be right wing governments trying to stir a pot of fear of existential threat to the French culture in the name of votes, I don't know).

The article ends with sociology profession Morton Weinfeld commenting that the amount of future conflict also depends on the involvement of Quebec secularists.

“It remains to be seen whether the non-religious group are militantly secular or not at all interested (in religion),” said Morton Weinfeld, a sociology professor at McGill University.

The changing religious landscape means that in the future, religious tensions will not be between Christians and non-Christians, but between the religious and the non-religious, he said.

On the whole, I agree. I wish they would not use that word militant though. Can we get over this, please?

(credit: http://www.atheistcartoons.com/)

Please, must we jump to this word militant when people are merely pointing out their difference of opinion and trying to make the state as neutral as possible to any and all religions?

Unless militant secularist is shorthand for someone who will attempt to dismantle any sort of privileged status religious people and institutions have - like being able to accept public money and indoctrinate children to your religious belief, or be a church that doesn't pay its taxes, or shelter pedophile priests and not get completely shut down as a criminal organization. You know, standing up for what's right and fair. If that's what militant means then I happily take on the title.

Serious Flooding In Kilembe Uganda. Humanist School Spared But Many People Need Help!

2013-05-10T19:26:00.000-04:00

Picture by: Mulekya Edison, Chairman of Kasese United

Humanist Association

It's been awhile since I've made an update on the situation at the Kasese Humanist Primary School in Uganda. Since then, a whole lot of bad has transpired.

Disastrous Flash Flooding

On May 3rd, Kasese Humanist Primary School Project Director Bwambale Robert sent me the following update about torrential rains (it is their rainy season) that have lead to extensive flooding in the western side of the country.

"There has been a serious downpour where it rained for almost ten hours non stop on the Rwenzoris. So far, 6 people are confirmed dead and many have lost their properties in the floods fueled by rivers radiating from Mount Rwenzori glaciers. Its a rainy season here!"

The Nyamwamba river, which runs from the mountains north of Kasese and alongside the school's new land to the southeast, burst its banks on May 1st and has flooded the Kilembe region again more than once since then. It has lead to chaos in the Kilembe valley. It has caused extensive damage to houses and crops and has left many completely homeless.

I truly didn't have a feel for the level of destruction in this part of Uganda until Bwambale sent me a these videos shot by his colleague Mulekya Edison, who is the Chairman of the Kasese United Humanist Association. You can see the water spilling over the roadway, great amounts of soil having been washed away and quite a bit of structural and infrastructural damage.

A quick Google search on kilembe flooding or kasese flooding will give you an idea of the extent of the damage. There have been at least nine confirmed fatalities and approximately 25,000 people have been economically impacted by this event.

KASESE, Uganda, May 9 — 28-years-old Robert Muhangi, a father of two children stared at what is left of his house and he bursts into tears. His home was torn into pieces by boulders during a heavy down pour in Bulembia Division, Kilembe Mines in the western Ugandan district of Kasese. The heavy rains forced River Nyamwamba to burst its banks breaking up homes, shops, washing way bridges and roads among others.

Muhangi was not alone; he was part of the 25,000 people who have been affected by the flash floods in the district that experts have described as the worst natural catastrophe Uganda has ever faced in terms of physical destruction of property.

Government statistics indicated that nine people have been killed and 25,000 others made homeless by the floods that started on May 1.

Even the Kilembe hospital has been seriously damaged and is now without any electicity, all the patients had to be transferred and a recently acquired X-Ray machine has been destroyed.

Unprecedented Destruction And The Threat of Cholera

Picture by: Mulekya Edison, Chairman of Kasese

United Humanist Association

Bwambale wrote me back a couple of days later.

The situation here in Kasese Town is slowly returning to calm starting from today but in the last days floods has been the story. For the last six days we have not seen the sun in the sky. The conditions have been rain everywhere throughout the district causing lots of havoc like sweeping of crops in farmlands, loss of people household properties like domestic animals, birds, furnitures and loss of lives.

Very many people in the affected areas are now being put into camps and relief organizations are trying to bring in help.

Some bridges connecting townships have broken down, especially those in Kyarumba, Kisinga and some in Kilembe. Right now a bridge along the Kasese-Fortportal highway on Mobuku River now shows cracking and big vehicles like trailers have been denied access into Kasese Town.

It is a real disaster and there are fears of outbreaks of cholera in the camps and Kasese areas, as dirt is now everywhere. However civil society organizations are coming in to help the situation.

My family is okay and we were not affected at all by the floods but we feel touched by the suffering of the people. I have visited Kilembe three times since the incident and things are really bad there. I will send you a couple of snaps and videos of the mess.

Our KHPS land is okay and was not affected at all. Instead there was a deposit of sand on our side near the river and this morning I contracted a lorry to ferry10 trips of sand onto the site for a small fee. There is lots of sand there that I am trying to gather and its a golden opportunity as we need it for the 2014 construction project.

How You Can Help!

(image source: Ugandan Red Cross)

Several relief organizations are beginning to swing into action.

The Ugandan Red Cross seems to be playing an early and leading role. Bwambale himself has informed me that he's seen them in action already.

Here's an update from the Ugandan Red Cross website:

The Danish Embassy has contributed sh130m and Danish Red Cross sh228m. Strides Family for Health has provided 800 water for health kits worth sh25m. Each kit comprises of two buckets of 10 litres, 1 piece of soap, a piece of cotton cloth, a wooden spoon, 90 sachets of PUR (water purification sachets) and a plastic bag for carrying.

You can donate to the Ugandan Red Cross here.

I also found an Indiegogo campaign for ACODEV here. The Facebook page has more pictures and information of the disaster as well. It appears to be a Ugandan charity and human rights promoter.

Action for Community Development (ACODEV) is a Uganda-based non-governmental organization working to employ innovative solutions in the areas of human rights, HIV/AIDS, reproductive and child health, and systems strengthening in Eastern Africa.

You can contribute to this Indiegogo campaign here.

Please consider making a donation to one of these relief funds, or any other agency you can find. In fact, if you do find other reputable organizations doing good work, please let me know!

Or just spread the word through your social networks! The initial disaster may be over, but there are many homeless, displaced and at risk for cholera who will need help to get them through the hard times ahead.

Picture by: Mulekya Edison, Chairman of Kasese United Humanist Association

2011 National Household Survey: Self-Identifying Canadian "Nones" At 23.9%. But Only 12.1% In Quebec?

2013-05-09T20:11:00.000-04:00

St Joseph's Oratory, Montreal.

So the 2011 National Household Survey results are finally posted on the StatsCan website. The Conservatives ditched the old long-form census and replaced it with a survey - much to the concern of StatsCan and those who actually care about statistics, but that's a whole other issue.

There is a good overview of how the new data - however reliable it is - affects the non-religious community over at the Canadian Atheist along with some spirited theorizing about the government's actual feelings towards us godless types.

We are now 23.9% of Canada, up from around 16.5% in the 2001 census. We’re especially present among non-immigrants, at almost a quarter (24.8%) and non-permanent residents at 27.9%.

You can also find a spiffy little video produced by the Globe & Mail that goes into all this in a friendly and accessible way.

The numbers are quite remarkable but something jumped out at me rather quickly when I looked at the interactive graphs provided by the Montreal Gazette.

Number of respondents with no religious affiliation with percent population breakdown per province.

See where it says Provincial breakdown - Proportion of population (%)? Check out Quebec, at only 12.1% of survey respondents having No religious affiliation.

Now contrast this with the 2012 QMI poll that found only 22% of Quebecers consider themselves to be religious. Or the 2012 poll by the Association for Canadian Studies that found that the proportion of Quebec respondents expressing some form of attachment to religion was 34%.

The thing is, having religious affiliation or considering oneself to be religious is not really the same class of question as having no religious affiliation. Without a doubt, the vast majority of Quebecers consider themselves Catholic - after all, they were baptized Catholic. But Catholique means something different to most Quebecers I've met than what I've encountered in other provinces.

One can be a Cultural Catholic and be non-religious or even atheist. Even Richard Dawkins has, in the past, identified as a Cultural Christian. And what about all those atheists who attend Unitarian Universalist churches?

Let's just put it this way, someone could take the results of this survey and say "Take a look at what a religious country Canada is!" or "Quebec is such an overwhelmingly religious province!" While I don't think they could get the same boost to religion out of the other two surveys.

I'll have more to say about this survey in an upcoming post.

Editor's Note (2013-05-09): Want to get counted as an atheist in Canada rather than a "No religious affiliation"? Check out the information about the Canadian Atheist Census over at Canadian Atheist blog! Thanks to Veronica over at Canadian Atheist for bringing this to my attention!

Woops, I think I just caught myself praying.

2013-05-08T16:11:00.003-04:00

(source)

Trigger Warning: This post contains references to blood, bleeding, needles, vampires and privatized healthcare. If any of these things upset you then you may wish to skip reading this.

Have no fear, this is still My Secret Atheist Blog. This is just a story about how I caught myself praying yesterday in a time of crisis. Not proof of any actual god of course. Some habits die hard.

Yesterday morning, I had to go get a blood test. Rather than wait in line at the hospital and get the test for free, I decided to pay a nurse $25 to get it done at the pharmacy near my house. Don't worry, it's still covered by insurance anyway.

The appointment was the latest I ever had a blood extraction done, 9:45 in the morning. The night before, I ate at the regular time - albeit lightly - and wen't to bed.

The morning of the test, I woke up with a head-splitting migraine and a tense painful neck (which usually accompanies my migraines). I dragged myself out of bed and went through my usual morning victuals before plunking myself down at a cafe to wait for the appointed sanguine-sucking rendez-vous with a vampire nurse.

I hate blood tests.

You see, I have a blood-test-phobia. This is a very specific thing. I don't mind getting a shot. It's not needles that scare me - even large ones. It's the act of bleeding that creeps me out. I cannot stand watching the blood flow from me or anyone else into vials. No problem seeing others bleed. No problem seeing blood inside the vials after the test.

How did I get this way?

When I was a child I lost a street fight with an oncoming pickup truck. I ended up in the hospital for a whole summer in traction and then at home in a huge cast to recover. When it came time to remove the cast, a rather large infection was discovered. The nurse didn't properly apply the bandage to one of the openings where the traction pin entered or exited my leg and it likely slid off when the plaster of Paris was being applied. So I was put onto a regiment of antibiotics and daily blood tests.

Unlike in the movies, the vampire ladies - which is what my ten-year-old self called them to their faces - came in every day at dawn.

Unfortunately for me, I do not have large veins and they are very deep in my arms. Nurses and mosquitoes are not fond of me. This meant inevitable poking and prodding with fingers then needles, followed by a sigh and admission that the vein had been missed or that it retreated - if that's even possible - or collapsed(!). All great words for a ten-year-old to hear. Eventually they gave up with these tactics and began to prick my finger tips and scrape at them to get the blood.

Sorry, my stomach is feeling funny now, but I think you get my point.

Back to yesterday now. I decided to lie down, look the other way and think of Ottawa. I had a migraine, was starving because hadn't eaten since the evening before and was feeling thoroughly terrified of the whole procedure. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

(source)

Things were fine at first, but after the first vial was drawn my teeth began to clatter rather involuntarily, the colour left my face and I felt cold and nauseous and a panic attack came upon me. The nurse stopped after the first vial and said we would take a rest. So I laid there, my entire body shivering and shaking. She told me to stay where I was and try to relax while she dealt with the blood guy who was bringing the day's shipment off to the hospital.

It was during this time alone where it happened. I caught myself pleading with someone somewhere to be let free and for the pain and panic to stop. I found myself, effectively, praying - not to any god per se, but to someone or something - anything.

Now that I reflect on this I can see that I was deeply in the grips of a strong childhood fear and my system had shifted into a sort of automated childhood response mechanism that may have been programmed during my religious youth - or perhaps it's simply an innate mechanism that has come along our evolutionary path from our very beginnings. Who knows?

I now realize that I shouldn't be so quick to judge people who fall back on prayer in hard times. I just had this little minor episode. Something very trivial in the wide and diverse gamut of pain and suffering in our world. Imagine if I had lost a loved one in a building collapse, my house was under attack during a war from a foreign invader or I was being held hostage in a basement for years.

Yes, prayer is irrational and doesn't have any physical benefit other than perhaps some psychosomatic effects within our own brains. But as atheists, I think we should try to at least be sensitive to why people revert to prayer - it may not be for coherent reasons all all. Rather, for some there is a strong, almost overriding instinct to do it - especially if it's been engrained during one's formative years.

(source)

I'm not saying I will stop calling a spade a spade. My behaviour didn't make any sense and if someone asks me whether prayer works or mentions prayer in a non-emotionally charged situation, I'll calmly explain that it doesn't work. But if someone's in a crisis situation, I won't be a dick and inform them that I will not pray for them because it's bullshit. I'll instead tell them that my thoughts are with them and ask if there is any material thing I can do to help them out.

When she came back, I was still shaking and shivering, teeth a-clattering. She decided to take a glucose test with a prick of my finger. It came out as 3.6 mmol/L, which is hypoglycemic. I had to drink three juices and she tested me again before letting me go.

So now I have to get the test again, at the hospital, in the morning, first thing. My body will simply have it no other way.

My wife has a glucose meter. She suspected a year or two ago that she might have blood sugar issues. So I've volunteered to carry it around with me and test my own levels for the next week, just to see where my levels are at.

More blood tests, hooray. But this time, I don't think I'll have a prayer.

Editor's Note (2013-05-08): I think there needs to be a distinction made between "I really want that job" kind of prayer and "Please don't let him shoot me" kind of prayer. If you're not addressing anyone who's materially available than I think both are prayers, technically. Also note that I wasn't asking God or anyone in particular - my atheism carried through even to that moment. But I still caught myself pleading with "someone" who wasn't there.

Take the "Slam" Out of Islam: An Interesting Discussion About the American Muslim Community "Owning Up" and Policing Itself

2013-05-07T16:18:00.001-04:00

Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Roxbury (source)

While catching up on my podcasts, I listened to an excellent interview on NPR's Tell Me More. It was a discussion with some American Muslims from different backgrounds about what they are talking about "at the dinner table" and their thoughts in general in the tragic wake of the Boston Marathon bombing.

NPR host Michel Martin spoke with journalist, feminist and author Asra Nomani; author, CEO and scholar Dalia Mogahed; and Indiana Democratic Party Congressman André Carson, (who gets kudos from this Montrealer for using a proper French accent in his first name.) André is one of two Muslims in the House.

The interview is in two parts: Muslim Family Values and Muslims On Boston Bombings: We're All Disgusted. What struck me about it was the frank admission from both Carson and Nomani that Muslims need to do a better job of facing the fact that there are indeed dangerous segments of the global Muslim community. The community needs to identify, denounce, chastise and reject groups that espouse violence in the name of religion.

Nomani: ... And I believe that inside of our Muslim community we haven't completely owned up to the real issues of extremism that is laying claim to our young boys.

...

... To me that means, in fact, acknowledging that we do have ideologues and we have websites and we have awful, awful indoctrination campaigns inside of our communities, well funded, that lay claim to these boys. It's not enough to say they're outside of our community. They are part of us. And we have to take ownership over that. Just as African-American community has had to confront the issue of gangs, we have ideological gangs in our community.

...

... I think that means identifying and clearly stating that we have ideologies that are called Wahhabism, Salafism and Deobandism that are indoctrinating our kids and our communities, that we have Uncle Mishas inside of our communities, and we all know who they are and we need to point at them - and they are just like the gang leaders in neighborhoods who take the hearts of young boys - and we need to isolate them. And that is how then the entire Muslim community will not be judged, because they will see that we are cleaning up our own community, and that is our responsibility, I believe, as citizens of this country and this world.

...

... there are wounds in every community and every society, and I think that the idea is that terrorists are wound collectors and we in our societies and our families and our communities have to make it so that folks can have legitimate nonviolent solutions to their grievances and their wounds and not turn to these violent means, and religion should not be used as a means of sanctioning that kind of violence. And we have to take the slam out of Islam. That's very bottom line for me.

For me, Nomani was the star of this interview and it's well worth listening to. It's very refreshing to hear this discussion coming out of the Muslim community - albeit at an intellectual level - but I hope it leads to a higher degree of self-policing and responsibility.

I've seen this very idea being voiced in the atheist community ever since I started paying attention a few years ago. Moderate Muslims need to be the first to denounce violent extremist fundamentalist groups within the broader umbrella of the Islamic community. This is what regularly happens within Christianity and has acted as a sort of regulating mechanism that benefits all of society - Christian or otherwise.

One potentially atheist example, albeit at a much smaller scale, has been the condemnation of damage done to some churches with FSM-themed graffiti. And whatever your thoughts about Atheism+ and its proponents are, it does attempt to call out perceived social injustices and inequalities within the atheist community.

Of course, I'm really really really no fan of religion - especially monotheistic ones like Islam. It's still total bunk. But the proper functioning of a secular and stable state requires that violent and oppressive religious extremism be checked. They need to play by the same rules as everyone else or you end up with a situation like in Bangladesh.

Hopefully this story is a sign of a more moderate Islam of the future, but who knows how long it will take to trickle down from the minds of the learned to the hoi polloi. Who knows how much time is required to take the slam out of Islam.

Bad Things Are Happening in Bangladesh

2013-05-06T09:34:00.000-04:00

Still image from video featured in Huffington Post story.

Just a few days after a small and peaceful international protest was held in support of jailed atheist bloggers, another huge violent protest in favour of stricter blasphemy laws has claimed at least 15 lives and injured many in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Protests Calling For Stricter Islamic Laws Leave 15 Dead And 50 Injured (VIDEO, PICTURES)

The video looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie. Things have gone completely insane in this country and apparently it's all the atheists fault.

According to the AFP, the protesters were heard chanting: "One point, one demand, atheists must be hanged." Sky News reported a protester, saying: "This government does not have faith in Allah. This is an atheist government; we will not allow them to live in Bangladesh. Muslims are brothers, we must protect Islam."

This comment by DKLabRat does an excellent job of expressing my utter bafflement at what appears to be a full throttle, blood-soaked sprint to utter theocracy in Bangladesh.

Because what's really going to help the country is to kill off all the unbelievers and anyone else in the way too. Let's not improve our working conditions and make the 600+ deaths in the factory count for something. Let's take away everyone's basic human rights instead. And where's the Office of Religious Freedom in all this?

Hefazat-e Islam has long-campaigned for stricter Islamic laws in Bangladesh, even though those in power maintain the country is a secular democracy. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently dismissed calls for a new blasphemy law. The protesters offered a 13-point list of demands, including a pledge to Allah in the constitution, the end to gender mixing in society and mandatory Islamic education.

This whole thing is so tragic it truly saddens and disgusts me. Unbelievable.

Here's an exercise. Spot the difference.

Peaceful protest in Bangladesh to expand human rights in Bangladesh and in support of atheist bloggers right to speech (and existence):

Violent protest in Bangladesh to squash human rights in Bangladesh and demanding the death of atheist bloggers:

(image source)

Honestly, which world would you rather live in? Yeah, me too.

For Young Montreal Ultra-Orthodox Jews Leaving the Fold: It Gets Besser.

2013-05-04T17:00:00.001-04:00

Mendy Pape is one of many young Jews who have left ultra-orthodoxy

to define their own new courses in life. (source: Montreal Gazette)

There is an interesting piece by Marrisa Miller up on the Montreal Gazette website yesterday. It's about adolescents and young adults who are increasingly leaving the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Montreal and It Gets Besser, a support network created to help them integrate into a secular world.

Leaving the fold in search of a besser life

“You’re coming from a community where every action, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, is calculated,” Pape said. With no access to a computer, television, or newspapers, his only contact with the outside world was on Friday nights when he went downtown to hand out pro-Orthodox Judaism pamphlets.

The piece consists of short comments from several young people who have left the extreme isolation of the tightly cloistered Montreal Ultra-Orthodox Jewish population - some 13,000 out of 95,000 Jews in the city. Montreal has the world's 19th largest urban Jewish population.

Mendy Pape, 23 and pictured above, is the 7th of 11 children in just such an ultra-orthodox Jewish family. His decision to take up a more secular life has put strain on his family ties. He speaks to his father only occasionally on the telephone and his mother has all but disowned him.

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath has helped hundreds of young Montrealers with their transition out of ultra-Orthadoxy into more mainstream lives. He works at the Monkland Chabad Centre.

Bernath counsels parents to ensure they maintain strong ties with their children even after they’ve left the fold. “If I want my kid to be a doctor and they decide to be an accountant instead, does that mean I’m going to brush them off? Our children are individuals and we shouldn’t try to choose their path,” he said. “We are their educators and we should try to bring them up with the best values we can. And we hope when they grow up, they make good choices, but we can’t control them.”

This sounds like a great community. If only more parents would take this excellent advice and love their children for who they are - whether they be non-Orthodox, atheist or gay - there would be less hurt in this world of ours.

Pape’s escape mirrors the YouTube movement that blossomed in New York last year called It Gets Besser, meaning “better” in Yiddish. Its founder, Samuel Katz, 23, grew up in the Satmar ultra-Orthodox community and attended yeshiva in New York. In 2011, he stumbled upon before and after photos on his Facebook news feed of his peers as ultra-Orthodox Jews featuring payot (curly sideburns) and long beards, and then as secular Jews in T-shirts and jeans. He solicited a dozen of his friends to send in their own before and after shots in hopes of inspiring those struggling in silence to make the change.

The It Gets Besser website is quite inspiring. It shows how it is possible for those who feel trapped by orthodox Judaism - or, by extension, any form of fundamentalist religion - can make it in the outside world. There are moving testimonial videos on the site to watch. Including this video of before and after pictures.

We've all heard the same lines:If you leave you'll be miserable. You'll get hooked on drugs. You'll be a loser. You'll end up alone. You'll make nothing of your life.We aren't here to challenge or confirm your beliefs in God or religion.We're here to say: if you want to leave, know that you can.You can create a beautiful, successful, joyful life for yourself, just like the people we profile on this site.

Joshua, a Montreal-based DJ and avid believer in math and science, subjects he was never taught at the yeshiva, describes himself as an atheist and describes an ugly side of one yeshiva (Jewish school).

“I was hit and locked in closets day after day in the yeshiva,” Joshua said, fiddling with an earlobe. “When I was younger, I used to have infections on my ear because it got split from my teachers lifting me by the ear,” he said.

There is too much more in this story to write about here. It's a really nice story about how people can survive and flourish in the world with a little help from an accepting community on the Internet and in their neighbourhood. Although I am an atheist who does not particularly like religion, I ultimately support a world where everyone is free to discover who they are and be who they are. It's nice to see people leaving a life that they find confining and find their own ways.

I recommend you give it a read: Leaving the fold in search of a besser life

“We’re actually not off to go out onto the street and do drugs,” Joshua said. “We care about the planet and we care about our future, and our kids’ future.

We’re living for us, for reality.”

It gets besser.

Editor's Note (2013-05-04): Changed "ugly side of yeshiva" to "ugly side of one yeshiva" to make it clear that I do not mean to say this is the normal situation in yeshivas.

Editor's Note (2013-05-06): Cited Marissa Miller (@MarissaMiller03) as the author of the referenced Montreal Gazette article upon request.

Only 6 Days Left To Help Pathfinders Project Meet Its Goal!

2013-05-03T15:59:00.005-04:00

Back in January, I did a short interview post with Conor Robinson, Project Director for the new Pathfinders Project.

The Project

This year Foundation Beyond Belief (FBB) is sponsoring the Pathfinders Project, a year-long volunteer journey, taking four humanist volunteers across the world to work in education, clean water, human rights and construction projects, and to evaluate programs for inclusion in a future Humanist Service Corps (HSC). The HSC will be a proud moment for all nonbelievers. Like the Peace Corps, the HSC will serve their fellowman in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries, but with more focus on encouraging and demonstrating the generosity and compassion of secular humanists.

From the Pathfinders Project website:

Pathfinders Project is a yearlong international service trip (July 2013-July 2014) sponsored by Foundation Beyond Belief, a non-profit organization created to focus, encourage, and demonstrate the generosity and compassion of secular humanists.
Pathfinders will:

complete clean water, education, and sustainability projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

engage in dialogue across religious, cultural, and ethnic boundaries.

assess countries and partner organizations with the ultimate goal of selecting one site for launching the Humanist Service Corps, a future program of Foundation Beyond Belief.

Well, things have really begun to materialize since then and there are now some concrete dates and places have been announced for the project's first year:

TASK Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Bridge of Life School (Cambodia), Kasese Humanist Primary School (Uganda), Uganda Humanist Schools Trust (Uganda), Leo Igwe Research Project (Northern Ghana), Children of the Border (Domican Republic), Water Equador (Ecuador), Aquayuda (Colombia), Safe Passage (Guatemala), Avivara (Guatemala)

I'll just come right out and say it. If you would like to help this fantastic project get off the ground, why not consider chipping a little in? Every amount counts.

The Difference Pathfinders Will Make: Rossi's Story

Because the Pathfinders will volunteer with the above organizations, we already have a very good idea of the important impact they will have in each locale they visit.

Conor has been kind enough to share with me the rough draft of a document he's working on. It contains the personal stories of some who have or will be directly helped by the organizations the Pathfinders will be working with. There will be more stories posted on the Pathfinders website in the near future.

Here is Rossi's story.

Every morning, Rossi wakes with the sun. When I knew her, she was in 4th grade and 9 years old.

School starts at 8:20. This leaves 2.5 hours of daylight before school to take care of household necessities. Fetching bathing, cooking, and "toilet" water are definite necessities, so Rossi makes several trips in the coastal rain forest she calls home.

Obtaining reliable, clean drinking water is costly and inconvenient: $2.00 for a large jug. Keep in mind that $2.00 is enough to feed a family of seven a somewhat filling dinner.

This agua potable has to be obtained across the river in town, an even further journey than filling jugs for cooking and washing. The river water (sometimes high enough to reach just under my chin) determines when and how we cross the river.

It is usually Rossi who walks to the store, which is across the river, down the beach and into town via canoe. She goes to gather a few eggs, a pan and other items for the family. The daily challenge of obtaining water is intricately woven into Rossi's daily life and the lives of so many others along the Northern Coast and other parts of Ecuador.

Makes it hard for me to complain about my rough day at work. Know what I mean?

Clean drinking water is tough to come by in rural Ecuador and its cost is often prohibitive to many. Many families with young children are forced to drink untreated, contaminated water. This spreads disease and chronic illness.

How can a family hope to get ahead if they are either poisoned by the water they must drink or are forced to spend hours a day procuring safe water that could be used for education, work or even much needed rest?

Well, the Pathfinders will help!

While in Ecuador, the Pathfinders will work to dig wells, install water purification systems, and educate about clean water, hygiene, and sanitation.

And this is just one of many people this project will help.

How You Can Help Make It Happen!

Visit the Pathfinders Project Indiegogo fundraiser page, learn more and make a donation!

You can also just spread the word on Facebook and other social networking sites!

May 2nd: Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh

2013-05-01T20:06:00.000-04:00

(source)

Over at the Friendly Atheist blog, Communications Director for CFI USA Paul Fidalgo just posted about the CFI international protests in support of jailed Bangladeshi atheist bloggers that will be taking place tomorrow in the following cities! If any of you could make it, it would go a long long way! Spread the word far and wide!

THURSDAY MAY 2:
Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh

Washington, DC: Embassy of Bangladesh, 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, D.C. 20008. 4:30 pm ET.

Ottawa: High Commission for Bangladesh, Constitution Square Centre, 340 Albert St, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7Y6. 4:30 pm ET.

Calgary: Consulate of Bangladesh, 633 6th Avenue South West, T2P 2Y6. 4:30 pm MT.

Toronto: Eaton Centre, 214-2 College St., Toronto, Ontario M5G 1K3. 12 pm ET.

London: The British Humanist Association is holding a leafleting protest from 10-4 p.m. outside the Bangladesh High Commission in London. Volunteers are asked to email pavan@humanism.org.uk. 28 Queen's Gate London SW7 5JA

BANGLADESH: Dhaka: Press Club, 4:30pm in UTC+07. (Independently organized)

I sincerely hope everything will go down peacefully at the Bangladesh protest!

And I would also personally encourage Canadian protesters to publicly ask what the new Office of Religious Freedom is doing in this case and why they have remained so silent about this!

Paul writes:

It’s nothing less than a human rights crisis. And it’s prompted us to begin this coordinated effort.

I suppose the ORF is not getting involved because it's a human rights crisis and not a religious rights crisis?

You can get up to the minute information about this on the Facebook page and its Twitter hashtag (#defenddissent).

I posted earlier about this back when it was due to happen on the 25th. I'm happy to see prominent blogs like The Friendly Atheist spreading the word!

On May 2nd, speak out for human rights in Bangladesh!

Canadian Anglican Bishop Suing Blogger for Online Defamation

2013-05-01T18:16:00.004-04:00

Bishop Michael Bird (source: Hamilton Spectator)

Okay, so I have no idea how popular my blog is in the grand scheme of things, but I did recently learn a valuable lesson about being too loose and lazy with my facts when criticizing public figures. It ended with me apologizing and recommending that all bloggers give Hemant Mehta's talk Don't Post First and Ask Questions Later. Well at least I learned something - well, I hope I did.

Well, bloggers beware! Oakville-based blogger, David Jenkins, is now being sued for $400,000 by the Bishop of Niagara, Michael Bird for defamation of character.

Jenkins runs a blog, Anglican Samizdat. Judging by its Google Rank and Alexa score, it doesn't look like a huge blog by any measure I can use myself. But apparently Jenkins' past posts were enough for Mr Bird to push charges.

Hamilton-based Anglican bishop suing blogger : Cleric claims he is portrayed as thief, fetishist and atheist

Just for the record, Jenkins does not appear to be an atheist himself. Since I run an atheist blog, I thought it prudent to point that out.

But he is criticizing and, he claims lampooning, a religious leader - which is something us atheist bloggers do all the time.

The defamation lawsuit claims that Michael Bird, Hamilton-based bishop for the 90 parishes in the diocese, which includes Hamilton, has been pilloried on the blog as a weak, ineffectual leader, portrayed as a thief, described as having a sexual fetish and labelled an atheist.

A post that photo-shopped Bird’s face onto pictures from the funeral of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and a photograph of Bird appearing to wear underwear on his head are among posts identified in the bishop’s statement of claim.

A caption on the underwear post read, “Thief steals knickers from Anglican charity shop ... it could be an undie fetish.”

The lawsuit says another post falsely asserted Bird took delight in the closure of St. Hilda’s Church in Oakville — one of three retained by the Niagara Diocese in a 2012 settlement with breakaway congregations. Another post cited in the suit shows a photo of the bishop under the caption, “Mercedes-Benz Uses Communist Madman to Sell Luxury Cars.”

Although I am often skeptical of defamation cases and I'm all for freedom of expression and the freedom to ridicule, lampoon and satirize, I don't know enough about this situation to choose any side.

One thing is certain, blogging is the act of putting your opinions out into the world and there and it pays to at least check your facts before making statements about the opinions of and characters of others. It can always come back in the form of a lawsuit.

Nothing Like Good Old Atheist Generosity

2013-05-01T14:40:00.002-04:00

So a homeless man in Austin, Texas is running an interesting experiment - members of which religion (or lack of religion) are the most generous? Turns out atheists are in a tight race for first place with Buddhists and agnostics.

Homeless Man Tests Givers Based On Religion, Says 'Atheists Are Winning' [PHOTO]

Loose change can be spotted in the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Spiritual, Pagan and Christian bowls. Dollar bills are visible in the Buddhist, agnostic and atheist pots.

Perhaps people who don't participate in weekly pass the basket at church have more disposable income? According to one Redditor the man isn't necessarily using the funding in ways charitable donors may expect.

“I ran into him around Taco Bell on UT campus, listening to his iPod and playing his PSP.. yes this is where your money goes folks,” Redditor Inlover said.

Oh well.

Feeling generous but not in Austin? Why not donate to a registered secular charity from the comfort of your own home? I'm rather biased towards the Kasese Humanist Primary School in Uganda on the Atheist Alliance International website.

You can also check out an important Indiegogo campaign for the Pathfinders Project which is sort of like a secular alternative to the Peace Corps!

Hold The Phone: More Interesting Remarks From Yet Another Autism Foundation Head In Turkey

2013-05-01T01:15:00.001-04:00

While trying to find the contact information for Fehmi Kaya, who claimed atheism is a form of autism, I just ran into more exciting insight into the state of autism understanding in Turkey.

Autistic children not atheists, go directly to heaven: Foundation head

I'm really not sure what the headline has to do with the contents of the article which seems a bit muddled.

All children with Down syndrome will directly go to heaven according to Islam, the director of an autism foundation said April 24 ...

This is coming from the head of the Anatolia Autism Foundation, Burhan Özfatura. I don't know what that has to do with autism. It looks like either he or the reporter is confounding autism with down syndrome - two completely different things. This doesn't bode well.

Özfatura also says this:

“Someone with very basic religious knowledge knows that there is a concept called ‘pubescent intelligence.’ In other words, the condition that the mind reaches a determined level is sought. All these children will directly go to heaven, according to the Islamic faith,” the head of the Anatolia Autism Foundation, Burhan Özfatura, said during a partnership protocol between the association and Aegean University in İzmir.

Uhm, what does this have to do with autism or science in general? This seems like an exercise in religion to me. Are there any scientists working on the whole autism thing in Turkey? Could I possibly get any more depressed about this?

Özfatura, a former politician who served twice as mayor of İzmir, said Kaya’s remarks could not be taken seriously. “We don’t want to popularize [Kaya] more than that. If they take the most basic manual of Islamic faith and read it, they will see that it in detail,” he said.

Yeah, that Kaya guy is such a quack with all his outlandish theories about autism that do not conform with even the most basic manual of Islamic faith. What a pseudoscientist. Unbelievable. But Özfatura doesn't appear to have any real credentials for his job either. He appears to be a politician.

What scientific basis does this have at all? If this is what the experts on autism are talking about in Turkey than I'll stay here in Canada to have my son helped, thank you very much.

And what does any of this have to do with atheists? Perhaps autistic children actually have down syndrome and so they go to heaven while atheists do not? I'm so confused.

But maybe I've got all this wrong? If anyone knows how, please enlighten me.

Editor's Note: It just occurred to me that 'Down Syndrome' could be a mistranslation from the original Turkish. If anyone can help me out with this it would be fantastic.

Turkish Sociologist Who Declared Link Between Atheism And Autism Apologizes (Sort of)

2013-05-01T00:22:00.003-04:00

So around a week ago, I posted about Turkish sociologist Fehmi Kaya, head of the Health and Education Associations for Autistic Children who made the crackpot declaration that all autistic children are atheists and that atheism is actually a form of autism. Ironically, I was too busy today bringing my atheist son (un-indoctrinated) to an interview at a special school for autistic children to comment on the latest developments in this sad story, but here it is now.

Turkish Sociologist Fehmi Kaya Apologises For Suggesting Link Between Atheism And Autism

Right, so I think The Huffington Post left out the word NON from the front of Apologises in their headline, because if any apology exists there than it must be an absolutely perfect specimen of the genus non-apologetica. I'm sure the apology botanist readers will agree with me once forage through the article and present to you what's not merely rehash of previous reports.

Wikepedia has this to say about non-apologies:

A non-apology apology is a statement that has the form of an apology but does not express the expected contrition. It is common in both politics and public relations. It most commonly entails the speaker saying that he or she is sorry not for a behavior, statement or misdeed, but rather is sorry only because a person who has been aggrieved is requesting the apology, expressing a grievance, or is threatening some form of retribution or retaliation.

An example of a non-apology apology would be saying "I'm sorry that you feel that way" to someone who has been offended by a statement. This apology does not admit that there was anything wrong with the remarks made, and additionally, it may be taken as insinuating that the person taking offense was excessively thin-skinned or irrational in taking offense at the remarks in the first place.

Now, observe exhibit #1:

The comments have caused a media storm in the country, with Turkish autism charities condemning the statement.

“This is a statement that could upset around 3.5 to 4 million people."

Adem Kuyumcu, A Life Without Disabilities Association chairperson, told bianet: "We can't sue the association chair for his remarks, but we fear that the unscientific therapy practice could spread across the country," he said.

This demonstrates that his remarks are unfortunate in that they caused a veritable shit-storm of controversy across the country and drew some very negative international attention towards Turkey as well. This media shit-storm is key characteristic #1 in the formation of any good non-apology.

Observe exhibit #2:

Kaya, whose organisation is based in the southern Turkish city of Adana, said in a statement, intended for broadcast on Turkish television, that his remarks had been taken out of context, but apologised to families he had offended.

Notice how he isn't admitting he was wrong in any way or that he was doing anything wrong or misguided. He is only apologizes to families he had offended. This is classic non-apology makeup. I'm sorry what I said offended anyone. Now perhaps his words were taken out of context and we was misrepresented. But I see no alteration in his original course. The Huffington Post re-iterates his plans to treat autism with a little good-ol' churchin'.

He explained plans for his organisation to hold sessions to help autistic children embrace religion, set to begin in June, according to Hürriyet.

The articles gives a couple of good follow-up comments from president of Atheist UK psychologist Mark Embleton and Carlos Diaz, president of the Atheist Alliance International. It ends to a link to a 2011 University of Boston study suggesting a higher propensity towards atheism amongst high functioning autistics. This is an intriguing study, but I have yet to hear of any other collaborating studies.

America's Healthcare System Boggles My Canadian Mind

2013-04-29T17:54:00.002-04:00

Okay, this isn't atheism-related, it's Canadian-dude related. Sometimes America really confuses me - a lot.

Boston Marathon attack creates massive health costs : U.S. health economics expert says total could easily top $9M

Just in case getting your limbs blown off isn't bad enough, you need to worry about how much all the medical intervention to keep you alive is going to cost you?

Major surgeries, hospital care and rehabilitation are expensive everywhere. But in the U.S., there’s a heavy burden on the victims to pay.

I apologize to my American readers, but this blows my mind. It's simply beyond my brain's processing power to compute such a thing. Is this not completely inhuman?

So, after you're done paying for the initial life-saving treatment, what about the months and years of re-habilitation, prosthetic limbs, job retraining, PTSD, etc...? Even worrying about whether the insurance company would pay for it would likely give me an ulcer.

Because the injuries suffered in Boston are so varied and the patients’ information is mostly unknown, Miller said he couldn't come up with an exact figure. And while he’s not worried about the initial cost of treating the patients, he said it will be an expensive proposition down the road.

Imagine, having your basic life-or-death medicine funded by a corporation? But, thankfully, there is a fundraiser backed by the city's mayor that has been set up to help the victims and some of the families of victims. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good thing.

Donate to One Fund Boston!

But why is this necessary in the world's most prosperous country (or so it is always said)? I've never been able to figure this one out.

Kenneth Feinberg, the Boston-area born lawyer who oversaw the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, will administer the One Boston Fund, a large chunk of which is expected to help with hospital bills. Families of the three people killed in the bombing will also likely receive compensation.

This is the same fellow who oversaw the 9/11 victim compensation fund. Why do people need to hold fundraisers so citizens can get critically needed medical and psychological care? Maybe I'm the crazy one here, but does anyone in the US stop to think about this?

There’s also the possibility that hospitals will absorb some of the medical costs, Miller said.

However, the bad news is that people disabled by the twin blasts may face short-term financial pain, especially if they lose their job. In the U.S., it takes two years to apply and be granted disability assistance, Miller said.

I find the very idea of a hospital charging an individual for critical medical care after they've had a couple of limbs blown off by a terrorist to be morally repugnant. I suppose it's just my pinko socialist Canadian system of ethics.

And what about all those individuals who get their limbs amputated by, say, a thresher and don't have mayors putting together fundraisers for them? How do they get the money to pay for their medical treatments? What if their insurance doesn't cover it? What if they have no insurance? What if the doctor was in the wrong healthcare network? (This seems very confusing to me.) Why won't the country take care of the health of its citizens? Really, it boggles my mind.

I guess they can get their church to hold a bake sale or collection for them. Not part of a church? Oh well, then.

Rev. Angelo Pappas, a counsellor with the International Orthodox Christian Charities:

Pappas said he’s “no fan of socialized medicine,” but he thinks the city should continue paying for mental health services such as counselling. A Boston Public Health official said it’s difficult to tell how much the city has spent on counselling at this time.

“I think [counselling] should be free,” Pappas said. “These people were in a public area when this took place … you want government to help you at times like this.”

Damn right it should be free - because it's right and it's humane. Does he even know what this socialized medicine is of which he is not a fan? He seems to be all in favour of it now.

There is a big difference between Canada, which has socialized medicine, albeit far from perfect, and the United States. Take a look at these comments from readers whom I assume are in the US at a Christian blog:

OK, I’ll probably get blasted for this, but do the victims of the Boston bombing need $20 million? I love to see people moved by a spirit of generosity, and God knows there are plenty of great uses to which their money can be put. But I wonder if we shouldn’t first determine where our resources are most needed, then commit them based on that.

Who knows, it may be too much. That's the problem with having to hold a fundraiser every time you need to pay for an expensive medical bill. So sad.

... Who will care for the third child, a little boy while his dad is in the hospital with the mom and sister? Who pays for the funerals. I think the opposite, 20,000 for hundreds of victims may run out.

And ...

... and what about the support for all the children and adults who were present but not physically injured–what about the trauma that may daunt them for a lifetime? The cost of this act is huge and ongoing. What about the families/friends who were at home watching it? ...

Perhaps they will need to run fundraisers as well. Mind... blown... again... Why is the world's most advanced and prosperous country even having these discussions? Why in this most religious and Christian of all developed nations?

I think it is absolutely terrific that Americans can show their support by giving financially to the needs of the victims of the terrorist bombings in Boston! We are a generous nation and this is evidence of that

You now what? I pay for my own and every other Canadian's basic healthcare through my taxes. I may moan about owing at the end of the year, but goof grief - I think it's my duty as a human being to help provide some base level of medical care for my fellow countrymen, countrywomen and children both in times of crisis and not.

Speaking of crisis, if this is how healthcare works in the States then it looks like things are in crisis mode pretty much all the time.

In contrast to my American brothers and sisters down south, here are some Canadian reactions to the story I linked to above.

This just seems wrong! You get injured by a bomb blast, and then have to pay hundreds of thousands out of your own pocket for medical? Ridiculous, USA, the world is laughing at your pathetic healthcare system.

Don't get me wrong! This is a disgusting comment in that one shouldn't laugh at the situation. This is not laughable or pathetic, it's a cause for concern and sadness.

As much as I think we have great neighbours to the South, this is what is greviously wrong with the USA. It is the duty of a state to ensure that its citizens have the basic necessities of life: food, shelter, health and a basic education. While we don't always get it completely right in Canada, we are way ahead of the USA on this...despite Harper trying to make us more like Americans.

I know this will undoubtedly upset some of my readers. Rest assured, I'm not trying to be smug about being Canadian (our system is far far from perfect). I also do not, in any way, mean to belittle the horrendous tragedy in Boston.

I really am just baffled and confused by how things can apparently work so badly in the word's leading country. Maybe it's all just peachy keen. But fundraisers for prosthetic limbs and medical costs? Really?

Please, Americans, enlighten your ignorant neighbour to the north!

CFI Video Interview With Ex-Bangladeshi Atheist Blogger Sharif Ahmed Seeking Asylum In Canada

2013-04-27T00:38:00.004-04:00

Atheist blogger Sharif Ahmed ran a Humanist book shop

before being forced to flee Bangladesh because he doesn't

believe in God. His life was threatened, beaten, slashed and
nearly murdered.

CFI Canada's Youtube program ThinkAGAIN! has an amazing interview with ex-Bangladeshi blogger Sharif Ahmed, who has escaped to Canada and is seeking asylum here on the grounds that his life is threatened in Bangladesh due to his atheism.

The video covers the horrific story of this Bangladeshi freethinker and will hopefully serve as a wake-up call for the Canadian Office of Religious Freedom to actually say something in support of atheists and freethinkers in Bangladesh.

He is currently uncertain about his refugee status here in Canada.

Justin: Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has said to the United Nations, no less, that he doesn't see atheism and agnosticism as in need of defence in the same way that persecuted religious minorities are. What would you say in response to Minister John Baird?

Sharif: I think atheists need protections. Because if government doesn't protect atheists the religious people are going to kill them. They are killing us and every day they are killing. I can be an example. Think if I have to go back to Malaysia, Bangladesh, what will happen to me.

You may notice some banging noise on the video. It's due to construction in neighbouring buildings.

Unfortunately the CFI office was between two construction sites at the time of filming (clanking, jack-hammering, etc.) and the music was intended to mask the background noise and fill in the parts where there was no talking.

French Nursery School Director: Eat Your Meat, Children! This Is a Secular Republic!

2013-04-26T21:27:00.002-04:00

I consider myself a secularist and believe in a true separation between church and state. Recently, here in Quebec, there has been talk of a Secular Charter and signs of a healthy secular outlook have cropped up in state-run daycares, public schools and public swimming pools. For me, a properly implemented secularist society levels the field so no religion has the upper hand on other religions or the irreligious.

France, the country from which Quebec has derived its concept of secularism, admittedly has a few strange preoccupations with diet. Back in 2011, the public school system in France apparently outlawed vegetarian meal plans for children in their cafeterias. This was met with a whole lot of opposition from vegetarian and vegan groups, even Paul McCartney protested this move.

The government's rationale at the time was that the only way they could meet newly imposed nutritional guidelines was to include meat as the primary source of protein with each meal.

A new law in France that imposes strict nutrition requirements on school cafeterias essentially punishes vegetarians and vegans, according to advocacy groups.

According to The Guardian, groups argue the proposed 20-meal cycle of a minimum of four meat meals, four fish meals and four egg, cheese or offal meals would make it very difficult for children who don’t eat meat to get a nutritious meal every day. If a child chose to skip the meat and just eat the side dishes, the school might run afoul of the Ministry of Agriculture, which has requirements for how much protein must be in the meal.

Seems like a systemic supply and demand problem.

I can tell you is that here in Quebec, people eat lots of meat. I wonder how many children would get plenty of their meat protein at home. Actually, they probably eat more meat than their own good. Besides, there are plenty of vegetarian options with sufficient protein for a meal. Anyway, the arguments for this seemed to at least be couched in science and reason - or expediency, whichever you prefer. From what I read, I wasn't able to find anyone in the government talking about religion.

Bondy : une directrice d'école veut obliger les élèves à manger de la viande (tr. Bondy: A School Director Wishes to Force Students to Eat Meat)

So you might think "so what? this is just more of the same. " Well, not quite. This school director tried to use secularism as her excuse to force the children to eat meat.

I would like to remind you, in conformance to municipal and school rules that each child will be served meat. The children are expected to eat their meat. If, for religious reasons, you do not desired your child to eat meat, please speak with me as we will not accept this situation.

I would like to remind you that your child is being educated in a Republic and that secularism -- which is one of the foundations of the Republic -- must be respected in its entirety.

Is this a disconnect? Presumably there would be non-halal/kosher meat or pork served in the cafeteria and so Muslim or Jewish parents may not wish their children to eat it. I can also understand the state not wishing to modify their menus to cater to the religious sensitivities of the parents. Yes, the state. It seems that most French nursery schools do not cook in-house but are served via a central kitchen for the region:

But most French school canteens are supplied by a local, central kitchen and many "maternelles" (pre-schools up to age six) and "élémentaires" (for ages six to 10) only offer one meal option each day, so on a day when meat is the main dish, say the groups, there is no room for a vegetarian option.

So it is apparently difficult to offer a vegetarian option in France as of the law change in 2011 at least. Or so it appears to me. For children eating at the school canteen, it could very well be they are getting insufficient nutrition if they skip the meat because they have no meat-replacing protein.

It's a little more complicated. The way I understood it, this rule only applies to eating in the cafeteria. Children can be sent to to the school with bagged lunches.

But should the director have used the word secular here? Was she being deliberately antagonistic towards those who wish their children to avoid meat? Surely she's not talking about the vegetarians.

The more I dig, the more I realize there is much more going on in France. There is the original conversation about a lack of supply of meat substitutes, there is a sub-conversation about how a secular government shouldn't accomodate religious minorities in the public school system (at public expense) and a sub-sub-conversation about preserving France's cultural heritage, which seems to involve eating a lot of non-halal/kosher meat. That last sub-sub-conversation seems like a rather favourite line of the right political wing for getting votes.

March 4, 2012: French leader Sarkozy nixes halal meat in schools for Muslims

March 5, 2013: Pupils at French school told: 'It's pork or no meat'

In the middle of all this we have vegetarians that simply do not wish to consume meat for ethical reasons. Too bad for them in France!

This perhaps flawed usage of the word secular met with a swift reaction, especially among Muslim parents. I honestly cannot see how meat consumption has anything to do with a secular Republic.

More or less immediately, the mayor's office made public assurance that it was never aware of any such meaty initiative. In fact, it insisted on the point that there was no municipal law stipulating that public school children should be obliged to eat their meat.

After this, the nursery director offered this correction:

(source)

Here is my less-than-professional translation. I will admit that I find it hard to parse her French and find some of her choice of words a little odd. But I'm an anglophone and French French does seem different than the Quebec French I'm more accustomed to.

To all the parents who received the notice, I would like to make this correction:
At its core, my wish is that there regularly be menus based around meat and that certain children leave the table without having eaten enough.

The notice was inviting parents to come see me to find a solution for the wellbeing of their children and in no way compromised the personal liberty of each individual to feed himself as he wished.

Parents have knowledge of the menus in advance, thereby we can together find solutions with dialogue, in the interest of the childrens' wellbeing.
I offer to all whom I hurt with my mispeak and by a poor representation(?) of the concept of secularism, my sincerest apologies.

I'm very sorry. My intention was not to enter into this kind of conflict that overwhelms me completely, but rather to ensure the quality of (?) what children eat to satisfy their hunger.

Seems a tad less forceful than the first note, doesn't it?

You know, the more I think about this, the more I am uncertain how I feel about it. I think there are perhaps more moving parts than first meet the eye.

On the one hand, I do not see a problem with a publicly funded school cafeteria serving non-halal/kosher meat. On the other hand, would it really be so difficult to offer a vegetarian option?

With a culture and cuisine that is so deeply in love with meat in all its forms, avoiding eating it in France is a tricky business. There is a very small minority of non-meat eaters in the country – more than the 20 who demonstrated today, but still tiny. One million people, or 1.5% of the French population called themselves vegetarian in studies published in the late 1990s, although more recent estimates suggest that has grown to 2%.

Is there a fear or hostility in France towards vegetarianism? Perhaps the vast majority of French simply do not believe a meal without meat could ever possibly be healthy and nourishing. If so, then could the regis of secularism be used out of expediency?

Maybe I'm not further along here. What does not eating your meat have to do with a Secular Republic, again?

Atheist Sunday Assembly Congregation Evicted From Their Church

2013-04-25T20:11:00.001-04:00

Sanderson Jones is one of the creators of the Sunday Assembly. His venue

went missing without warning and nobody really knows why. (image source)

Only a couple of weeks ago atheist musician Shelley Segal had to find an alternate venue for her Tacoma show.

The coffee house that had agreed with no sign of discomfort or protest decided at the very last minute that they did not wish to host the show after all and Ask an Atheist host Sam Mulvey was left scrambling. Now there is a new bit of apparent discrimination across the pond.

It seems that the Sunday Assembly, probably the world's most non-militant group of atheists, have lost the privilege of congregating in the deconsecrated church they have been calling home since the group's inception in January. I've been following this group since the beginning and it's really hard for me to figure out why anyone would have it in for them. I guess it's because they don't believe in the big guy in the sky.

Sunday Assembly pastor claims UK’s first atheist congregation evicted from church by moralistic Christians

I suppose this may be the first ever eviction of an atheist congregation from a church. I suppose it could be considered (non)religious persecution?

As far as I can tell, the Assembly was leasing St Paul’s Church, a deconsecrated Nave, which has a capacity of around 200 from the Steiner School:

St. Paul’s Steiner School is an independent, non-selective and non-denominational school for children aged 3 – 14 years old.

Housed in a beautiful 19th century church in central London, St. Paul’s is a Steiner-Waldorf School. We provide an education that supports the development of well-rounded human beings who are resourceful, creative, responsible and curious; ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century with the problem-solving skills required for a sustainable future.

You know, it looks like a really nice school. Although non-denominational raises a red flag for me personally. Judging by the article, it may not have wholly been their decision to give the Assembly the boot. It turns out that the trustees of the school were leasing the premises from the good old Church of England. Is there no fiendishly evil plot they are not behind? Maybe renting the building out to a bunch of atheists -- albeit indirectly -- made them blush too hard. Perhaps it upset their digestion.

Away from mere conjecture and back to cold, hard, unfriendly facts. One of the school trustees e-mailed Jones on Friday.

“The Sunday Assembly is regularly drawing crowds of up to 500 people, if we go beyond capacity we could be held in breach of health and safety law and we would be in very serious trouble,” he said.

Okay, sure, it's a fairly good argument, but according to the article, the Assembly was already looking for a new venue. In fact:

Although the Sunday Assembly was searching for larger premises, Mr Jones arranged to use the Steiner School building in Balls Pond Road, which trustees lease from the Church of England, one last time for their monthly meeting in May.

Surely, the school could have kept their promise for this one last time? They had done it before. And if crowd size was a problem, surely some well placed bouncers at the door could have rectified the problem. Perhaps the service could have been streamed via web to smartphone carrying congregants outside or a couple of televisions could be set up?

No, this apparently came out of the blue and it seems downright uncool - like someone just pulled the plug out of some kind of spite.

The worst thing is that they waited until the last moment thus screwing over the atheist group in much the same way things came to pass in Tacoma. You know, when I was a kid my father taught me to let the fish chew on the worm awhile before reeling it in and not to jerk the line as soon as I got a little nibble. Well, we'll never know if this was an intentional thing but it is fishy nonetheless.

But last Friday Mr Jones received an email from Gary Bridgewood, one of the Steiner School trustees, apologising for “messing up” the booking.

He said he had “failed” to make clear the results of a meeting with Mr Jones, and had “upset a considerable number” of his community.

On an announcement at the Sunday Assembly website, Jones makes a few amusing speculations about exactly what put certain members of the school's board over the edge resulting in their reneging.

Sadly the committee members who took against the godless congregation didn’t spell out the precise reason for their disapproval. Was it novelist Sarah Dunant’s talk on the art of the Resurrection? Vicar Dave Tomlinson’s meditation on the power of metaphor and stories? Or the congregation singing Run Rabbit Run during April’s Easter service?

Exactly, it must have been that rascally rabbit.

But all is not lost! The May 5th meeting has been moved to the British Humanist Association's Conway Hall, which appears to have ample room.

But the fitting character of a crumbling and dilapidated deconsecrated church, that will be missed. It was so symbolically fitting, like a phoenix rising from ashes.

Pippa wanted to add: “A deconsecrated church with just the right level of shabby chic was perfect. If anyone else can suggest some venues we’d love to hear about them. We’re homeless. Help!”.

If anyone knows of a nice venue, they should get in touch with the Sunday Assembly here.

CFI's Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh Postponed Until May 2nd

2013-04-25T08:38:00.001-04:00

This is just a quick note to announce that the CFI's Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh that was originally scheduled to happen today has been postponed until May 2nd.

* * * Due to the National Day of Mourning in Bangladesh on April 25, protests have been postponed to May 2. Other groups are not bound by CFI's decision. * * *

Bangladesh is in a state of mourning due to a tragic building collapse that has so far caused some 200 deaths. This is a terrible event and my heart goes out to all the friends and families of the those who have been lost.

Mark May 2nd on your calendar and spread the word.

Atheists at Risk in Iran

2013-04-24T16:35:00.002-04:00

Imāmzādeh Ja‘far, Borujerd (source)

Back in my university days, I took several Greek and Latin courses. It was essential for me to read ancient literature in its original form.

I have fond memories of a delightful middle-aged man from Iran who attended a few of these classes. Let's call him Hussein. His specialization was in the ancient Persian language that was native to Iran and in which their ancient texts were at one time written.

One time, I asked Hussein when he last visited his home country. Surely, I thought, he must have friends and family there. At that time I was still quite ignorant of world politics.

I can remember seeing his forehead crinkle and his lips purse in discomfort. He told me he hadn't been back to Iran since he was more or less forced to flee the country. He was a known intellectual who would most certainly be imprisoned, if not killed if he was ever to set foot again in Iran. I never asked him what his religious views were. His opinions always struck me as very progressive. He may very well have not believed in God or at least organized religion.

Although I'll likely never know his true views of religion, I thought of Hussein when I ran into this article awhile back about the downright dangerous situation for atheists in Iran.

Iranian Atheists: Waiting to Come Out

The article appeared in the Russian publication Ria Novosti and is a part of a series about Iran in 2013: Iran in the Spotlight. As one may expect from a national theocracy, things are very grave for atheists in this country.

... there certainly appear to be Iranians who question God’s existence – though they do not speak about it openly: A public coming-out to embrace Christopher Hitchens and his ilk could land them on death row.

The fear is so strong and the threat so real that all of the Iranian atheists interviewed for the article insisted on having their names changed.

None of the self-proclaimed Iranian atheists reached by RIA Novosti agreed to in-person interviews. “This would make me a very dead Iranian girl,” one of them quipped.

But it is not only their safety at risk. If an atheist should identify themselves and dare to speak their conscience the safety of their friends and relatives could be at risk as well. Unbelievably, this seems to also apply to non-believes residing outside of Iran. Apparently the Iranian government is not above holding local friends and families of Iranians abroad hostage.

... the government is not above cracking down on dissenters’ relatives, said Cyrus, also an Iran native, who works in the US media industry.

Cyrus said he knows of at least one case where police arrested the Iran-based father of an émigré who ran a pro-atheism group on Facebook, releasing him only after the group was shut down. He gave no details.

The official punishment for apostasy in Iran is death.

Many government documents and school applications require one to officially spell out their religious belief. This amounts to people being more or less forced to declare themselves Muslim. Once this is done, identifying as anything other later is considered a crime.

No executions of atheists have been reported from Iran in recent years. But apostasy is often cited among regime opponents’ crimes, lending extra weight to the accusations against them.

The article goes on to mention the Iranian Atheist & Agnostic Facebook page, which as over 50,000
likes as of this writing. The environment in Iran is so hostile to non-believers that even running a Facebook group is a considerable a significant risk. Facebook has been blocked by the theocratic Iranian regime.

One nameless Facebook administrator pointed out that religious doubt and atheism is on the rise in Iran among more educated groups, at least covertly.

“We are not alone. The population of people who are atheist is growing,” s/he said, adding that there are many atheists and agnostics in Iran among well-educated residents of big cities.

Like my friend Hussein, who's religious views I am uncertain of, many of these educated Iranians left the country. Some atheist Iranians who do make it out are still stuck in immigration limbo, like Elaheh Davoud Abadi Farahani. So, what can we do to help?

You can start by helping the CFI petition Andrew Bennett over at the Canadian Office of Religious Freedom. Back in April 5th, Bennett met with CFI Canada. During the meeting, the CFI got a commitment from Bennett:

Most importantly, we got the firm commitment from the Ambassador that this Office will support and protect the rights of all people to question, change and even leave their religion. We at CFI Canada are glad to see such a firm commitment from this newly established office and we will work to ensure that all beliefs are protected equally.

You can listen to more details about this on the Legion of Reason podcast What do Michael Payton, the ORF (yet again) and Bangladesh Have in Common?

So, spread the word on your social networks! Also, you can contact the CFI who will be in further contact with this Office:

1) Email feedback@cficanada.ca whenever there is a case of atheist persecution that we need to hear!

2) Are you interested in helping us with these projects as a volunteer? Email mpayton@cficanada.ca to apply!

Remember also that atheists are at risk all over the world. The CFI will be holding coordinated marches in several cities in support of Bangladeshi atheists tomorrow! Check it out!

Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh

Turkish Sociologist: All Autistic Children Are Atheists And Atheism Is A Form Of Autism

2013-04-22T19:58:00.001-04:00

Fehmi Kaya

Okay, so everyone knows I'm an atheist. The blog title gives that one away. But some of you may not know I have a son with autism. So, this next story fires so many triggers on an emotional level with me that I'm really not sure where to begin.

All autistic children are atheists and atheism is a form of autism, says association head

This gem comes from the Hürriyet Daily News in Turkey.

It seems that sociologist Fehmi Kaya, who's the head of the Adana’s Health and Education Associations for Autistic Children is convinced that autistic children are “atheists due to a lack of a section for faith in their brains.” He went even further and diagnosed atheism as a form of autism.

This, naturally, caused a great deal of outrage among autism associations around Turkey. Now, I find it outrageous because there appears to be no credible scientific study to back it up. And if it is true that people with autism are statistically more likely to be atheists, then what's the problem? In this sense they likely see the world more clearly than many neurotypical people who's brains seem to fall prey to superstitious mumbo jumbo.

But I suspect many people in Turkey (and pretty much everywhere outside of Sweden) find it downright threatening. Because being identified as an atheist there is unlikely to help anyone who already has the sufficiently burdensome challenges of being on the spectrum or caring for someone who is autistic. It's more than likely going to compound any problems you would already have navigating the healthcare system trying to find plausible treatments.

“The message I wished to give was not about autism and atheism, but to highlight that these children cannot communicate, cannot form empathy, live in their own worlds and are isolated. I meant that we should take them out of their isolation with proper therapy methods,” he said.

So these autistic kids (aka atheists), cannot form empathy and live in their own worlds. Apparently a belief in god - faith - is an essential component for this. Teach them to believe in god and their empathy points will go through the roof. Sure, we've all seen that play out over and over again ever since the Old Testament genocides.

But if there is anything that makes us human is the humane in all of us. The ability of empathizing with others forms the very bedrock of many ethical theories out there. It makes me wonder a little what Kaya thinks about atheists.

He goes on to say that faith is a normal development in neurotypical children, while children on the spectrum are not aware of why people believe and so, like people with a hearing disability. And apparently what we need is proper therapy methods.

Kaya's solution to this problem? Brainwash the children until they share the same delusions as normal children.

Kaya also said they would turn autistic children into believers through sessions that would be offered for free at therapy centers in the future.

The sessions, which have been confirmed by the Culture Houses of Adana’s Yüreğir Municipality, are set to start in June and will be able to serve over 30 children. The same houses will also offer further therapy sessions for children with disabilities.

The story ends with Kaya asserting “every child understands when you tell him or her to fear God, but an autistic child will not.” So, naturally, one must brainwash the child and force this fear into them. Because everyone knows that anyone who doesn't believe in a god and fear him is abnormal.

This is nothing new of course. I cannot count the number of times I've heard people say that the cure to all our woes is belief in Jesus Christ. He's essentially suggesting putting autistic children into churches. Here it's likely to be a belief in the prophet Muhammed.

“Once he starts to develop normally, belief will come in time. "

So... angry... so... angry...

The autism community is known here in North America for being soaked with woo. It can range from the mildly amusing - hyperbaric oxygen treatment - to the downright criminally harmful: anti-vaxers and people who force their kids to drink bleach or injecting their butts with fecal matter. But, truly, this takes the cake.

Kasese Humanist Primary School Tree Planting Exercise And First Fundraiser Goal Met!

2013-04-21T14:24:00.005-04:00

KHPS students standing infront of building one on the newly purchased land. The successful fundraiser now allows

the school to bring electricity to this first building, which will provide power for tools in March 2014, the projected

construction start month for new buildings on the land.

Last month, I set up a mini fundraiser to provide needed funds to the school for the installation of power poles and electrical lines from the Kasese power grid to the existing building on the land. As of this morning, due to a sizeable anonymous donation, our goal was met!

I'll make more announcements in the coming days about when the power poles will be installed!

THANKS TO ALL THE DONORS WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE!

Remember also that if you wish to contribute to the ongoing operation of the school, any donation can be routed through Atheist Alliance International paypal link:

http://atheistalliance.org/support-aai/donate (Select KHPS)

There will be a much larger follow-up fundraiser to raise funds for the construction of new buildings on the land. But the success of this fundraiser is an important first step to making the new school happen!

And now, more great updates from Bwambale Robert, Project Director of the Kasese Humanist Primary School in Uganda!

On Thursday April 18th, nearly sixty students at the school participated in a tree planting exercise on the thely acquired land which is destined to be the school's permanent home.

The children were so excited to learn of the news that this is going to be a future permanent home of the school in future. They posed for a photograph at the recently plastered building within the property. There are some plantains, pumpkins, pepper and mangoes and the kids tried their luck and took what was available.

The students left the current school grounds in the evening, led by Bwambale and accompanied by the School Head Teacher and three other members of the teaching staff. They proceeded by foot alongside the Kasese Fort Portal Highway, purchased a number of seedlings from a nearby nursery, passed the Majengo-Rukoki trading center and headed to the new school property.

Each child planted a tree in a hole and the trees will be looked after such that they grow and as its rainy season now, there are high chances that they will grow up. This exercise took close to two hours.

The purpose of the trees along the Nyamwamba river banks is to curb soil erosion, provide shade and fresh air, to add to the beauty of the scenery plus many other uses. This exercise is going to continue in more weeks to come.

A fundraising campaign is in progress as the school management tries to mobilize for resources to put up classroom blocks on the site and all well wishers and friends of Kasese Humanist Primary School are encouraged to support us materially, financially or morally such that we succeed in commencing bigger construction works in March 2014.

As I mentioned above, the first fundraiser to connect the existing building to the national power grid is a success! More fundraisers are now planned to facilitate the construction of new buildings on this land for the school. Stay tuned!

Andrew Bennett To Speak At Montreal Conference On Religion And Canadian Public Discourse

2013-04-20T00:04:00.002-04:00

Andrew Bennett

Guess who's coming to Montreal to talk on May 28th? Canadian Office of Religious Freedom Ambassador Andrew Bennett is. He'll be doing the keynote plenary on Religious freedom and Canadian foreign policy alongside former Canadian Ambassador to the Holy See, Anne Leahy. I have a feeling I am highly unqualified for Leahy's job.

Anyway, two ambassadors for the price of one.

One other name on the program is familiar though, Janet Epp-Buckingham. She also appeared in a Cardus-sponsored discussion on the new Office of Religious Freedom which I covered in Canada Office of Religious Freedom Discussion: Setting the Scene.

All this will be taking place at Bridging the Secular Divide: Religion and Canadian Discourse, which is being hosted by McGill University.

Although I'm not sure precisely what Bennett will go into, the broad purpose of the conference itself is summed up on its about page.

It was once said that as societies develop, religion disappears. This myth has now been debunked, as the persistence of modern religious belief attests; however, it remains unresolved how religion should enter into our secular spaces of public discourse within the media, civil society and government. In a country that has defined itself by values of pluralism and religious freedom, the exclusion of religion from all public discourse would be simplistic and inconsistent with our heritage. Our challenge is to foster a new spirit of civility and reconciliation within an increasingly diverse society, where we can speak openly together about our beliefs, values and principles and how they relate to the common good.

This conference will explore the role of religion in Canada’s public discourse, in terms of both thought and action. To many observers it appears that our national discourse is increasingly polarized and the civility of democratic deliberation is eroding. Fundamentalisms of many stripes – ideological, religious, and secular – can drown out the more moderate and considered voices. Within this context, how should perspectives that draw from religion inform the national conversation? How do we judge the legitimate – and illegitimate – role of religion in our public discourse? How can engagement by religious voices make positive contributions to our pursuit of the common good for all Canadians? Where does responsibility rest for changing the current state of affairs? These are questions that call for reflection on both values and practice, as we explore together how to bridge the secular divide.

So, my brain must not be wired properly to understand what the exclusion of religion from all public discourse really means. Maybe I should repeat this, in particular:

... how should perspectives that draw from religion inform the national conversation? How do we judge the legitimate – and illegitimate – role of religion in our public discourse? How can engagement by religious voices make positive contributions to our pursuit of the common good for all Canadians? Where does responsibility rest for changing the current state of affairs?

The words seem to bounce off me. The paranoid side of me cannot help but think it might be some kind of code that really means how much sway should religion have on public policy.

What do they really mean? Because I don't see anything at all impeding anyone from saying whatever they like, religious or not. Of course, Canadians reserve the right to call any nonsense they hear bullpucky.

To me, it seems that some may feel threatened by what's been termed creeping secularism. Take, for example, Conservative MP David Anderson who participated in the video conversation alongside Janet Buckingham.

I think Janet also raised an important point, in Canada, and that is ... uh... and I think it is around the world as well... the threat of state-sponsored secularization.

The state actually begins to take the position that they are going to force religion out of the public realm into the private realm. And I think that's maybe another discussion for another day as well. But we've certainly had a lot of these conversations in my office about how you define religion and how you define freedom...

While I'm at it, I'm uncertain what the public realm means here either. To me it seems any involvement of religion in public discourse (say, politics) extending deeper than any average citizen equates to a privileged imposition of religious dogma onto society. But this is conjecture.

Going back to the originally quoted conference description. I guess I really don't know what a secular divide is either. Nor do I know what they're getting at by religious voices make positive contributions to our pursuit of the common good for all Canadians.

So, since I'm utterly confused, I'm thinking this convention may be just the thing I need to decode all of this and figure out what the endgame is here. Besides, if religious people are having their voices actually stifled or silenced by society then I would like to know.

The price is a little steep for the financially challenged, like yours truly. But if anyone else wants to go, I may be convinced to tag along if I can score the days off work. Maybe I can convince someone else in the atheist or secular community to go, take notes and post a guest post here?

In closing, one thing Andrew Bennett's office has yet to recognize (and I doubt will be mentioned during this conference) is the plight of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh. Visit the CFI's Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh for information on what you can do to help on April 25th!

Canadian Miss Universe Pageant 2013 Contestant Dedicates Her Life To Religious Freedom

2013-04-19T21:10:00.003-04:00

Anastasia Lin on the left, Baird on the right.

A couple of small items today. Here's item number one.

Canadian Miss World 2013 Beauty Pageant contestant Anastasia Lin was one of the eleven stakeholders representatives to meet with John Baird about the formation of the new office back in 2012.

This was her second meeting with the minister about this topic. Incidentally, no secular group was consulted until just a few weeks ago.

Determined to be “a voice for the voiceless,” Chinese-born Lin, 23, has dedicated her life to religious freedom, weaving this mission into everything she does.

I think that regardless of your opinions of beauty pageants, her video shows that she is for human rights in general, with a focus on religious freedom. I've sent her a message on Facebook to ask if she could speak out in favour of the atheist bloggers in Bangladesh. It would be interesting if she came out in support of non-religious folk during the pageant.

I sent her my post about the April 25th Protest In Support of Bangladeshi Atheists. Please remember to spread the word about this event!

Major New International Project To Study Evolution Of Religion And Mea Culpa, Edward Slingerland

2013-04-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

Part I: The Evolution of Religion and Morality

There is a major multi-national research project afoot. It's being spearheaded by the Centre for Human Evolution and Culture.

"HECC is a joint University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University research hub that connects evolutionary scientists to psychologists, religious studies scholars and others in the humanities and social sciences. The Centre recently received a $3 million grant that will provide the foundation for the international Cultural Evolution of Religion Research Consortium."

Back in January, I posted about Edward Slingerland, who is a key researcher in this project. It was a rather unfortunate post entitled "Complete Atheist" Gets $3,000,000 Grant To Study Religion Then Calls Sam Harris a Moron. I'll comment more about that later in the second part of this post, where I shall attempt to critique it.

But first, you can read more about the project at its website, The Evolution of Religion and Morality Here is the basic overview from the site's webpage.

Some portions of this project that could be of interest for atheists and secularists in general are (from the Central Research Questions section):

and ...

and finally...

Furthermore, they will be using advanced imaging techniques like fMRI:

Experimental-Ethnographic Team members will coordinate on systematic, comparative studies employing interview-based, observational, and experimental techniques (including fMRI), targeting community samples and fieldsites in Vancouver, Shanghai, Denmark, New York, the UK, Fiji, mainland China, Taiwan, India, Brazil, Southern Europe, Vanuatu, Israel, New Zealand and Mauritius.

This seems like it could be a really cool project. In fact, I will keep close tabs on this and I'm looking forward to the results or any updates and will post more informed and thus more valuable opinions about them as I come across them.

Now comes the uncomfortable bit.

Part II: Mea Culpa, Edward Slingerland

As I mentioned above, back in January I responded to a Vancouver Sun article, Smart atheist heads $3-million grant into religion and morality. In my overly hasty response, I questioned why exactly the article's author, Douglas Todd added 'smart' to the article title.

And it's here where I'm guessing Slingerland earns his wise or smart epithet. This is is nod to what theologians have been yammering on about for centuries with no solid proof whatsoever. It's to be expected from the the author of this post, Douglas Todd, who attended a school of Theology and won two Templeton awards. There is nothing new here to see folks - move along.

I made a number of grave errors in this post.

Edward Slingerland

Firstly, I made some rather far-fetched assumptions about Slingerland's philosophical views. It appears I was on a kind of anti-Platonic-absolutes kick at the time and I was seeing these everywhere I looked.

Each human believes, often fervently, in things and values that can’t be rationally proved – such as freedom, dignity, human rights and that no child should be a slave.

This perfectly reasonable statement of Slingerland's along with a couple of others got me into a discussion about Platonic Ideas and logical absolutes when none of these things were actually directly mentioned at all in the article. Slingerland is not positing anything of the sort here. Alas, I set up a straw man here.

But what does Slingerland's personal philosophical opinions have to do with a massive 2 million dollar multi-national project encompassing the combined collaborative effort of dozens of highly specialized scholars across a broad range of disciplines in the humanities? It turns out, not one jot.

I got lost along this bunny trail only to jump onto a another path with the sensational (yet true) account of how Slingerland was originally quoted calling Sam Harris a moron but how the story later changed to philosophically uninformed.

Yes, that's more like it. I wonder why they had to change it and not bother to put a note saying they edited the article? I wonder if that's why Todd thinks he's a smart atheist?

Regardless of what Slingerland thinks about Sam Harris, the reoccurring message here is that, if anything, this is a criticism of Douglas Todd or the Vancouver Sun's editorial staff, not Slingerland or the project itself. And given the sloppiness of the previous post which I now critique, I am in no position to throw any stones at Todd or the Sun.

In fact, re-reading the article, I can now see it is much more of a profile piece on Slingerland himself, his own story, a few of his own ideas and opinions, his apparent dislike of Sam Harris etc. Very little of the article actually describes the project itself, which should have been my real focus.

So, what brought about this realization? Last weekend, I got the following comment on my previous post. The domain name of the commenter's e-mail suggests that it may have come directly from Slingerland himself. But regardless of who it was, when the point is spot on it doesn't matter who it comes from.

Notsosmart Atheist

I find that, when I'm planning to express my opinions about an intellectual position or (say) a major international research project, it's helpful to actually find out something about it first (for instance, through the person in question's published writings, or through official project websites) instead of free associating in response to a fragmentary and inevitably somewhat inaccurate popular newspaper account. It's this extra step that separates thoughtful commentary from intellectual masturbation. Just my opinion. Have a nice day!

I will admit, it stung a bit - including the Have a nice day! What stung me the most was free associating. I read the comment and got over the urge to respond in a knee-jerk manner. But after re-reading my post and the original article and doing some basic homework I really should have done at that time, I have come to agree with everything the commenter wrote.

After thinking it through, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to Dr Slingerland. Not only did I very likely misrepresent his philosophical opinions and the project he is working on. Upon re-reading the post, I can see that by questioning Douglas Todd's smart epitaph, I could have been seen as questioning Dr Slingerland's own intelligence.

I would like to end this post by promoting a very aptly-timed talk by blogger Hemant Mehta from the Friendly Atheist blog, Don't Post First and Ask Questions Later. I should have asked questions first rather than coming up with answers founded on assumptions.

International Day of Protest In Support of Bangladeshi Atheists - April 25!

2013-04-18T08:15:00.000-04:00

Over the past few months, human rights groups like Human Rights Watch have been calling attention to the increasingly dire situation for atheist bloggers (and by extension atheists in general) in Bangladesh: Crackdown on Bloggers, Editors Escalates.

Atheist bloggers have been hunted down, rounded up and thrown into jail. There have been beaten, maimed and killed by mobs as the government stands by. Tens of thousands of people, motivated by fundamentalist Muslim interests (likely with their own political aspirations), have protested in the streets demanding that these freethinkers be put to death. Their only crime is speaking their minds and exercising their fundamental human right of freedom of speech.

Well now it's time for you to speak your mind and join the CFI in a united voice against the forceful silencing and suppression of Bangladeshis by their own government at the whim of fundamentalist Muslim clerics.

ON APRIL 25th

SPEAK OUT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN SILENCED

SPEAK OUT FOR BANGLADESHI ATHEISTS

Several CFI groups have pulled together across the globe to hold protests on April 25th in solidarity with atheist bloggers to send a clear message to their governments and those who seek to forcefully silence them. Here is the CFI press release.

On April 25, an international coalition of atheist and humanist organizations led by
the Center for Inquiry, the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and American
Atheists will protest the arrest and persecution of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh with
demonstrations scheduled in London, New York, Washington, Ottawa and Calgary.

Bangladesh has recently been at the centre of a human rights crisis as authorities have
detained several prominent bloggers for “hurting religious sentiments” and have arrested
two more young people for making “derogatory remarks” about Islam on Facebook.

Tens of thousands of protestors, led by the Islamist group Islami Andolan Bangladesh, have rallied in Dhaka, the country’s capital, to demand more arrests.

Centre for Inquiry is leading protests in Canada and has made appeals to the newly
founded Office of Religious Freedom to urge the government to issue a public statement
condemning the arrests and reaffirming its commitment to freedom of expression.

Protest events are confirmed for the following Canadian cities on April 25, 2013:

Ottawa: High Commission for Bangladesh
Constitution Square Centre
340 Albert St, K1R 7Y6 @ 4:30 pm ET

Calgary: Consulate of Bangladesh
633 6th Avenue South West T2P 2Y6 @ 4:30 pm MT

For media inquiries:
Michael Payton, National Director, CFI Canada,
Email: mpayton@cficanada.ca
Phone: (647) 244-5483

Up-to-date information on protest events can be found at http://bit.ly/defenddissent.

For my Canadian readers, let us use this opportunity to urge the Canadian government - more precisely the new Office of Religious Freedom - to demonstrate their commitment to the protection of all human rights in the face of persecution. On April 14th, the CFI released this call to Andrew Bennett, ambassador of the newly minted office:

We would like the Office of Religious Freedom, in keeping with its commitment to Human Rights, to act swiftly and send a formal protest to the Bangladeshi government referencing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 18 and 19, which guarantee every individual the right to freedom of belief, religion, and expression.

Let's send Andrew Bennett and the ORF a clear message that they need to take action now in support of these bloggers in Bangladesh! Let's make sure they cannot forget.

Remember also to use the hashtag #defenddissent to spread the word! You can also use the scarlet-B below.