Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1734

Australian Government Drops Religious Exemptions from New Vaccination Laws

Last week, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (below) announced that he would close the loophole allowing anti-vaccination parents to receive child care subsidies from the government. Beginning in 2016, conscientious objectors to vaccinations would no longer receive subsidies that were worth up to $15,000 per child.

There were exemptions, though. If you had medical reasons for not vaccinating their kids, you could still receive the money. Parents who didn’t give their kids the shots for rel...

Just Do It. God Won’t Mind At All

Seen at PostSecret:

There’s plenty to criticize when it comes to religion, but sex-negativity has to be high on the list, given all the misinformation spread by pastors and the way it all creeps into public policy.

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Next Major Grant Will Benefit Starfish, a Group Helping Young Women in Guatemala

When we launched Foundation Beyond Belief in 2010, the plan was to encourage atheists to give to a bunch of amazing charities — 10 of them each quarter, to be precise — and help make giving to others a habit for secular people (who usually have no formal way to do that).

In 2012, we decided to cut the number of beneficiaries from 10 to 5 in order to give larger donations to each organization. That, coupled with a rising donor base, took us from giving about $1,200 to each group at our launch…...

God Shouldn’t Have Pushed the “Send” Button So Soon…

(via Down the Upward Spiral)

Irish Atheist Exposes Jury Duty Loophole After Getting Ordained as Pastafarian Minister

Ireland allows religious leaders (priests, ministers, etc.) to get out of jury duty because, the reasoning goes, their congregations need them at all times. It’s a convenient excuse that privileges those leaders over teachers, CEOs, parents, and other indispensable people who don’t necessarily have ties to a faith but who can’t risk the 500 fine that comes from avoiding their civic responsibility.

So atheist Emmett Vaughan (below) decided to test the exemption. He became a minister of the Chur...

Another Compilation of Lawrence Krauss’ Best Arguments and Retorts

Even more great stuff in this compilation of physicist Lawrence Krauss‘ best arguments and retorts:

Krauss begins speaking at the 4:22 mark.

A previous video can be seen here.

(via Agatan Fnd)

College Atheist Group Erects Signs on Campus with Thought-Provoking Questions

Yesterday, the Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics at the University of Wisconsin — Madison put up a bunch of signs on campus hoping to start some conversations. It was all part of Ask An Atheist Day:

According to AHA President-Elect Nicole Niebler, the intention of the posters is to open up conversations that aren’t very common on campus. “We hope students see that atheists are capable of asking important questions, and recognize that if they want to join the conversation about such topics, th...

In Canada, Government Prayer Ban is Already Being Tested

A couple of days ago, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the city of Saguenay in Quebec could not have Catholic prayers at meetings (as was tradition). While the decision was a welcome one, it was also narrow, applying only to Saguenay. What about other cities with religious invocations?

Well, one mayor is already testing the law by saying he ain’t getting rid of his prayers:

Oshawa Mayor John Henry

“I’m proud to be a Canadian,” Oshawa [Ontario] Mayor John Henry told the Star, shortly after h...

After Teenager is Killed in Shooting, Local Sheriff Blames Lack of God and Prayer in Schools

14-year-old DezJuan Sanders was killed in a shooting earlier this week in Elkhart, Indiana. It’s a devastating loss that’s rattled the community, and on Wednesday, citizens had a chance to ask questions to community leaders.

While some local officials talked about the need for parents to watch their children more closely and lock up any guns, Elkhart County Sheriff Brad Rogers (below) put the blame somewhere else entirely:

“You take God and prayer out of schools and you take discipline away fro...

What To Do (and What Not To Do) If Someone Threatens Your Kid with Hell

This is a guest post written by David G. McAfee. He is author, most recently, of The Belief Book.

…

Suppose you’re a non-believer and someone tells your child that he will go to Hell for not believing a certain thing or because he’s not baptized. What do you do?

Whether it’s at school, or with friends, or at a religious event of some kind, if you know children who aren’t being raised (some may say indoctrinated) with a particular religion, this situation is bound to arise.

That’s partly because t...