Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1918

Generous Atheists Are About to Make a Major Donation to a Single Incredible Charity

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… to about $12,000 per group today.

It’s just incredible what FBB’s members have accomplished.

Now, we want to take it to the next level. (I’m so freakin’ excited about this.)

Next quarter, we’re going to try something we’ve never done before.

Instead of choosing five great charities, we’re choosing just one.

We’re calling it the FBB Compassionate Impact Grant and the goal is to give a single charity a major grant:

Approximately $60,000 will go to a single carefully chosen organization with a proven track record of effectiveness, an evidence-based model, and a system of assessment that uses tangible metrics to continually improve their work.

FBB created a rigorous application process that allowed applicants to demonstrate these essential elements. We accepted and evaluated proposals through the late summer. In the end, we selected an extraordinary organization, one that we are confident our members will also find inspiring and exciting.

We’ll announce that organization on October 1. Hopefully, the impact from the generosity of atheists will transform that charity in a way a smaller donation cannot. (Depending on how this goes, we may try doing it again for other groups during alternating quarters next year.)

If you’d like to be a part of this, please consider becoming an FBB member!

Religious Right Leader, Unable to Find Actual Examples of Christian Persecution, Cites Three Debunked Ones

At the Values Voter Summit yesterday, Liberty Institute President Kelly Shackelford explained how Christians were under attack in American… and offered three examples.

All three, as you might expect, have been thoroughly debunked.

Right Wing Watch explains:

The first claim about the young girl who was supposedly told she was not allowed to pray before eating her lunch turned out to be totally false, as it was a story that was completely ginned up by Liberty Institute, Todd Starnes, and the man in charge of marketing Starnes’ latest book about ant-Christian persecution.

The second incident Shackelford cited is a myth that has been floating around Religious Right circles for nearly twenty years and was debunked nearly as long ago when school officials explained that the student in question was disciplined for fighting in the lunch room, not for praying.

The final claim about Sgt. Phillip Monk is something that Shackelford has been promoting for several years now, mainly by fundamentally misrepresenting what actually took place.

If there were actual examples of Christians being persecuted, the groups he believes are “attacking” him would be among the first to defend their rights. But those examples are just nowhere to be found. Even if they found one or two, there’s certainly no evidence of any widespread persecution.

Pagan, Making the Most of His Opportunity, Delivers a Very Memorable Invocation in Escambia County, FL

For a while now, David Suhor (who calls himself an Agnostic Pagan Pantheist) has been trying to deliver an invocation to the Escambia County School Board in Florida. It hasn’t happened yet, and his situation has only been made worse by one of the board members, Jeff Bergosh, saying that he would walk out if Suhor was ever allowed to give one.

While that situation is working itself out, Suhor delivered an invocation for the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners last night, and it was the greatest thing you’ll ever see.

I don’t want to give it away. Just watch the video. Watch it now. You can skip to the 0:25 mark to get to the good stuff.

Here’s the first stanza of his lovely song (the rest of the lyrics are in the YouTube video description):

Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East,
Powers of Air! We invoke. and call you
Golden Eagle of the Dawn, Star-seeker, Whirlwind
Rising Sun! Come!
By the air that is Her breath,
Send forth your light, Be here now!

Oh my god, I love it. This is what the Supreme Court decision has wrought.

One of the commissioners wasn’t happy about it at all. Wilson Robertson, a Christian, walked out before Suhor even began, telling a reporter, “I’m just not going to have a pagan or satanic minister pray for me.”

Welcome to our world, Robertson!

Suhor’s reason for delivering that particular invocation was brilliant:

“In a way I would like for other people to experience what it’s like when I go to a meeting and am asked to pray against my conscience.”

Brilliant. He’s telling the crowd and community leaders that if they felt uncomfortable during his song, well, that’s how he feels every time he has to sit through another Christian prayer.

You can see the full news report here:

Meanwhile, Suhor may still sue the Escambia County School Board for denying him the chance to deliver what I can only hope is a similar invocation. I don’t know what they’re so worried about. Everyone loves beginning school board meetings with a song honoring the directions and nature, right?

(Thanks to Brian for the link. Portions of this article were posted earlier)

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Questionable Quotations in His Presentations

About a week ago, I posted about some questionable statements Neil deGrasse Tyson makes in his presentations. Having seen him in person, I felt he led the audience to believe they were direct quotations… even though there was no evidence of those exact statements ever being made.

Those two above are perfect examples. There are no citations, but the lines that are supposed to be indicative of our nation’s innumeracy are in quotation marks, and the way he brings them up (near the 1:38 mark below) makes you think they were actually said.

Keep in mind he often makes similar presentations, so this was hardly an isolated incident.

Last night, on Facebook, Tyson responded to Sean Davis of the Federalist — the guy who initially raised the suspicions. He explained that the quotations were not actual quotations, but that he also never intended for them to be seen in that way:

The [below average] quote was drawn long ago from my memory of a news story that appeared in the New York Post in the early-to-mid-1990s. It was a second-tier headline. The point of my commentary was not to indict a particular publication or journalist but to make a broader statement about STEM illiteracy in America, and how that can adversely affect our future economic stability as a Nation. The exact reference is long lost.

…

I’ve actually heard this [360 degrees] quote several times in my life, but only once (in person) with a member of Congress. Again, as with the NYPost, names don’t matter here. My point is not to indict an individual but to cite a broader issue that affects all of American society. A point clear and present to all those who attend my talks and who glean the context in which this information is presented.

I would disagree that the paraphrasing was “clear and present” to everyone in attendance. I was there for the video above. I heard it. I’ve seen subsequent videos in which he does the same thing. We all were supposed to think someone actually said or wrote those words.

What about the line George W. Bush supposed said after 9/11 about how “Our God is the God who named the stars”? Tyson claimed Bush said that in order to distinguish us (the good guys) from the fundamentalist Muslims (the bad guys). He went on to make the humorous point that two-thirds of the stars that have names have Arabic names. The problem with that story is that there is no evidence we can find that Bush ever said that after 9/11. (He did, however, say it in a different context nearly a decade later.)

Tyson responded to that, too:

I have explicit memory of those words being spoken by the President. I reacted on the spot, making note for possible later reference in my public discourse. Odd that nobody seems to be able to find the quote anywhere — surely every word publicly uttered by a President gets logged.

FYI: There are two kinds of failures of memory. One is remembering that which has never happened and the other is forgetting that which did. In my case, from life experience, I’m vastly more likely to forget an incident than to remember an incident that never happened. So I assure you, the quote is there somewhere. When you find it, tell me. Then I can offer it to others who have taken as much time as you to explore these things.

One of our mantras in science is that the absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence.

Well, Sean Davis looked. I looked, too. So far, we haven’t found it. But it’s not our job to find the phantom quotation. If Tyson is using it to illustrate a point, it’s his responsibility to make sure it’s accurate.

…

As I wrote before, none of this makes me think Tyson is intentionally lying to his audiences or that his science writing is anything but solid. There’s certainly a difference between what he puts in print and what he says in a casual presentation.

But I don’t think it’s too much to ask for Tyson to either: 1) find citations for these statements (or others) before using them in a presentation, 2) explain that he’s just paraphrasing something he thinks was said, 3) search for new examples of powerful people making mathematical errors or Bush saying something ignorant (it won’t be hard), or 4) drop those lines from his talks altogether in the future.

There’s not a single apology in the entire message from Tyson, because he’s defending his statements and misquotes against someone he seems to think is out to get him. But I thought Davis had good points before, and I’m still not convinced Tyson believes there’s a problem. That’s unfortunate.

Just admit you either misremembered or made up a Bush quote @neiltyson. This denial flys in face of scientific method http://t.co/3vxwXv44rN

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) September 27, 2014

We’re supposed to be the people who always have citations for our claims. Let’s leave the false-anecdote-telling to pastors and conservatives.

You can read The Federalist’s take on Tyson’s response here.

Southern Baptist Convention Kicks Out Church For Tolerating Gays

A church in California has been ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention after embracing a vague policy not to denounce LGBT people.

Earlier this year, Danny Cortez (below), the pastor at the New Heart Community Church, gave a sermon called “Why I Changed My Mind on Homosexuality” that sparked discussion among congregants about the church’s stance on LGBT people. They put the issue to a vote, ultimately deciding to take a step toward LGBT-inclusiveness (we wrote about the vote in much more detail here):

Congregants eventually agreed to become a “third way” church, meaning individual members may still believe homosexuality is morally wrong, but they and church leadership will not condemn the LGBT community.

As far as church stances on homosexuality goes, this is on the positive side of the spectrum, but it’s hardly a sweeping declaration welcoming LGBT brothers and sisters into the community. But even the most lukewarm of pro-gay sentiments was enough to outrage the Southern Baptist community.

Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, was one of the strongest voices:

“There is no third way on this issue,” Mohler wrote in a blog post blasting New Heart’s decision. “Several years ago, I made that argument and was assailed by many on the left as being ‘reductionistically binary.’ But, the issue is binary. A church will recognize same-sex relationships, or it will not. A congregation will teach a biblical position on the sinfulness of same-sex acts, or it will affirm same-sex behaviors as morally acceptable. Ministers will perform same-sex ceremonies, or they will not.”

That was written months ago, and the SBC has decided they agree. SBC president Ronnie Floyd said the act wasn’t due to lack of compassion, but because New Heart had “rejected Southern Baptist conventions.”

Without opposition, the EC voted Tuesday (Sept. 23) to declare that New Heart Community Church in La Mirada, Calif., “does not presently meet the definition of a cooperating church under Article III [of the SBC Constitution], and that messengers from the church should not be seated until such time as the Convention determines that the church has unambiguously demonstrated its friendly cooperation with the Convention as defined in the Convention’s constitution.” …

“[New Heart has] walked away from us as Southern Baptists,” Floyd said. “We have not walked away from them. So it is with compassion that I would appeal to them to reconsider their decision, mostly their position related to the Word of God on homosexuality.”

Oh, and don’t forget: This certainly isn’t about homophobia. Nope, not at all:

[Executive Committee] President Frank S. Page emphasized that Southern Baptists love homosexuals and want them to repent and trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

“This action does not reflect a lack of love for homosexuals,” Page told BP. “We love all people, including homosexuals. But when you love someone, you tell them the truth about their actions. By its action on behalf of the convention, the Executive Committee is telling New Heart that its failure to condemn homosexuality breaks the heart of God. We’re praying that the church will repent.”

Honestly, good for the church. A convention that can’t bring itself to even tolerate difference, let alone accept it, doesn’t sound like a spiritually healthy place to be.

Rumors of a Vatican Reversal on Contraception Are Highly Exaggerated

The headlines are optimistic:

“Pope Francis adviser hints at rethink on contraception ban” (The Telegraph)

“Pope in battle to win acceptance for contraception, divorcees, and annulments” (Irish Central)

“Vatican might OK contraception” (Joe. My. God)

Dig a little deeper into the story, though, and the truth is a lot less exciting. As is often the case, a well-known Vatican official says something off-the-cuff and the media, not always able to provide context, reads into it more than is actually there.

In an interview with The Tablet, Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany acknowledged that he had no solution to the problem of birth control, a question he hoped would be taken up at the upcoming synod on the family (slated to start October 5). He went on to say:

To promote a sense that to have children is a good thing, that is the primary thing. Then how to do it and how not to do it, that is a secondary question. Of course the parents have to decide how many children are possible. This cannot be decided by the Church or a bishop, this is the responsibility of the parents.

This is nothing new. When placed in context, it’s certainly not a hint that the Church is about to drop its long-standing fight against contraception, a battle that’s led the Church to protest health care coverage for birth control and underpinned their objections to marriage equality.

The Catholic Church has always used this kind of slippery language around contraception, abortion, and other issues that trouble many people’s consciences. It’s right there in Humanae Vitae, the encyclical that gave us our modern ban on contraceptive methods like the Pill.

With regard to physical, economic, psychological, and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time.

It’s easy to see how that looks like a green light for contraception. After all, how can you make prudent decisions about how many children you will have except by using birth control, right? Yet there it is, in black and white:

Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation — whether as an end or as a means.

That pretty much covers every kind of contraceptive I know.

So how are you supposed to exercise this parental responsibility?

Humanae Vitae tells us:

If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births… the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse only during those times that are infertile, thus controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles which We have just explained.

If this isn’t what Cardinal Kasper means, I’ll eat my hat. Kasper acknowledges that the Church cannot produce a one-size-fits-all guideline governing how many children a family can responsibly raise, sure, but that is not inconsistent with insisting that the only licit method for limiting births is Natural Family Planning.

NFP in its modern form isn’t exactly identical to the calendar-counting rhythm method, also known as Vatican Roulette; it’s gotten more scientific over time. But the Church still envisions it as working in an idealized framework where women’s bodies all work in simple, predictable ways; where women are available to contribute a wildly disproportionate amount of effort to the project of avoiding conception; where their husbands, not so deeply involved in the project, are nonetheless respectful partners and good communicators; and the consequences of unplanned pregnancy, if it happens, will not be devastating.

Most of us, Catholic or not, don’t live in the Church’s ideal world.

Now, Kasper does note that there’s an artificial element to NFP, which is mighty realistic of him. That realism is refreshing. And maybe that’s why he has no solution to the birth control problem: because he’s willing to acknowledge that NFP isn’t perfectly consistent, nor quite as “natural” as he’d like, and because responsible parenthood is one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie values nobody ever speaks against. That backs him into a corner where there’s no answer — the same corner that started this Friendly Atheist out of the Catholic Church for good.

But for Kasper, an elderly celibate male, it’s an academic question. He doesn’t need to come up with an answer. However, his job likely depends on defending the status quo. For that reason alone, I don’t expect to hear him say anything Humanae Vitae wouldn’t agree with.

JeffCo School Board (in Colorado) Wants to Revise the AP U.S. History Curriculum… with the Help of Christians

Last year, three conservatives won seats on the Jefferson County Board of Education in Colorado, giving them a majority on the five-member board.

JeffCo School Board member Julie Williams

The community is now seeing the awful results of that election because the board wants to rethink the Advanced Placement U.S. History curriculum to make sure it’s being taught “properly”… which is to say they don’t want to stress the things that make our country look awful. Earlier this week, students led a protest over this rewriting (and whitewashing) of our own history:

Hundreds of students walked out of classrooms around suburban Denver on Tuesday in protest over a conservative-led school board proposal to focus history education on topics that promote citizenship, patriotism and respect for authority, in a show of civil disobedience that the new standards would aim to downplay.

…

The school board proposal that triggered the walkouts in Jefferson County calls for instructional materials that present positive aspects of the nation and its heritage. It would establish a committee to regularly review texts and course plans, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights” and don’t “encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.”

Given that the AP US History curriculum, like all AP courses, is standardized, not teaching children everything they’re required to know would only hurt them in the long run. Not only has the College Board (which runs all AP courses) spoken out against what the JeffCo school board is doing, they’ve warned them that if the curriculum is altered much, they risk losing the AP designation. That means students may miss out on college credit for the courses… which is basically the whole point of taking them.

It’s not like there isn’t already a committee to review the course, by the way. The problem is that it’s not as ideologically conservative as the board majority wants:

Jefferson County’s resource review committee, formed in 1997, is to include a “balance of citizens and educators” selected by the chief academic officer or designee and district leadership. Williams’ proposal differs in that the board would appoint members.

In other words, the committee already has citizens and academics who know what they’re talking about… but the board wants to add members to that committee who can steer the discussion in a more Jesus-y direction.

Don’t believe me? Last week, at the board’s regular meeting, a citizen pointed out that Williams had sent out an email to her friends saying that she needed people to be part of the committee. One of those friends — clearly understanding the unwritten language in Williams’ message — sent out another email urging Christians and conservatives to apply for the committee because “We must have more conservative members on this committee than progressives and liberals. Please help Julie fill the committee with godly people.”

Here’s the relevant portion of the board meeting:

We’ve seen all this happen before. Just a few years ago, in Texas, the State School Board became a laughingstock of the nation when Christian conservatives wanted schools to teach Creationism and the idea that we were created as a Christian nation. One of the advisors they brought on board to help them out was pseudo-historian David Barton.

Colorado and Jefferson County doesn’t need that. It was bad enough the first time. The Board needs to vote against Williams’ proposal and parents, teachers, and students need to pressure them until they do so.

On a side note, you should check out the brilliant #JeffCoSchoolBoardHistory hashtag. It’s hilarious.

When a Child Dies, Is it Right for His Public School to Invoke Religion?

Earlier this week, a football player at Gladewater High School in Texas was in a horrible car accident and lost his life. (His brother, the driver, was hospitalized but later released.) It’s just a devastating loss for that school and the boys’ family, as you might imagine.

I’ve been at a school when a student dies. It’s awful getting that phone call from an administrator. No teacher wants to think about lesson plans and no student can concentrate in class. At our school, counselors and social workers were made available to any students and faculty members who needed them, and we held a moment of silence over the intercom out of respect to the student and those who were close to her.

At Gladewater, the principal and football coach gathered the students together in the gym to announce the loss…

[superintendent J.P.] Richardson said high school students and staff members were called about 9 a.m. into the school auditorium, where head football Coach John Berry emotionally announced his player’s death. The news drew a gasp from the audience of nearly 600, who “had no idea what they were doing in the auditorium,” the superintendent said.

That’s… not how I would’ve announced such horrible news, but okay, not my decision to make.

The bigger issue is how school officials offered to help grieving students:

Grief counselors and youth ministers were at the school Wednesday, and “we’ve slowed things down today,” but “we still need to stay in routine,” Richardson said. “We feel that’s important.”

…

“I thought it was best that they all heard it at once,” Richardson said, although it is a “big blow when you hear something of that nature at one time.” The students were told to be thinking about the Wisinger family, and a student-led prayer was said before the assembly dismissed, said Richardson.

Counselors from all the school district’s campuses, youth ministers and youth pastors were waiting for the students, who were told to take their time and remain in the auditorium if they needed to, the superintendent said. As the pupils exited, there were two tables where they could write notes to the Wisinger family, he added.

So this raises an important issue: There’s no doubt the school crossed the line by allowing a prayer at a mandatory assembly (the “student-led” part is irrelevant because of that) and bringing in Christian pastors. And while Christian students may want to speak to those pastors, it’s not the school’s job to provide religious counseling.

If this happened when the loss of a student wasn’t central to the matter, it would be a no-brainer. But should the reason for this assembly negate the problems with it and temper our response?

An attorney from the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the superintendent today explaining the issue while doing his best to respect the grief everyone must be feeling:

We write to ask that while the District continues to help students and faculty cope with this terrible event it ensure that this tragedy is not used to promote religion to students.

…

More important than the legal arguments against organizing prayer at school assemblies, the District’s promotion of prayer marginalizes any teachers and students who are non-Christian or nonreligious. Nonreligious students dealing with the tragedy of a classmate’s death do not need their grief compounded by being reminded that they are not part of the religious majority in their community. A moment of silence would have set an appropriate ton and served the same purpose as a prayer without cheapening the participation of nearly one-in-three Americans under the age of 30.

We trust that Gladewater High School and the District will take the appropriate steps to ensure that no District representative is promoting [religion] within the school system. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

I’m sure FFRF’s critics will jump on the notion that they’re making this “all about them” instead of about the student, or that this is a harmless injustice and they should just let it go. But a tragedy shouldn’t be an excuse for ignoring the Constitution. No one’s threatening a lawsuit or anything; FFRF is just asking the superintendent to be mindful of the law in the future.

This is a letter to the one person who can easily, quickly, and quietly make appropriate changes if this were to ever happen again — and I genuinely hope it doesn’t — but I wouldn’t be surprised if right wing groups (or even other atheists) use this as an opportunity to complain about how we should be silent about First Amendment issues in times of crisis.

Here’s Video of the Atheist Invocation in Huntsville, Alabama

Yesterday, Kelly McCauley, an atheist and member of the North Alabama Freethought Association, delivered the first-ever secular invocation in front of the Huntsville City Council in Alabama. You can read more about the lead-up to the event here, but for now, here’s the video and transcript!

Dearly Beloved,

When the ancients considered the values that were proper and necessary for the good governance of a peaceful, productive society, they brought to our minds the virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and moderation. These values have stood the test of time.

In more recent days, an American style of governance had led to approbation for newer enlightened values; we celebrate diversity, we enjoy protections of our freedoms in a Constitutional Republic, and we dearly value egalitarianism — equal protection of the law.

So now let us commence the affairs that are presented to our community. Let doubt and skepticism and inquiry be on our lookout when caution is the appropriate course. But also let innovation and boldness take point when opportunities for excellence appear on our horizon.

In this solemn discourse, let’s remember Jefferson’s words: “… that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.”

Let it be so.

9th Grader in South Carolina Punished for Sitting During the Pledge of Allegiance

Another day, another student wrongly punished for not saying the Pledge of Allegiance. In this case, it’s a 9th grader at Right Choices Alternative School in Beaufort, South Carolina.

The American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center sent a letter to district officials yesterday explaining the problem:

The student in question, currently in ninth grade in the Right Choices Alternative School, is an atheist and does not wish to participate in the Pledge exercise in any manner because he objects to the “under God” language and feels that any level of participation in the exercise validates that theistic affirmation. As such, he has attempted to simply sit at his desk during the exercise in an undisruptive manner. When he has done this, however, he has been instructed by his teacher to stand and has been disciplined when he has refused to do so. In particular, the student has been told that the school policy requires all students to stand during the pledge and that if they refuse to stand, they get “1:00 lunch,” which is a form of punishment at the school. Moreover, the teacher in question quarreled about the student’s atheism and lectured the student that failure to participate in the exercise was unpatriotic, somehow an offense to men and women in uniform.

How despicable of that teacher… not to mention just plain untrue. There’s nothing unpatriotic about not standing for the Pledge. If anything, it’s an exercise of your rights to peacefully dissent — what’s more patriotic than that?

The AHA, if you weren’t aware, recently launched a campaign encouraging students to stay seated during the Pledge because they have the right to do that. Based on the complaints we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, the campaign is working.

(Image via Shutterstock)