ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 118

Christian Nationalists Aim to Dismantle This Core Freedom

By Andrew L. Seidel As Frederick Clarkson noted on RD earlier this week, every January 16 we celebrate Religious Freedom Day. On this day 234 years ago, the Virginia Assembly passed the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, setting in motion what, according to Clarkson, “may be the most revolutionary and liberatory idea in the history …

Goop’s Netflix series: It’s so much worse than I expected and I can’t unsee it

By Beth Mole In the third episode of Goop’s Netflix series, a female guest remarks that we women are seen as “very dangerous when we’re knowledgeable.” [Ep. 3, 33:35] “Tell me about it,” Gwyneth Paltrow knowingly replies amid “mm-hmms”—as if she has a first-hand understanding of this. But after watching just a few minutes of any …

In death of dinosaurs, it was all about the asteroid—not volcanoes

By Yale University Volcanic activity did not play a direct role in the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs, according to an international, Yale-led team of researchers. It was all about the asteroid. In a break from a number of other recent studies, Yale assistant professor of geology & geophysics Pincelli Hull and her …

Religious liberty groups protest cathedral blessing of ‘official Bible’ of the new U.S. Space Force

By Michelle Boorstein Some religious liberty groups are protesting a blessing ceremony for a Protestant Bible to be used by the new U.S. Space Force, saying the D.C. ceremony this past weekend violates church-state barriers and is an insult to America’s diversity. Washington National Cathedral, seat of the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, tweeted …

Trump Said He’ll Double-Down On Prayer In School And Give More Federal Tax Money To Religious Groups

By Dominic Holden When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, moderates and liberals noted he hadn’t embraced the strident right-wing agenda of his evangelical running mate, Mike Pence. But on Thursday, Trump’s White House kicked off a press briefing with a few words of fealty to the faithful base: “Happy Religious Freedom Day.” And what …

Missouri Bill Would Jail Librarians Who Let Kids Check Out “Inappropriate” Books

By Hemant Mehta One of the perks of the library system — besides your ability to check out books for free and reserve space and equipment — is that the larger ones will have just about any book you need. If they don’t have it, there’s a good chance they can acquire it for you. …

The Black Hole at the Center of the Galaxy Is Forging a Strange New Kind of Star

By Brandon Specktor Like most large galaxies, the Milky Way is glued together by a supermassive black hole at its center, buried deep in the constellation Sagittarius. Our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, called Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A*), constantly pulls stars, dust and other matter inward, forming a stellar megalopolis 1 billion times denser than our corner …

Kanye West joins stadium “prayer rally” with some of America’s most anti-LGBTQ activists

By Bil Browning Rapper Kanye West announced he will appear at Awaken2020, a stadium-sized prayer rally hosted by some of the nation’s most anti-LGBTQ religious conservatives.  After West’s announcement so many people rushed online to get free tickets to the event, the group’s website crashed. West, who’s erratic behavior has seen him suddenly becoming a rightwing …

Christian school expels teen after she posed with rainbow birthday cake, mother says

By Michael Brice-Saddler Kimberly Alford says she typically plans big birthday celebrations for her daughter. But when Kayla Kenney turned 15 late last month, the Louisville mother opted to organize a smaller gathering of friends and family at Texas Roadhouse, one of her daughter’s favorite restaurants. Ahead of the party, Alford instructed a bakery to …

Oklahoma Lawmaker Files Bill Declaring 2020 “Year of the Bible”

By Hemant Mehta Proving once again that no amount of lip service is ever enough for conservative Christians, Oklahoma State Sen. Nathan Dahm has filed Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, which would declare 2020 the “Year of the Bible.” (Because how else would anyone know about Christianity?) The bill goes far beyond just recognizing the Bible as a book …