ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 150

Rare Discovery! 3 Monster Black Holes Are About to Collide

By Mike Wall A rare trio of supermassive black holes has been caught in the act of coming together. Three of the light-gobbling monsters nuzzle shoulder to shoulder in SDSS J084905.51+111447.2, a system of three merging galaxies about 1 billion light-years from Earth, a new study reports. “We were only looking for pairs of black holes at the time, …

Richard Dawkins: How we can outgrow God and religion

By Graham Lawton Few scientists have acquired such a high public profile as Richard Dawkins – and maintained it amid such controversy. His first book The Selfish Gene, published in 1976, launched him to fame as a populariser of evolutionary biology. Eight books and 30 years later, he wrote The God Delusion, which reinvented him as …

Academics criticize Department of Education probe of Middle East study program

By Yonat Shimron Nineteen academic organizations, including the American Academy of Religion, have signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Education objecting to its investigation into a Middle East studies program run jointly by the University of North Carolina and Duke University. Last month, the department ordered the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies …

Why Did America Lose Its Religion? Thank the Internet.

By Hemant Mehta In an article for The Atlantic, writer Derek Thompson recognizes the rise of the non-religious. In 1990, we were roughly 8% of the U.S. population. By 2000, we were 14%. By 2010, 18%. It’s about 23% now. It keeps going up and there’s no sign of the trend slowing down. What Thompson wants to know is …

Are We Really Running Out of Time to Stop Climate Change?

By Rafi Letzter Are we running out of time to stop climate change? Nearly a year has passed since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that limiting global warming to the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.6 degrees Fahrenheit) mark by the end of the century — a goal set to stave off the worst impacts of climate …

NC Republicans are trying to ban marriage equality because ‘perverted acts’ shouldn’t be protected

By Alex Bollinger Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are trying to ban marriage equality, and one of them got so upset at a constituent complaint that he told the constituent to “tell it to Satan.” State assembly Republicans in North Carolina are trying to pass HB 65, also known as the Marriage Reaffirmation Amendment Act. …

Maryland pastor charged with attempted rape of minor

By Justin Wm. Moyer A Maryland pastor was charged with sexual offenses in Montgomery County after allegedly attempting to rape a minor who was a congregant, police said Tuesday. In May, a victim told police Octavio Cantarero, 42, a pastor at the Iglesia Pentecostal Principe De Paz in Gaithersburg, told her she was too young …

An Iowa School Tried to Cover Up How Staffers Were Organizing a Christian Event

By Hemant Mehta Later tonight, there will be a “Faith on the Field” event at the Community Dreams Football Field in Colesburg, Iowa, part of the Edgewood-Colesburg Community School District. While the Facebook event page said the event is “sponsored by area churches,” the reality is that the school is very heavily involved in this Christian program. …

The potent effects of Japan’s stem-cell policies

By David Cyranoski Tucked away in Tokyo’s trendiest fashion district — two floors above a pricey French patisserie, and alongside nail salons and jewellers — the clinicians at Helene Clinic are infusing people with stem cells to treat cardiovascular disease. Smartly dressed female concierges with large bows on their collars shuttle Chinese medical tourists past …

Judge tosses lawsuit challenging Maryland’s conversion therapy ban

By Michael Kunzelman COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out a psychotherapist’s lawsuit challenging Maryland’s ban on treating minors with conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change a client’s homosexual orientation. U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow’s ruling on Friday (Sept. 20) rejected Christopher Doyle’s claims that the state law violates …