ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 64

Biden’s bid touts faith, courts even religious conservatives

By Elana Schor and Jack Jenkins President Donald Trump’s appeal to religious conservatives is a cornerstone of his political identity. But Joe Biden is a different kind of foe than Trump has faced before: one who makes faith a central part of his persona — often literally wearing it on his sleeve. In fact, Biden’s …

The Truth About Trump’s Evangelical Support

By Matthew Avery Sutton Donald Trump has never pretended to practice traditional Christian virtues. Yet in 2016 he earned 81 percent of the white evangelical vote—a higher percentage than George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, or John McCain. Trump’s success surprised a lot of us: How could a group of staunchly moral religious voters give their support …

This photo of the Sun is the closest ever taken

By Elizabeth Gibney This image — the closest ever taken of the Sun — shows the corona teeming with thousands of miniature solar flares, which scientists have dubbed campfires. The pictures are the first released from the Solar Orbiter mission, led by the European Space Agency. “When the first images came in, my first thought …

Secretary of State Unveils Christian Nationalist Agenda in Commission Report

By Hemant Mehta Yesterday, during an event at the National Constitution Center, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke about a new report from the “Commission on Unalienable Rights,” a group he assembled in May of 2019. That announcement was disturbing on its own because Pompeo spoke fondly of the country’s “founding principles of natural law and natural rights.” Natural. That’s …

White House: ‘Science Should Not Stand In The Way’ Of Sending Kids Back To School

By Michael Stone Deplorable: Determined to send kids back to school no matter the danger, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany argues that “science should not stand in the way” of sending kids back to school, later claiming that “the science is on our side here.” The Week reports: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany suggested …

Vatican Tells Bishops to Report Sex Abuse to Police (but Doesn’t Require It)

By Elisabetta Povoledo The Vatican has told bishops around the world to report cases of clerical sex abuse to civil authorities even where local laws don’t require it — a step that abuse victims and their advocates have demanded over the decades in which the scandal has roiled the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican also …

Robert Jeffress: We Allowed Atheists and Infidels to “Pervert Our Constitution”

By Beth Stoneburner Not only is America a Christian country, but the Constitution has been perverted by infidels and atheists, according to MAGA cultist and Trump sycophant Pastor Robert Jeffress. He made the comments on his “Pathway to Victory” broadcast during a series of episodes earlier this month promoting the Christian Nation myth. In the excerpt below, he was complaining …

8 facts about religion and government in the United States

By Dalia Fahmy The separation of church and state has come under scrutiny again this summer after the Supreme Court sided with religious conservatives in a series of rulings. One of the rulings allows states to fund religious schools indirectly, while another protects religious schools from federal employment discrimination lawsuits. Americans have been debating where to draw the line …

Liberty University files $10 million lawsuit against The New York Times

By Jeff Williamson Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. announced that his school has filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday morning, is for $10 million, as well as $350,000 in punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other costs. The net proceeds awarded through this lawsuit will be contributed by Liberty University to …

Universe is 13.8 billion years old, scientists confirm

By Doyle Rice The universe is about 13.8 billion years old, according to new research recently published by an international team of astrophysicists. While this estimate of the age of the universe had been known before, in recent years, other scientific measurements had suggested instead that the universe may be hundreds of millions of years younger …