ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 69

Despite a culture ‘entrenched in fear,’ LGBTQ students find ways to thrive at Liberty University

By Jack Jenkins When LeeQuan McLaurin enrolled at Liberty University as an undergraduate in 2012, he was still trying to understand his sexuality. So McLaurin, a Christian who now identifies as queer, did what many students at the conservative Christian school do: He joined a Bible study. Specifically, he joined “Armor Bearers,” which McLaurin said …

Supreme Court opens door to state funding for religious schools

By Ariane de Vogue and Devan Cole In a ruling that will open the door to more public funding for religious education, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of parents in Montana seeking to use a state scholarship program to send their children to religious schools. The court said that a Montana tax credit program …

Betelgeuse’s Mystery Dimming Caused By A Star Spot A Hundred Times Larger Than The Sun, Say Scientists

By Jamie Carter Betelgeuse, the closest red supergiant star to us, is growing a super-sized star spot as it cools down at the end of its life, according to a new study. A massive star spot a hundred times larger than the Sun could explain its recent odd behavior. Betelgeuse—pronounced “betelgerz” or “beetlejuice” and also known …

Mississippi Lawmakers Vote to Replace Racist State Flag With Religious One

By Hemant Mehta Mississippi lawmakers voted today to replace the state flag and remove the Confederate symbol that’s currently on it. Governor Tate Reeves has already said he plans to sign the bill. But whatever the new flag will look like, it will have to include the words “In God We Trust,” replacing racism with religion. I posted about this possibility …

The Separation of Church and State Is Breaking Down Under Trump

By Micah Schwartzman, Richard Schragger, and Nelson Tebbe The separation of Church and state is supposed to prevent government favoritism of religion in the United States. For most of the past century, the Supreme Court interpreted the establishment clause of the First Amendment to mean that government cannot “pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, …

Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion clinic law

By Mark Sherman The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics, reasserting a commitment to abortion rights over fierce opposition from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case of the Trump era. Chief Justice John Roberts joined with his four more liberal colleagues in ruling that the law requiring doctors …

CRISPR gene editing in human embryos wreaks chromosomal mayhem

By Heidi Ledford A suite of experiments that use the gene-editing tool CRISPR–Cas9 to modify human embryos have revealed how the process can make large, unwanted changes to the genome at or near the target site. The studies were published this month on the preprint server bioRxiv, and have not yet been peer-reviewed1,2,3. But taken together, they …

Catholic group files lawsuit against Rehoboth Beach over Nativity scene ban

By Randall Chase A Catholic fraternal organization is suing a popular Delaware beach resort in federal court over its decision to end a decades-long practice of allowing the display of a Christmas Nativity scene on public property. The Knights of Columbus Star of the Sea Council contends that the 2018 decision by Rehoboth Beach officials …

Religious order releases list of members who allegedly abused kids, many with Dayton ties

By Josh Sweigart Leaders of the Marianists — a Catholic religious order with a 170-year history in Dayton — released a list Wednesday of 46 priests and brothers they say were found to have sexually abused children since 1950 in the United States. The list includes 19 men with ties to the Dayton area and …

In Scotland, Humanist Weddings Are Now More Popular Than Christian Ones

By Hemant Mehta Humanist weddings — officiated by non-pastors yet carrying all the appropriate legal weight — have been legal in Scotland since 2005. And now, according to new data from the National Records of Scotland, Humanist weddings are more popular than Christian ones. In 2019, there were 5,879 Humanist weddings, constituting 23% of all marriages. There …