A Vengeful or Forgiving God?

No, Wait... Now I Know the Only True Religion!

So much for the jealous God. A survey released earlier this year by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that the U.S. is a "nation of religious drifters." If, in the realm of love, Americans gravitate toward serial monogamy (moving from marriage to divorce to remarriage and so on), we likewise flit from one religious affiliation to another, pledging our fidelity, say, to Methodism in our youth, Catholicism in middle age and Episcopalianism in our dotage.

Most (not all) religious people would probably have a very hard time explaining exactly WHY they believe what they believe. Back when I was still a "believer" this is what started me toward the tipping point of dis-belief. I was asked "Why do you believe that? Who taught you that or where is that written?"

I was raised catholic and then drifted toward non-denominational christianity because of a lot of the stupidity in the catholic doctrine. And I adopted different "beliefs" - altering things I had been "taught" as a catholic to better suit "reason." But challenged as I was above, I soon realized that there was no firm basis for what I believed... and that was when I went to re-read the bible front-to-back... and realized that it was ridiculous, too. There was no "there" there!

So back to the article in the link above. Why do people switch religions when the one they are in claims to be the absolute truth? I'm not sure... fickleness? a nagging skepticism? that hot gal is a Baptist so I will be, too?

I think many people cling to religion because it brings them a sense of community and belonging. Nothing wrong with that, I s'pose... unless, or until, they start to impose their beliefs (whatever they happen to be that day) upon others.

When they choose to leave their religion, I'm guessing that it brings comfort to choose another religion, instead of putting the entire concept to the test. Your thoughts?

Are You Unable to Think for Yourself?

Religion - watch more funny videos

The End of Christian America

Interesting article in the latest issue of Newsweek leads off stating "The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades."

Later in the article we read: ...the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent....while the unaffiliated have historically been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the report said, "this pattern has now changed, and the Northeast emerged in 2008 as the new stronghold of the religiously unidentified."

Another clip: This is not to say that the Christian God is dead, but that he is less of a force in American politics and culture than at any other time in recent memory. To the surprise of liberals who fear the advent of an evangelical theocracy and to the dismay of religious conservatives who long to see their faith more fully expressed in public life, Christians are now making up a declining percentage of the American population.

I sincerely hope this trend continues. Personally, I think it displays people's dissatisfaction with ardent religiosity moreso that it shows any rising tide for atheism or agnosticism. My guess is that many Americans who do not go to a church or voice any specific religious belief still "believe" in a god (probably a flavor of the Christian god and Jesus). That's cool, as long as they keep it out of the public arena in terms of it impacting policy and requiring taxpayer support of religious belief...

Which States Are The Most Religious?

New poll results from Gallup (January 2009) delves into the state of religion state-by-state within the United States. An analysis of more than 350,000 interviews conducted by Gallup in 2008 finds Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas to be the most religious states in the nation. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts are the least religious states.



No surprises here. The South is traditionally very religious and the coasts, less so.

I think it would be very interesting if these results were cross-referenced against other demographics such as education level, average wealth, crime rate, and other mitigating factors. It wouldn't surprise me to see correlations between "belief" and these other factors...

Toke 'em Up for Zoroaster, Boys

Here an interesting story our of Phoenix... The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether there is a religious right to possess marijuana.

Without comment, the justices granted to hear Daniel Hardesty's argument that the First Amendment protections of free exercise of religion entitle him to use marijuana as a "sacrament'' of his church. Both a trial judge and the state Court of Appeals rejected those arguments.

If the high (snicker, snicker) court decides otherwise, it would be the first time in Arizona that judges have concluded there is a legal defense for those who use marijuana.

Hardesty was arrested in 2005 after being stopped by police while driving in Yavapai County.

At trial, Hardesty testified he had been a practicing member of the Church of Cognizance since 1993. A church official said that the religion, founded in 1991, is based on "neo-Zoroastrian tenets'' and that marijuana provides a connection to the divine mind and spiritual enlightenment.

...

There is a precedent for what Hardesty wants.

Arizona courts have allowed the possession of peyote for religious use by the Native American Church. But Weisberg said that is different, as prosecutors in that case never showed that peyote was addictive or being used in quantities harmful to the health of the participants.

Weisberg said the long and continuous use of peyote by a "discreet and well-defined group'' makes it different than drug use claims by other religions.

Yes, this is stupid, but if it takes the guise of religion to break down the criminalization of pot, then maybe, finally, there is something that religion is useful for...

Religion Losing Influence in America (And It Is About Time)

Two-thirds of Americans think religion is losing its influence on U.S. life, a sharp jump from just three years ago when Americans were nearly evenly split on the question, according to a new Gallup Poll.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans think religious influence is waning while just 27% say it is increasing. That perspective demonstrates a continuing downward trend, Gallup said.

But the 27% figure is still higher than the record low, set in a 1970 poll, when just 14% of Americans thought religion was increasing in influence.

Those who regularly attend worship services are more likely to say religion is losing its influence; three out of four weekly attenders (74 percent) said religious influence is falling, compared to 24% who thought its influence is on the rise.

At other times in American history, religion has been perceived by more Americans as having increasing significance. In 1957, 69% thought its influence was increasing, compared to 14% who thought it was declining. Likewise, in 2001, three months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 71% saw an increasing religious influence, compared to 24% who said it was decreasing.

Huh?

Rebecca Hancock told FOXNews.com that Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Jacksonville, Fla., was against her relationship with boyfriend Frank Young because the two were sexually active but not married.

When she wasn’t willing to obey the church's orders to leave him, she decided to leave the church instead, allowing her two children to remain active members.

Now, she says, church elders have given her the worst ultimatum yet: In a Dec. 8 letter, they told her she either has to meet with them and end her "immoral" relationship or she will face public humiliation.

Just when I think there is not enough stupid to go around, a story like this raises its ugly head. First of all, this church is fucked. Who would want to be a member of a church like this? Unfortunately, I think, the answer is a lot of people. If the clergy at that church "believe" her relationship to be harmful then they should be trying to help her, not threatening to publicly humiliate her.

If the church is truly trying to carry out the word of its god, then they should schedule a public stoning of this woman because that is the biblical punishment for adultery.

Then there is this woman who, worried about public exposure, takes her case to the press. If her little fucktard offspring hadn't known that Mommy was fucking her boyfriend they sure do now. If she was interested in publicly flogging this church, better to have waited until after they "outed" her (or invite a journalist to the outing).

Stupid just oozes outta every pore of this story.

Bill Maher and Mike Huckabee Discuss Faith

From November 1, 2008

Have You Heard the Really "Good News"?

Survey results released last Thursday show that a slim majority of Americans, including a surprisingly high number of traditional Christian conservatives, want to keep religion out of politics.

As reported by Reuters, 52 percent of respondents from the Pew Research Center survey thought that churches and other religious institutions should stay out of politics, 8 percent higher than when the same question was asked four years ago. Of those who identified themselves as “conservative,” 50 percent said religion be separate from politics. That’s up from 30 percent in 2004. On the other hand, 45 percent of respondents said that churches and other religious bodies should be involved in politics. [Yuk!]

The Pew Forum has been conducting this survey since the 1996 presidential election cycle, and this is the first time that “keep them separate” has been the majority opinion. [Yeah!]

I like the general trend of these polling numbers away from combining church and state, but 45% is way too high of a number for the opposite view.

What a Strange Survey on Religion

A major survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that most Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to faith. A majority of those who are affiliated with a religion, for instance, do not believe their religion is the only way to salvation. And almost the same number believes that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion.

OK, so far, so good. But there are some strange results in this survey. Pew reports that 21 percent of atheists said they believed in God or a universal spirit, six percent considered it a personal god, and 40 percent of agnostics feel certain that God exists. Conversely, among respondents who say they are affiliated with a religious tradition (Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, etc.), a surprising number said they actually do not believe in a god or universal spirit.

So what does this mean, other than that many folks are seriously fucked up when it comes to atheism, god, and religion? I mean, how can an agnostic be certain that god exists (or does not exist)? Uncertainty about it all is sorta definitional to the term, isn't it?

Other interesting statistics according to the Pew survey: there are more than twice as many atheists and agnostics (a combined 4.0 percent of all respondents) as there are Jews (1.7 percent), and about four times as many as there are Muslims (0.6 percent). These types of numbers need to be widely reported so that non-religious/non-believers can "come out of the closet" and demand the respect and consideration we deserve.

I found this illuminating, too: Most Americans agree with the statement that many religions – not just their own – can lead to eternal life. Among those who are affiliated with a religious tradition, seven-in-ten say many religions can lead to eternal life. This view is shared by a majority of adherents in nearly all religious traditions, including more than half of members of evangelical Protestant churches (57%). Only among Mormons (57%) and Jehovah’s Witnesses (80%) do majorities say that their own religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life.

I guess Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses adhere more closely to what their holy books say about "eternal life" and "salvation." I don't know whether to admire them for not being hypocrites or despise them for being stupid. Can I do both?

When Will They Ever Learn?

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that he was "deeply disappointed" by a supporter's sermon at his church that mocked Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Chicago activist, also apologized for last Sunday's sermon at Obama's church, in which he said Clinton's eyes welled with tears before the New Hampshire primary because she felt "entitled" to the Democratic nomination and because "there's a black man stealing my show."

In video circulating on the Internet, Pfleger said the former first lady expected to win the nomination before Obama's sudden popularity.

With all the trouble that preachers and evangelists are causing the presidential nominees this year, do you think they'll ever learn and stop trying to secure endorsements from religious leaders? They really don't seem to help, do they? Consider all the "help" that Obama has gotten from Jeremiah Wright... and all the "help" that McCain has gotten from Rod Parsley and John Hagee...

Rave On, Albert!

A newly published letter reveals that Albert Einstein viewed religion and religious works as "childish," and "primitive works."

In the letter, dated January 3 1954, he wrote: "The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."

"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this..."

"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people."

More Religious Stupidity with Corpses

Two children and their mother are said to have lived for about two months with the decaying body of a 90-year-old woman on the toilet of their home's only bathroom.

Wisconsin authorities say a religious "superior" had claimed the corpse would come back to life.
The children, ages 15 and 12, cried hysterically Wednesday after a deputy who came to the Necedah, Wis., home looking for the woman, Magdeline Alvina Middlesworth, ordered them out because of the stench from the body.

According to the criminal complaint, Middlesworth's sister called sheriff's officials Wednesday and asked them to go to the home about 80 miles north of Madison to check on the woman, who had not been heard from for some time.

The children are in foster care. Their mother, Tammy Lewis, and self-described "bishop" Alan Bushey remain in custody on felony counts of being a party to causing mental harm to a child.
Lewis told a deputy that Middlesworth, who one of the children referred to as "grandmother" in the criminal complaint, had appeared to pass out as Lewis helped her into her underwear.
She said she propped Middlesworth on the toilet and left the room to call Bushey, who told her to leave the woman alone and pray for her, the complaint said. He said he had received signs that God would raise her from the dead with a miracle.

Lewis went on to say she thought Middlesworth was still breathing when she put her on the toilet and called Bushey, instead of an ambulance. She later told a detective she put the woman on the toilet on March 4.

An autopsy has been performed, but results won't be available for some time, Juneau County Sheriff Brent Oleson said.

To me, the most amazing part of this story is that the house had only one bathroom. Where do you suppose these idiots defecated since March 4th?

Tennessee Bible Learnin'

Tennessee Senate Bill 4104 proposes the creation of "non-sectarian" high school Bible instruction courses under the guise of teaching history and literature.

On the surface, this seems like it should not really be a problem, but I think it is (surprise, surprise, right?)... First, the good things about this:

1. The course would be an elective. If it were mandatory, it would be illegal IMHO.
2. The course would be mandated to "(b)e taught in an objective and nondevotional manner with no attempt made to indoctrinate students as to either the truth or falsity of the biblical materials or texts from other religious or cultural traditions.
3. It is directed to not include teaching of religious doctrine or sectarian interpretation of
   the Bible or of texts from other religious or cultural traditions.
4. The course is mandated to not disparage or encourage a commitment to a set of religious beliefs.

Sounds good, right? Biblical references and quotes are all around us and it would do everyone a bit of good to have a frame of reference for where these "things" come from.

But the bible as history? Hmmm... problem there. Especially if "miracles" are taught as history.

And where is the oversight? I do not think that these tenets would be followed and I see no way of adequatley policing them.

Furthermore, why just the bible? How about an elective course on the Koran? Of course, Tennessee doesn't care about the Koran because this bill is just a way to sneak religious study into the schools.

Here's an elective course I'd recommend for high schoolers: Comparative Religion. Read, compare and contrast the "holy" books of the world's biggest religions: christianity/judaism, islam, hindu, and maybe buddhism. Learn about talking donkeys and flying horses. Read the whole she-bang for each and let the students actively discuss the things in these books. That'd be fun... but again, I'd worry about oversight.

The Negligent Religious?

From The Guardian:

If religion isn't the greatest threat to rationality and scientific progress, what is? Perhaps alcohol, or television, or addictive video games. But although each of these scourges - mixed blessings, in fact - has the power to overwhelm our best judgment and cloud our critical faculties, religion has a feature of that none of them can boast: it doesn't just disable, it honours the disability. People are revered for their capacity to live in a dream world, to shield their minds from factual knowledge and make the major decisions of their lives by consulting voices in their heads that they call forth by rituals designed to intoxicate them.

It used to be the case that we tended to excuse drunk drivers when they crashed because they weren't entirely in control of their faculties at the time, but now we have wisely inverted that judgment, holding drunk drivers doubly culpable for putting themselves in that irresponsible position in the first place. It is high time we inverted the public attitude about religion as well, finding all socially destructive acts of religious passion shameful, not honourable, and holding those who abet them - the preachers and other apologists for religious zeal - as culpable as the bartenders and negligent hosts who usher dangerous drivers on to the highways. Our motto should be: Friends don't let friends steer their lives by religion.

Amen!

UK Says: Faith is Evil

A CHARITY set up by an ardent Christian to fight slavery and the opium trade has identified a new social evil of the 21st century - religion.

A poll by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation uncovered a widespread belief that faith - not just in its extreme form - was intolerant, irrational and used to justify persecution.

Pollsters asked 3,500 people what they considered to be the worst blights on modern society, updating a list drawn up by Rowntree, a Quaker, 104 years ago.

The responses may well have dismayed him. The researchers found that the “dominant opinion” was that religion was a “social evil”.

Many participants said religion divided society, fuelled intolerance and spawned “irrational” educational and other policies.

One said: “Faith in supernatural phenomena inspires hatred and prejudice throughout the world, and is commonly used as justification for persecution of women, gays and people who do not have faith.”

Many respondents called for state funding of church schools to be ended.

The findings contrast with Rowntree’s “scourges of humanity”, which included poverty, war, slavery, intemperance, the opium trade, impurity and gambling.

Poverty and drugs remain, but are joined by issues such as family breakdown, young people’s behaviour and fears over immigration.

Tom Butler, the Bishop of Southwark, rejected the indictment of faith. He said: “People meeting together, week after week, for worship, support and education in church, synagogue, temple, gurdwara and mosque can not only help people build local community but can teach children to become good citizens.”

However, Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said he was “extremely pleased”.

“Britain has had it with religion,” he said.

I always liked the Brits!

Big Reason Christians Should Want Secular Government

Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday.

"For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population — a stable percentage — while Muslims were at 19.2 percent.

"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.

When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.

Spokesmen for the Vatican and the United Nations did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Sunday.

Christians want their way when they are the majority, but the time is slowly approaching when they will not be the majority. I probably won't be around any longer when it happens, but it would be fun to see the same people who want christianity spread throughout government argue against islam being spread throughout government.

Are You Ready for That Pagan Holiday, Easter?

The etymology of Easter:
The English word “Easter” and the German word, “Ostern”, come from the same root for “Eastre”. The ancient word for spring was “eastre” and this was the name given to Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox.

On Pagans and bunnies:
Easter is just around the corner, and, like many other holidays, its roots may be found in ancient paganism...The fact that many pagan people used rabbits and "Easter" eggs as fertility symbols to celebrate the forces of spring, and that such forces were usually manifested in popular goddess images, is also indisputable.

And don't forget the Wiccans:
Eastre, also spelt Easter, Ostara and Oestre celebrated at the Vernal Equinox (first day of Spring), approx. 21st March. The Goddess is in her aspect of mother to be. She is Eastre, the Teutonic Goddess of Fertility. Her symbol is the egg, symbolising fertility in nature and rebirth from the long winter months.

And what the hell, just to keep in the spirit of the weekend, here's a big fucking egg: