The author of The God Delusion is helping to launch Britain’s first summer retreat for non-believers, where children will have lessons in evolution and sing along to John Lennon’s Imagine. ... [More]

Parents who complain that a mandatory public school course contradicts their religious views have taken the provincial government to court. The "Ethics and Religious Culture" class covers Quebec's Catholic and Protestant religious heritage, as well as other faiths represented in the province, including Judaism, Native spiritualism, Islam, and Hinduism. ... [More]

The White House is planning a muted observance of Thursday's National Day of Prayer, a response that has disappointed both Christian conservatives and an atheist group that wants to end the tradition. Congress established the day in 1952 and in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the day for presidents to issue proclamations asking Americans to pray. ... [More]

A federal judge ruled that a public high school history teacher violated the First Amendment when he called creationism "superstitious nonsense" during a classroom lecture. U.S. District Judge James Selna ruled Friday in a lawsuit student Chad Farnan filed in 2007, alleging that teacher James Corbett violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment by making repeated comments in class that were hostile to Christian beliefs. ... [More]

Several American science organisations explicitly accommodate religious sensibilities. These organisations have considered it necessary to calm the fears of American religionists that science, particularly evolutionary biology, undermines religion. ... In my view, that is a deplorable step. ... [More]

Republican Congressman John Fleming said he was “disturbed” by President Barack Obama’s request to have the symbolic name for Jesus Christ – IHS – covered from a pediment that was visible behind him when he spoke at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall on April 14. ... [More]

In this witty book, Terry Eagleton argues that Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and their ilk are shockingly ill-informed about the Christian faith. ... The point of Eagleton's "Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate" is to defend the theory and practice of religion against its most ardent contemporary critics. ... [More]

About half of all Americans have switched religions at least once, according to the most in-depth survey on the topic, released Monday. And that may still be "a conservative estimate," says Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. ... [More]

Local and national atheist organizations have flourished in recent years, fed by outrage over the Bush administration’s embrace of the religious right. A spate of best-selling books on atheism also popularized the notion that nonbelief is not just an argument but a cause, like environmentalism or muscular dystrophy. ... [More]

Notorious non-believer Richard Dawkins will ironically be a godlike presence at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival as he beams in from England for a video interview. On the other hand, former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway will appear in the flesh. ... [More]

Berliners voted on Sunday in a referendum on religious education in schools that goes to the heart of how Germany's sizeable Muslim minority is integrated into modern society. ... [More]

Atheists are targeting schools in a campaign designed to challenge Christian societies, collective worship and religious education. The National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies (AHS) plans to launch a recruitment drive this summer. ... [More]

Not all that long ago, the great minds of Europe predicted a future with little or no religion. Science would make us highly skeptical of miracles. Psychiatry would direct all of our awe and wonder inward. Changing roles for women would weaken the patriarchal structure that props up clerics. Whatever script for modernity one followed, it had God playing a bit role. ... [More]

The common religious belief in a "supreme being" is a psychological and social construction. Religion is made up, an invention given credibility simply because a lot of people agree with it. It is the product of primitive human societies which required a way to explain reality and create social rules. ... [More]

Individuals may be idealistic, smart and articulate – until they join a group. Individual Thais are among the gentlest, warmest, and most gracious people you could ever meet; groups of them were throwing petrol bombs at each other in the capital of Bangkok earlier this week. ... [More]

In a Washington Post op-ed article Friday, columnist Michael Gerson examines the facts related to a recent Newsweek cover story entitled "The Decline and Fall of Christian America." According to Gerson, the Newsweek story overstates the evidence for decline. ... [More]

Channel surf around the television landscape, and it’s not hard to find experts earnestly discussing politics or economics or even home decorating. But you’ll rarely encounter anyone talking about spiritual matters, unless it’s a megachurch pastor with an 800 number scrolling across the screen. ... [More]

A nation facing problems of biblical proportions appears to be looking less and less to religion for answers. According to a new NEWSWEEK Poll, the percentage of Americans who think faith will help answer all or most of the country's current problems dipped to a historic low of 48 percent, down from 64 percent in 1994. ... [More]

This is Holy Week. It started yesterday with Palm Sunday and continues through Holy Thursday, Good Friday and culminates this Sunday with Easter Day. One can no longer assume most people will be aware of this, let alone the events these days mark; in a recent UK poll, only 22% could identify what Easter was celebrating. ... [More]

Renowned atheist Christopher Hitchens clashed with Christian theologian William Lane Craig in a Saturday discussion over the existence of God. More than 4,200 people attended the sold-out event, moderated by Hugh Hewitt. Another 11,000 people listened to the debate via live feeds across 30 states and four different countries. ... [More]