Three Evocative Papers from 'Women in Secularism 2'

It isn’t surprising that the secular movement in America has been characterized by historical discontinuities that, in a number of respects, resemble the amnesia that held back feminism for so long.

My engagement in both the tough world of professional philosophy and the even-tougher world of literary fiction has afforded me an ideal vantage point for viewing the many subtle ways in which gender biases undermine women.

Can currently existing religion be disentangled from the misogyny of its texts, its traditions, and its practices?

Sometimes I am asked how I can combine utter skepticism on religious topics with a conservative political stance, as if the two were somehow inconsistent. Here is an answer.

We are all humanists, but I believe there’s a very good chance those on each side of the progressive/libertarian divide view their counterparts as a little less pure and perfect in their humanistic expression.

The irreconcilable differences between libertarians and secular humanists arise in their viewpoints about government’s role in public life.

We consider stories of miracles from other cultures to be fantasies, but when it comes to the Bible, even sensible people lose their critical faculties.

I believe that the strongest objective evidence for greater attitudinal acceptance of death may be found in increasing cremation rates.

Although faith cannot be rationally justified, this doesn’t prevent theologians from trying their best to make faith seem not only reasonable but a good thing.

Have you ever noticed how fundamentally boring God is? I think that’s a slightly neglected subhead under atheism and secular humanism.

So often, ideologues display an intensity of conviction, and an unscrupulousness in acting upon it, against which good, fair, perhaps liberal-minded people seem helpless.

While people could be rational most of the time, they often don’t choose to be. This is especially true when it comes to religious faith.

Did Putin say anything outrageous? Not in the least. What he said was almost platitudinous.

Society is better off when exposed to arguments against the existence of a supernatural being and against the supernatural generally.

Letters in response to the October/November 2013 issue of FREE INQUIRY.

Make no mistake: America’s public schools, an indispensable component of our religiously neutral (that is, secular) democracy, are under serious siege.

If you are interested in studying anti-evolutionism up close, then central Kansas and my current home, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, are two excellent places to live.

You hear often enough the cry from the religious Right that our schools are teaching secular humanism. What is this all about?

A review of Bullspotting: Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation, by Loren Collins.

A review of The Rocks Don’t Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah’s Flood, by David Montgomery.

A review of Life on the Brink: Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation, edited by Philip Cafaro and Eileen Crist, with a foreword by Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich.

A review of The Way of Science: Finding Truth and Meaning in a Scientific Worldview, by Dennis R. Trumble.

Brief looks at a variety of books.

Poetry from the December 2013/January 2014 issue of FREE INQUIRY.

Poetry from the December 2013/January 2014 issue of FREE INQUIRY.