By George Francis Kane
The marriage equality movement has had a string of successes in referendum elections and the courts. Today same-sex marriages are recognized by the federal government and are legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia. The bans on same-sex marriage are being challenged in court cases in the remaining 13 states. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the 2013 United States v. Windsor case because provisions of the law denied same-sex couples of equal protection of the law, Justice Antonin Scalia scolded his colleagues that the logic of the decision would be used to overturn all state prohibitions of same-sex marriage. Now is not a time for complacency, however. Be certain that the opposition, almost exclusively from churches and religiously affiliated organizations, has not given up. Until same-sex marriage is recognized and permitted everywhere in the nation, the danger persists that all of these gains could be rolled back.
Read more: News and Notes: Marriage Equality Laws
By Eric Jayne
Phil Robertson, from A&E’s popular Duck Dynasty show has shared his Bible-based philosophy about many things including same-sex relationships and race. Last week he argued for absolute morality as decided by God. To illustrate his position he shared an imaginary scenario.
Read more: Robertson's Wager: The Duck Dynasty Quackery of Morals
By Eric Jayne
On February 10, Craig Stephen Hicks, a white middle aged atheist, gunned down three young Muslim college students—all of whom were of Palestinian descent. Deah Shaddy Barakat, the oldest victim at the age of 23, was pursuing a doctorate in dentistry and planning a trip to Turkey to assist children in a Syrian refugee camp with emergency dental work. Also killed was Barakat’s wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha. Yusor was planning to study dentistry in the fall at North Carolina State University and Razan was a sophomore there.
Read more: President's Column: Atheism & Chapel Hill
By Stephanie Zvan
Reprinted from the blog Almost Diamond with permission
I am not a rationalist.
I have friends who are rationalists. I do my best to think of it as a nice little hobby of theirs. I do cryptograms and other puzzles in my down time. They spend time hacking their thinking processes, or trying to. We’ve all got our thing.
Read more: Why I Am Not a Rationalist
By Grant Steves
In 2007, Charles Taylor published his book, A Secular Age. It is a 900 page treatise on the philosophical and sociological history and critique of secularism. Since the Reformation secularism in Western culture has increased and the signs of that can be seen in three ways.
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Read more: The Secular Watch
