ReligionDispatches.org

Philip Clayton.

You have to look long and hard in the public-square discussion today to find bilateral calls for complementarity and partnership. Yet why should the relations between evolution and creation constitute a zero-sum game?

Austin Dacey.

Humanists are right to think that there is more to life than atheism, but wrong to think that they are the ones to provide it.

Anthony B. Pinn.

An atheist convention, attended by premier nonbelievers Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, inspires some reflections on the virtue of a positive, productive humanism, rather than the anti-theism that dominates the discourse.

John Stoehr.

Science tells us that our minds, our consciousness, our very selves, reside in our physical brains. But what if this model, relying as it does on a seventeenth century understanding of mind and matter, is outdated? Philosopher Alva Noë proposes a revolutionary alternative.

Philip Clayton.

The New Atheists, armed with swords and cudgels, are still doing old-fashioned battle with religion; but they haven't noticed that the skirmish may have passed them by. Are religion and science poised for a truce?

Andrew Pessin.

Public discourse is not necessarily on the same level as scholarly discourse, but it doesn’t have to be a brawl.

Ivan Petrella.

Everyone has it wrong regarding politics and religion: the Christian Right, Atheists, and even the Progressive Religious community. The author proposes a daring alternative.

Susan Henking.

A recent study is making headlines with the finding that certain college majors, most notably those in the humanities and social sciences, are likely to turn students into godless nihilists. Why is this such a big deal?

Arri Eisen.

Does a belief that science and religion can co-exist in harmony disqualify Francis Collins from leading the NIH? Decisively not.

Eric Reitan.

Sam Harris, a leading voice in the so-called New Atheism, believes that religious faith disqualifies a leading scientist from heading the National Institutes of Health. What does this reveal about the ideological prejudices of this brand of secularism?

Frank Schaeffer.

Does morality come from religion or is it merely “the language games of one’s time”? Are the most basic moral boundaries we evolved that make life easier and less chaotic a reflection of the character of God? If there is no God, or if He doesn’t care about us, then our common morality is still the result of practical, reality-based needs, which also “teach” that a good life depends on the “Do unto others…” ethic.

S. Brent Plate.

Simply put: Font matters. Is it possible that the most pervasive typeface of late capitalism—Helvetica—is telling us what the gods wish: Do not worry. Trust in me. Put your value here, and you will be rewarded?

Konstantin Petrenko.

We should not overlook the New Atheists’ support for science, progressive views and legitimization of non-belief as a viable alternative. Unfortunately, their record is also marked by an intolerance of religious people and the alienation of potential progressive allies.

Frank Schaeffer.

Do Richard Dawkins, Bill Maher, and other true believers really offer a different path, or are their methods and manner merely a mirror image of the fundamentalism they so despise? We are spiritual animals and must learn to live with the complexities and paradoxes of religion—and of the natural world as well.

Eric Reitan.

In a recent promotional letter, Richard Dawkins caricatured the average American’s Christian beliefs. Problem is, caricatures cease to be useful when the critic invites his audience to deride the real thing based on a lampoon.

Ronald Aronson.

Buried in the results of a recent survey is the fact that secularists may now be one of America’s largest minorities—larger than gays or African Americans. Will nonbelievers, traditionally one of the most loathed demographics, begin to feel their oats and demand greater recognition in the public square?

Eric Reitan.

Are believers in God crazy? Are atheists? Philosopher Eric Reitan explains why he finds the ideas of the Dawkins-Hitchens crowd wanting and why readers—atheist or theist—who want to cheer and pump their fists as “their guy” strikes back against the opponent should read something else.

Candace Chellew-Hodge.

A recent editorial from a lesbian seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church is scorned by LGBT readers: Who needs the “OK” from an imaginary friend anyway?

Konstantin Petrenko.

Analyzing the data from a number of recent religion surveys reveals neither the downfall of religion nor the rise of atheism, as many have concluded.

Nathan Schneider.

Religion surveys have become a battleground for the American religious marketplace—and a magnet for big money.

Bruce Ledewitz.

In an interview with Bruce Ledewitz on his forthcoming Hallowed Secularism, the law professor tells RD that the so-called New Atheists want to lead secularists, many of whom know very little about religion, into opposition to religion. But for secularism to be healthy, he says, it must learn from the wisdom of the religious traditions.

Bruce Ledewitz.

The presidential inauguration showed that an enforceable wall of separation between church and state simply does not exist in America, at least at the level of expression in the public square. What is the future of secularism in our religious democracy?

Ronald Aronson.

Sure it was nice that Obama gave a shout out to nonbelievers, but the president's actions during the campaign give pause to the nation's atheists and agnostics.

Lauri Lebo.

A professor of biology gets clergy on board in the fight against those who would teach biblical creationism in America’s schools, showing that science does not always lead to atheism. Sorry, Dawkins.

Ronald Aronson.

Intellectual and philosophical encouragement for America’s largest and most invisible minority: atheists, agnostics, secularists, and the undecided.