Atheists Agenda swaps bibles for porn
Jan. 11, 2006
A group of students at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) made national headlines with a "Smut for Smut" campaign, in which they traded porn magazines for any religious scripture. In this column Tony Castaldo, a member of UTSA's Atheist Agenda, shares the story of this project and its results. He also responds to other freethinkers who were critical of this effort. MORE...
Election report from the Great White North
Feb 2, 2006
After the 2006 Canadian election, the prime minster elect ended his victory speech with, "God Bless Canada." To HNN's Ontario columnist, Doug Thomas, this spelled trouble for humanists in Canada. MORE...
So, is humanism losing ground in Canada?
Feb. 2. 2006
How did Québécois citizens feel about the 2006 Canadian elections? Michel Virard, of Montreal, explains. MORE...
The Heckler's Veto and the Muslim World
Feb. 8, 2006
Some of the most shocking events in 2006 were the violent riots and the sacking of European embassies in the Middle East in response to some cartoons that mocked the prophet Mohammed. The cartoons originally appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. They were subsequently republished by many Western media outlets. The situation tested the limits of free speech and religious tolerance. In this column, Dr. Tim Gordinier, public policy director of the Institute for Humanist Studies, evaluates the cartoon controversy from a humanist perspective. MORE...
eBay atheist...sold to the highest bidder
Feb. 8, 2006
Hemant Mehta, a 22-year-old atheist in Chicago, offered the highest bidder on ebay the opportunity to send him to the church of his or her choosing for one hour per $10. Jim Henderson of www.Off-the-map.org, a Christian group, won the auction with a $504.00 bid. The strange auction landed Hemant on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. MORE...
Secular Coalition keeps growing, and growing...
Feb. 8, 2006
Two more national freethought organizations joined the Secular Coalition for America (SCA). The SCA is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization that represents humanists, atheists and freethinkers in Washington D.C. Former Nevada State Senator Lori Lipman Brown is the director/lobbyist of the SCA. MORE...
Letters to the Editor
Feb. 15, 2006
HNN readers reacted to the now historic Muhammed cartoon controversy in many ways. Some felt the cartoons were offensive, while others thought they were necessary in order to point out the deadly results of religious extremism. MORE...
Court: Schools can't turn away military recruiters for anti-gay policy
March 8, 2006
The military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy resurfaced in the news with the U.S. Supreme Court case Rumsfeld v. FAIR. According to a unanimous Supreme Court, Congress can require colleges to give access to the military even without providing federal aid to the school. But the court also ruled that colleges can protest the presence of military recruiters on campus without forfeiting federal aid. MORE...
Sexual Intelligence: UK tears off American gag
March 22, 2006
In 2001, President George W. Bush instituted America's Global Gag Rule, cutting off family planning assistance to any international group that even discusses abortion using their non-U.S. funds. To make up for Bush's restrictions, the U.K. gave $5 million to a new Global Safe Abortion Program. MORE...
Newdow, SNL's Sweeney join Secular Coalition advisory board
April 19, 2006
Two famous atheists, Michael Newdow and Julia Sweeney, recently joined the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America (SCA). The SCA is a national 501(c)(4) lobbying organization that represents the rights of humanists and atheists in Washington DC. MORE...
Norway Moves Toward Disestablishment
May 3, 2006
This May, Norway opened a series of hearings on Monday to consider a separation of church and state after 469 years of Lutheranism as the official religion. In December, the Lutheran Church of Norway had voted to separate itself from the state after 500 years of establishment. MORE...
Crisis Pregnancy Centers: More Tools in the Anti-Choice Arsenal
May 10, 2006
Anti-choice crusaders have been using fake "clinics" to deceive women about abortion. HNN Editor Elaine Friedman investigated how this is affecting women. MORE...
Forced Worship in Schools to Be Further Tightened
May 10, 2006
Churches in England pressured the government to enforce a law that requires all schools to hold an act of mainly Christian collective worship every day. The National Secular Society (U.K.) spoke out about this indoctrination, calling it an abuse of human rights that denies the nearly 60 percent of British students who are atheist or agnostic to exercise their freedom of conscience. MORE...
Same-Sex Marriage Comes Before N.Y.S Court of Appeals and U.S. Congress
May 17, 2006
As the New York Court of Appeals and the U.S. Congress prepared to debate same-sex marriage this May, HNN interviewed two lobbyists working to support same-sex marriage and one woman waiting to legally marry another in New York. MORE...
Secularity of Public Space Becoming an Issue in Quebec
May 17, 2006
HNN correspondent Michel Virard of Montreal investigated several court cases in Quebec involving religion intruding upon public spaces in Quebec. MORE...
Humanist Re-elected President of UN Religion Committee
May 31, 2006
Matt Cherry, IHS executive director, was re-elected for a second term as president of the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Cherry, a humanist and an atheist, is the first nonreligious person to hold this rank. MORE...
The End of an Era in Nepal
May 31, 2006
This year Nepal transitioned from a Hindu kingdom to a secular state. King Gyanendra caved in to popular opposition and turned over responsibility for the country's future to the ministers and parliament. MORE...
Free Expression Under Threat in Europe, Warn Secularists
May 31, 2006
Although blasphemy is no longer the repressive tool that it once was in Europe, it is sneaking back in a new guise: "respect." MORE...
Court of Appeals Hears Arguments for Same-Sex Marriage
June 7, 2006
Arguments were made in the NY Court of Appeals for and against same-sex marriage in June. Six weeks later, the court ruled that the state constitution does not grant the right of same sex couples to marry. MORE...
25th Anniversary of AIDS Highlights Failure of US Policy
June 7, 2006
The 25th anniversary of AIDS brings attention to the failure Bush's abstinence-only policies. MORE...
Court Rulings: The Good and the Bad
June 21, 2006
A United States district court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a California atheist against the US government for its use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on its coins and currency. MORE...
Moral Choices and the HPV Vaccine
June 21
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the primary cause of cervical cancer, which afflicts 10,000 American women a year. This year, an HPV vaccine made headlines but so did opposition to the vaccine. Because the vaccine can be administered to teenagers before they become sexually active, some Christians believe the vaccine will provide teenagers and young adults with a false sense of security, leading them to engage in sexual activity before marriage. MORE...
Another Defeat for Medical Marijuana
July 5, 2006
The U.S. government voted to continue to allow prosecution of those who use marijuana for medical purposes. MORE...
The Perfect Storm
July 5, 2006
The Bush White House launched an unprecedented effort to involve churches and other religious groups in emergency relief programs -- all at public expense. MORE...
Atheist Activism Stifled in Italy
July 5, 2006
Luigi Cascioli, a 72-year-old atheist from Viterbo, Italy who brought a lawsuit against an Italian priest in January, was fined by an appeals court in Rome for bringing a fraudulent suit. By insisting that Jesus Christ existed, son of a virgin, miracle worker and God incarnate, Cascioli alleges that the Church creates a mythical person, an act that amounts to impersonation, which is a crime in Italy. MORE...
Religious Criticism Is Not Religious Hatred
July 12, 2006
Human rights abusers who are part of the UN Human Rights Council insisted that their religion not be criticized. Roy Brown, president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union challenged the notion of granting unfair privileges for states that violate human rights in the name of religion. MORE...
Humanist Philanthropy
July 19, 2006
Warren Buffett joined a list of philanthropists -- who are also atheists -- using his fortune to make the world a better place. Buffett, the world's second-richest man, stunned the world by announcing that he will begin donating $37 billion of his fortune to five foundations. Five-sixths of the money will go to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, run by Bill Gates, the world's richest man (an agnostic). MORE...
Good News and Bad News for Reproductive Rights
Aug. 2, 2006
While the FDA may finally act responsibly regarding over-the-counter emergency contraception, the religious right continues to influence reproductive policy. MORE...
Double Jeopardy for the First Amendment -- Congress Mulls Scheme to Save Mt. Soledad Cross, Discourage State-Church Litigation
Aug. 2, 2006
Lawmakers attempted to authorize the federal government to purchase the controversial Mt. Soledad Christian cross in San Diego, Calif. and discourage litigation over other First Amendment issues by ending compensatory attorney fees even if the government is found at fault. Freethinkers around the country opposed the move. MORE...
Suffer the Children: The U.S. and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child
Aug. 9, 2006
Why won't the U.S. ratify the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child" which protects children from executions? MORE...
Australian Youth Follow the Secular Trend
Aug. 16, 2006
A study found that less than half Australia's young people say they believe in a god, and many believe there is little truth in religion. MORE...
Is the International AIDS Conference too Political?
Aug. 23, 2006
Prime Minister Harper loses a good opportunity to fulfill Canadian commitments due to political expediency. MORE...
Founder of Atheist Centre Dies at 94
Aug. 23 2006
Saraswathi Gora may be gone but her legacy lives on. MORE...
With God on Their Side: The New U.S. Military
Sept. 6, 2006
Evangelical organizations used aggressive tactics to encourage religious coercion and proselytizing in the military. MORE...
A Prayer Service by Any Other Name: A Report on NOSHA v. the City of New Orleans
Sept. 6, 2006
The city of New Orleans tried to silence and exclude humanists from its city sponsored prayer service. But Harry Greenberger of the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association stood up for humanist ideas at Katrina commemoration events. After all, there are atheists in hurricane zones! MORE...
Religious Proselytizing: An Emerging Phenomenon in Nepal
Sept. 6, 2006
Nepal is a recently formed secular state. But already Christian and Muslim fundamentalists are posing a threat to this new secular society. MORE...
The Brights: Where Are They Now?
Sept. 13, 2006
The Brights came onto the freethought scene three years ago and caused quite a stir. They generated a tremendous amount of positive publicity for their naturalist movement. Many atheists and other freethinkers did not like the notion of calling oneself a "bright". But that was three years ago! Elaine Friendman, HNN editor, spoke to the Brights to see what they've done lately. MORE...
Separation of Church and State: An Important Victory in Quebec
Oct. 4, 2006
Canadian secularists win a court case involving public prayer. MORE...
President Bush's "Third Awakening" and the Mixing of Church and State
Oct. 4, 2006
The debate in the United States is not really between believers and secularists, but rather between believers and believers, with some nonbelievers in the mix. MORE...
Find Elected Atheist, Win $1000
Oct. 11, 2006
Name the highest ranking elected official in the U.S. who is openly non-theistic and win $1,000. The Secular Coalition for America is holding a contest. Deadline Dec. 31. MORE...
Hope for Expanding the Rights of the Non-Religious
Oct. 11, 2006
Speaking at a banquet to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) said he would introduce an amendment to the Senate to expand the scope of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 to include the U.S. If passed, a new standard may offer significant benefits to campaigners for the rights of the non-religious. MORE...
A Nation of 300 Million: Cause for Celebration or Alarm?
Oct. 18, 2006
At 7:46 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Oct. 17, the United States officially became a nation of 300 million people. Is that too many people? Or are too few people hogging too many resources? MORE...
The U.S. Election: What's Next for Humanist Issues?
Nov. 8, 2006
Midterm election reaction from atheist lobbyist Lori Lipman Brown of the Secular Coalition for America. MORE...
Sexual Intelligence: "Them" or "Us?"
Nov. 8, 2006
Republican Congressman Mark Foley made headlines with a scandal in which he made inappropriate sexual advances toward his male teenage paige. Foley is gay, but the Religious Right confused being gay with being a pedophile. Sex therapist Marty Klein sets the record straight with this installment of "Sexual Intelligence." MORE...
The Culture War at the Polls
Nov. 15, 2006
Was the recent U.S. election a victory for humanists in the Culture War? On key humanist issues, such as keeping religion out of government and protecting freedom of conscience, we saw some successful referendum results and promising election returns. MORE...
The Bush Backlash
Nov. 22, 2006
The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who believes in abstinence-only sexual education. He works at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women." MORE...
Humanists Sue to Stop Voting in Religious Venues
Dec. 13, 2006
The newly opened Appignani Humanist Legal Center has filed a case against churches that used religious propaganda at polling stations. MORE...
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