secularism - A Tippling Philosopher

A Tippling Philosopher

Sign in Subscribe

secularism

A collection of 149 posts

Speaker Mike Johnson, in his own mind.

Jesus was not the new Moses. That would be Mike Johnson

Christian nationalist and Speaker Mike Johnson recently gave a speech declaring himself the new Moses. American secularism has never been more vulnerable.

UK Ministry of Defence to recruit nonreligious chaplains

UK Ministry of Defence to recruit nonreligious chaplains

When he joined the Royal Navy, a friend of mine was asked his religion. When he answered that he was nonreligious, he received the reply, "Well in that case, we'll put you down as Free Church." There was no existing way to accommodate such a category

Composite of public domain images

Christian nationalism

Christian nationalists: Drop Mike, hold on to your Johnson

Move over Mike Pence, Mike Johnson is in the big chair—and in a position to enact all of his Christian nationalist dreams.

Landmark High Court win for UK humanism

Landmark High Court win for UK humanism

A recent High Court judgment recently found in favor of a humanist, and Kent County Council will not appeal the decision. This has been seen as a landmark ruling. The event might ignite discussions of whether or not humanism should be designated a religion. When looking at the definition for

via Wikimedia Commons

Will bishops lose the automatic right to sit in the House of Lords?

There are only two nations on Earth where members of a religion are automatically given a seat in the state legislature: Iran, and the United Kingdom. All of the UK's 'Lords Spiritual' are Anglican bishops, despite 53% of Britons identifying as nonreligious and only 12% as Anglican. Now a cross-part

UK's state-run CofE schools plan to 'double number of children who are Christian disciples'

The UK education system is not secular, and the Church of England is looking to schools as a recruitment pool for new believers.

UN Committee on Rights of the Child calls out religious bias in UK schools

church-state separation

UN Committee on Rights of the Child calls out religious bias in UK schools

While the UK may seem more secular than the US, the public education system is a good example of how this assumption is wrong.

UK Faith and State report expected to ruffle (certain) religious feathers

A wide-ranging report into the relationship between religion and the state in the UK is set to be released in the coming weeks. The "Independent Faith Engagement Review" has been compiled by Colin Bloom, the former head of the Conservative Christian Fellowship (an organization within the Conservative Party

The poisoned church: When pastors use their pulpits to spread disinformation

As we see the world becoming victim to the effects of misinformation and disinformation of authoritarian political agents, it is worth remembering that this is also happening closer to home in our local churches. I was reading an article in Atlantic magazine last night about an Evangelical church in Brighton,

SCOTUS and the city of Boston's forced flag attack

The Supreme Court just ruled that the city of Boston must allow religious flags to be flown on flagpoles at city government buildings. The ruling is based on the premise that the city had created a “limited public forum” by allowing the flags of other nations or private organizations to

Welcome to my world. Our world.

So you've heard? We've moved. Some of us have set up residency for the first time. And we haven't just moved, we've upgraded. Built up. Built down. Spread sideways. Reached inwards. Stretched outwards. Invested. Predicted and future-proofed. Designed. Tested. Improved. Fortified. And

Humanists Condemn Supreme Court’s Adoption Case Giving the Church Privilege to Discriminate

Humanists Condemn Supreme Court’s Adoption Case Giving the Church Privilege to Discriminate

This is from the American Humanists Association: The American Humanist Association (AHA)’s leaders expressed disappointment in today’s 9-0 Supreme Court decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “While the Supreme Court avoided overturning precedent that is vital to maintaining church-state separation, we are nonetheless stuck with a

Government announces more than £2 million in funding enabling religious take-over of yet more schools

Man, the UK government sucks. Big time. This is from Humanists UK: Humanists UK has expressed alarm about the potential for a religious power-grab in schools with and without a religious character after the UK Government announced it is allocating more than £2 million in funding to increase the number

Teacher suspended over depiction of Muhammad in Batley Grammar School lesson

This has been pretty newsworthy in the UK and it's great to see Humanists UK stand up for the teacher. We don't want to return to times of blasphemy laws. From Humanists UK: Controversy has erupted after a teacher showed pupils an image or images of

Humanists Challenge Tennessee School District over Unconstitutional Graduation Prayers

This is from the AHA: Today, the American Humanist Association (AHA)’s legal director notified Tennessee school officials of looming legal action over constitutional violations occurring at Bledsoe County High School, and most likely within the Bledsoe County School district at large, in Pikeville, Tennessee. The AHA’s demand letter,

Humanists Halt Indoctrination of Kindergarteners in Texas Public School

Success! From the American Humanists Association: In response to the American Humanist Association (AHA)’s legal director threatening Texas school officials with legal action over indoctrination in kindergarten classrooms, Round Rock Independent School District counsel provided AHA’s lawyer today with written assurances that the unconstitutional conduct will not continue.

Humanists Chastise Texas Public School For Indoctrinating Kindergarteners

This is form the American Humanists Associastion: Today, the American Humanist Association (AHA)’s legal director threatened Texas school officials with legal action over ongoing religious indoctrination occurring at Round Rock Independent School District in Texas. The AHA’s demand letter details that a kindergarten teacher at Chandler Oaks Elementary

Faith Schools in the UK: An Ongoing Battle

Education in the UK is very different to what it is in the US for a whole host of reasons, one being the historical ties to religion and education. Though we are culturally a far more "secular" country, institutionally, we are not. Here, I will relate three articles

Non-Religious Public Officials Organize For Support, Dialog

This is from the Association of Secular Elected Officials: A new group will provide support, information and a sounding board for non-religious elected officials at a time when a growing number of people choose not to affiliate with a religion, organizers say. “By openly serving as secular elected officials, our

Humanists Score Victory in Longstanding SC School Prayer Case

This is from the AHA: The American Humanist Association (AHA) scored a major victory for church-state separation in its seven-year lawsuit over school prayers and religious venues in Greenville, South Carolina. On Tuesday, the Greenville County School District voted 8-3 to drop its appeal and settle with the AHA on

Tonight: Openly Agnostic and Running for Local Office in an Area Targeted by Religious Extremists for Decades

Tonight: Openly Agnostic and Running for Local Office in an Area Targeted by Religious Extremists for Decades

Tonight, the American Humanist Association (AHA) will host an event featuring recorded remarks from successful candidate and now elected member of the Fairfax County School Board Karl Frisch, followed by a live question and answer portion with Center for Freethought Equality’s Political and PAC Coordinator Ron Millar. This event

UK Chancellor: ‘This is a secular country’

This is great to hear from someone high up in government (Chancellor of the Exchequer - holds the purse strings); from Humanists UK: In an interview with the BBC, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has described the UK as a secular country and explained how Christmas is a festival celebrated by everyone,

Number of Pupils at CofE Schools more than Entire ‘Worshipping Community’

The UK education system is not secular in the way that the Us system is, even though we are a more "secular" country. Something like 37% of our primary schools are faith schools, often only nominally in name (it depends on the head teachers, Senior Leadership Teams, governors

Pandemic Response and Healthcare Top Concerns for Secular Voters

Secular Americans are Shaping Modern Political Landscape A new national survey demonstrates that issues related to science, including both the federal coronavirus response and climate change, are among the issues driving secular Americans to the voting booth this year. Secular voters’ biggest concern going into the election is the pandemic

Erdogan's Turkish Strategy: Using Religion for...Erdogan

I have reported several times before on Turkey and religiosity. See: * Is Turkey, under Erdogan, Becoming More Atheistic? * Is Turkey's secular system in danger? * Study: Turkish Students Increasingly Resistant to Religion The picture is at best confusing because the power of the religious right, and a rural/urban