The weekly report on the SPI Coalition
by Julie Esris
In light of the devastating, 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal last week, SPI Coalition Member Foundation Beyond Belief is raising money to aid in relief and recovery. Please donate to help support their efforts!
Does religion harm education? Aron Ra, of SPI Coalition member┬áAmerican Atheists, says “absolutely”. Drawing on his own life experiences in a creationist household, Ra makes his case at a meeting of SPI Coalition member,┬áAtheist Ireland.
Teen girls and young women in Uganda are high risk for unwanted pregnancy through premarital sex and even rape. Many of these girls and women are afraid to seek an abortion, and that’s where SPI Coalition Member┬áThe Uganda Humanist Association┬áand its affiliate┬áThe Uganda Humanist Effort to Save Women come in. Come see what they’re doing to help.
Remember last week when we told you that┬áSPI Coalition member,┬áThe United Church of Bacon, protested Wells Fargo over its discrimination of atheists? They’re not done yet, and have launched a petition on change.org, demanding that they apologize and stop discriminating against atheists.
SPI Coalition member┬áThe Ontario Humanist Society┬árecently conducted an exciting interview with Iranian journalist, author, and activist Masih Alinejad. Alinejad started a Facebook page, My Stealthy Freedom.┬áCome see what it’s about.
Many Jews also identify as atheists. A Jewish atheist? An atheist Jew? How is that possible? Many people of Jewish heritage have found that they can value Jewish culture without believing in the religious aspects of Judaism. They belong to a sect called humanistic Judaism. In fact, humanistic Jewish congregation and SPI Coalition member,┬áOr Emet,┬ápractices a great deal of traditional Jewish life cycle events– such as baby naming, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and weddings– with a secular slant. Read more about it!
SPI Coalition Member┬áAtheist Foundation of Australia recently hosted an exciting event, The Unholy Trinity Down Under. The “Unholy Trinity” in question are American atheist activists Matt Dillahunty (with “Why Won’t You Love Me”, Version 1┬áand Version 2)┬áAron Ra (with “Biblical Absurdity”), and Seth Andrews (with “The Good Old Days”). Each of them gave interesting, insightful– and funny– presentations. A Q&A follows.
SPI Coalition Member, American Freethought, recently interviewed science fiction and fantasy writer James Morrow about his latest novel, Galapagos Regained. The novel promises to be exciting, and the podcast interview will gives you a little taste of it!
Is meditation beneficial? It’s not just a question: it’s also the title of one of SPI Coalition member┬áHumanist Society (Singapore)‘s┬árecent blog posts. Meditation is often┬áconsidered a religious practice. It must be pseudoscience then, right? The answer may surprise you.
On a recent podcast of SPI Coalition member Skepticality, host Derek interviews neurologist Dr. Steven Novella, who also has his own skeptic podcast. Derek and Steve discuss the skeptical community and some current events.