Free Republic

LINK: 1. Do you consider yourself to be Agnostic? 2. Atheist? 3. Catholic or Orthodox? 4. Evangelical Christian? 5. Jewish? 6. Mainline Protestant? 7. Are you male? 8. Are you female? 9. White, non-Hispanic? 10. Hispanic? 11. Black? 12. If a Catholic, do you consider Jorge Mario Bergoglio to be the valid pope? 13. Do you consider yourself mainly to be a social conservative, whose main (not singular) concern is the moral condition and direction of this country 14. Do you consider yourself mainly to be a libertarian and or financial conservative 15. Do you strongly favor US support of...

THE population of nonreligious Americans -- including atheists, agnostics and those who call themselves "nothing in particular" -- stands at an all-time high this election year. Americans who say religion is not important in their lives and who do not belong to a religious group, according to Pew Research Center, have risen in numbers from an estimated 21 million in 2008 to more than 36 million now. Despite the extraordinary swiftness and magnitude of this shift, our political campaigns are still conducted as if all potential voters were among the faithful. The presumption is that candidates have everything to gain...

I'm most likely an atheist, leaning to the agnostic side of the spectrum. I know I'm a sceptic, in the true sense of the word. Or shallow. One of the two. [snip] About five years ago, work took me, my fellow-journalist wife and our then three-year-old child from eastern England to southwest France. We enrolled our little girl at a local Catholic school, selected purely on the recommendation of a colleague for the quality of its education. [snip} Being a Catholic school, an hour is set aside each week for catechism. A friend takes the class. She has often told...

Professor Richard Dawkins dismissed his hard-earned reputation as a militant atheist - admitting that he is actually agnostic as he can't prove God doesn't exist. The country's foremost champion of Darwinist evolution stunned audience members when he made the confession during a lively debate on the origins of the universe with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Professor Dawkins is a dedicated admirer of Charles Darwin, regarding the Victorian pioneer of evolution as the man who explained ‘everything we know about life’. But when Archbishop Dr Rowan Williams suggested that Professor Darwin is often described as the world's most famous atheist, the...

The recent boom in religiously unaffiliated Americans may ultimately help explain the results of the upcoming 2012 presidential election, according to a new poll that shows such voters lean heavily toward President Obama but are less likely than the religiously affiliated to turn out. Nearly one-quarter of likely Obama supporters say they have have no particular religion — a group less likely to vote than those affiliated with an organized religion, according to a poll released Monday by the Public Religion Research Institute. Sixty-one percent of unaffiliated Americans said they are certain to cast a ballot, compared with 73 percent...

Americans are losing their religion, and that’s good news for Democrats. So says Pitzer College prof Phil Zuckerman in a fascinating breakdown in Bloomberg Businessweek. Americans have long been more religious than almost all other Western societies, but that’s changing fast, reports Pitzer: Which is good news for Democrats, because “63 percent of nonreligious Americans support the Democratic Party, with only 26 percent supporting Republicans.”

Scientists have revealed one of the reasons why some folks are less religious than others: They think more analytically, rather than going with their gut. And thinking analytically can cause religious belief to wane — for skeptics and true believers alike. The study, published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, indicates that belief may be a more malleable feature of the human psyche than those of strong faith may think. The cognitive origins of belief — and disbelief — traditionally haven't been explored with academic rigor, said lead author Will Gervais, a social psychologist at the University of British...

He is regarded as the most famous atheist in the world but last night Professor Richard Dawkins admitted he could not be sure that God does not exist. He told the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, that he preferred to call himself an agnostic rather than an atheist. The two men were taking part in a public “dialogue” at Oxford University at the end of a week which has seen bitter debate about the role of religion in public life in Britain. Last week Baroness Warsi, the Tory party chairman, warned of a tide of “militant secularism” challenging the...

[Listen to audio from Vincent Bugliosi] ✓ Atheism: The belief that there is no God. This is typically the conviction that there is no personal Creator of the universe, and no powerful, incorporeal, perfect being in heaven or anywhere else. ✓ Agnosticism: The state of not-knowing whether there is a God or not. The humble agnostic says that he doesn’t know whether there is a God. The less humble agnostic says that you don’t, either. The least humble agnostic thinks that we can’t ever really know. Tom Morris, Philosophy for Dummies (Foster City, CA: IDG Books, 1999), 238. [...] ….To...

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi Vatican City, Jun 24, 2011 / 02:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican’s new initiative aimed at sparking dialogue with atheists and agnostics may soon be coming to North America. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, told CNA in a recent interview that the “The Courtyard of the Gentiles” may come to three cities. “Quebec in Canada, which is one of the so-called ‘most secular’ places there is, where it seems like these days the question of faith is almost bothersome,” he said.“And, also, we’re thinking about two U.S. cities--Chicago on the one...

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi Vatican City, Jan 26, 2011 / 02:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Dialogue between the Vatican, agnostics and atheists will take place in a new arena as of this spring.The "Courtyard of the Gentiles" project, brainchild of the Pontifical Council for Culture and its president Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, will be officially presented Mar. 24-25 in Paris, France.Cardinal Ravasi first unveiled his plans for the Paris inauguration of the "Courtyard" last year, but further details were released in a statement from the council on Jan. 25.The Vatican's culture department plans for it to be "a new permanent Vatican structure...

Is Anyone Listening To Peter? A new Dark Age on the horizon?Catholics, Protestants, Agnostics… the vast majority of conservatives of every stripe would agree with this almost non-reported speech made by Pope Benedict XVI on 20 December, 2010.In a speech to Papal representatives from all over the world, the Pope spoke in the context of a the near total collapse in the Western world of any moral consensus rooted in Christian ethics and heritage.In comments aimed directly at the secularization and abandonment of God by the West, Benedict stunned those in a attendance when he stated; “Alexis de Tocqueville, in...

Geography 98% Residents of Shreveport, Louisiana, who describe themselves as Christian. According to Barna Research, it is the city whose residents are most likely to do so. 68% Residents of San Francisco who describe themselves as Christian, making them the least likely to do so. It is also the most unchurched city in America: 44 percent have not attended in the last six months. 19% Residents of Portland, Maine, who describe themselves as atheist or agnostic, making it the least religious city in America. Politics President Obama's job approval among Protestant pastors: 61% Disapprove (47% strongly) 30% Approve (14% strongly)...

The Lehigh Valley Humanists — an 18-month-old group of rationalists, agnostics and atheists — is bringing the so-called "anti-Claus" to speak about the sacred and secular meanings of Christmas at the Allentown Brew Works this weekend. His name is Tom Flynn. Best-known as the author of a book called "The Trouble With Christmas," he has spent nearly two decades lecturing on why the holiday celebration ought to be tamed for the sake of non-Christians who resent the annual full-scale assault of cheer. "The bloated feast demands the sacrifice of 36 million trees and causes almost 80,000 tons of discarded wrapping...

From the CBS studios in Houston, Texas, The Conservative Fun House vidcast on CNN 650. James and Damon discuss the *agnosticism* of Obama, the faulty premise of a Jobs Bill and the possible demise of Debra Medina...

President Obama says he is now "agnostic" about raising taxes on households making under $250,000 a year to help cut budget deficits, signaling a possible retreat from a campaign pledge. In an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek on newsstands Friday, Obama said a presidential budget commission needs to look at all options for deficit reduction - including tax increases and cuts in spending on such programs as Social Security and Medicare. "The whole point of it is to make sure that all ideas are on the table," Obama said. "So what I want to do is to be completely agnostic, in...

Even though the Bible was completed 2,000 years ago, long before the invention of the microscope, the telescope, satellites, etc. it does not contain any scientific errors. This might be considered a miracle in itself. Without exception, every ancient religious writing has certain unscientific views of astronomy, medicine, hygiene, etc. The Qur’an says in Surah 18:86 that the sun sets in a muddy spring. Qur’an 18:86 “…when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring” The only exception to these kinds of errors, among ancient religious writings, is the Bible. Not only is...

First it was the Easter Bunny. Then it was Santa Claus. Now it's the gods of science. Despite having two non-working nipples, Percy Prescott has faithfully believed in the theory of evolution and other precepts of science. Now he finds his rock solid belief in agnosticism starting to crumble. He said the cracks began to appear about the time he read news that climatologists had hidden evidence that runs counter to global warming dogma. Prescott isn't even sure about plate tectonics anymore. "Maybe earthquakes are caused by the weight of wickedness of any given city," mused Prescott. "Although why has...

The ideal of the coolly rational scientific observer, completely independent, free of all preconceived theories, prior philosophical, ethical and religious commitments, doing investigations and coming to dispassionate, unbiased conclusions that constitute truth, is nowadays regarded by serious philosophers of science (and, indeed, most scientists) as a simplistic myth...

President Obama’s first 100 days in office will come to a close. Obama's juggernaut candidacy swept many Christians into its wake. Some now appear to have "buyer's remorse." As David Gushee, an evangelical Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and a supporter of Obama recently wrote in the USA TODAY: "Mr. President, we need more than lip service. Centrist evangelicals like me embraced Barack Obama's campaign pledge to help bride the gaps of the culture wars. Instead, the president's short record on abortion-related issues is is familiar— and disappointing—rather than revolutionary.” Gushee is not alone. So, while politicos and...