On This Day in 1948…
…the U.S. Supreme Court banned as unconstitutional the use of public school facilities by religious organizations as a venue for religious instruction to students. In an 8-to-1 ruling, the court held...
View ArticleHey Redditors (and Others)! Welcome!
This blog is seeing its visitor numbers jump hugely today, via both Reddit and Hemant Mehta’s site (The Friendly Atheist, hosted at Patheos.com). We’re thrilled! If you like our content, please...
View ArticleDoes Jesus Cause Crime?
If you’ve ever wondered why there are so many ostensible Christians among the prison population, one answer is that Jesus Saves. If no one forgives you for the terrible things you’ve done, He will....
View ArticleThe World’s Tallest JPEG?
And to think, it could easily have been a thousand times taller. Still, pretty impressive (enlarge the picture by clicking on it after it loads).
View ArticleAA Still Asks, ‘Your Liver or Your Brain?’
If you have a serious drinking problem, you turn to AA, right? But what if you’re an agnostic or an atheist? Can you still climb those famous Twelve Steps if you don’t believe in God? Six of the steps...
View ArticleThe Curious Case of the Mormon Penis Biter
Here at Moral Compass HQ, we’ll be keeping an eye on the upcoming trial of Mormon penis biter Efrey Antonio Guzman, 47. Last May, Guzman, a branch president of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, knocked...
View ArticleIs ‘Religious Trauma Syndrome’ (RTS) For Real?
I’m of two minds when it comes to the existence of a mental affliction that some psychiatrists and psychologists, like Marlene Winell and Valerie Tarico, have been banging the drum about. It’s called...
View ArticleTime Discovers Faith’s Dark Side
In my lifetime, people of faith will probably always be allowed more manifestations of loopiness than non-believers. If, as a secular American, I go around licking fenceposts every afternoon, and...
View ArticlePsst! Wanna Buy a Fake Car From This Prophet?
Got Ferrari taste but a Toyota budget? No problem. The good people at Super Replicas, a Panama-based company that purports to sell perfect supercar knockoffs, will gladly take your money. But will you...
View ArticleMore Education = Less Religion
Does more education lead to less religion? Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner says yes, and he bases that on a study by Daniel Hungerman, an economist at Notre Dame who studies religious faith....
View ArticleA Nation of Believers … In Just About Anything
Irrational beliefs are alive and well in the United States. For instance, One in five Republican voters believes Barack Obama is the ‘antichrist’ and nearly a third of all Americans think a secret...
View ArticleEew, Eel! Don’t Tell the Anti-Gay-Marriage Crowd
I’ve frequently heard from rightwing Christians that if we let men marry men, and women marry women, we’ll have to let them marry chickens and dogs too, and soon they’ll all be having butt sex with...
View ArticleReligious People Score Embarrassingly Low on Knowledge of Their Holy Texts;...
I remember reading about this study when it came out, in 2010, but I’d never seen this illuminating CNN interview with the chief authors. Tip of the hat to reddit. Also, per the screenshot below, I...
View ArticleIt’s Fish Friday in Utah!
Catholics continue their covert conversion of Mormons: About 75,000 pounds of frozen crab meat — more than 37 tons — spilled out of a truck leaving Salt Lake City. The trailer toppled over near dawn...
View ArticleEx-Mormon Bishop Charged With Sexually Assaulting Two Girls From His Church
Another one bites the dust: Murrieta (Calif.) resident Todd Mitchell Edwards, 49, is accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls who reportedly went to the church where he was a bishop at one...
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