Opinion Archives - Atheists for Liberty

Negative World: Why Christians Are Retreating from American Cities

July 23, 2024 by Peter Clarke in Opinion

Politically-engaged Christians in America aren’t thrilled with the way things have been going. They finally seem to grasp how badly they’re losing in the culture. And they’re getting desperate. This desperation was the focus of a recent article in The New York Times, “Why a New Conservative Brain Trust Is Resettling Across America.” According to […]

Secular Alternatives to the 10 Commandments: A Response to Louisiana’s Law Requiring the 10 Commandments in All Classrooms

June 20, 2024 by Peter Clarke in Opinion

Today, the governor of Louisiana signed a law requiring classrooms in the state to display the Ten Commandments. According to the Republican governor, Jeff Landry, “If you want to respect the rule of law, you gotta start from the original law given which was Moses. … He got his commandments from God.” Apparently, Governor Landry […]

The True Impact of Cancel Culture: Don’t Underestimate the Chilling Effect on Speech

June 18, 2024 by Reggie Peralta in Opinion

Cancel culture is far from the greatest threat to liberty today. We live in a time when the “possibility of Armageddon” is the highest it’s ever been since the Cuban missile crisis. However, the actual harms from cancel culture shouldn’t be underestimated. For example, cancel culture results in a chilling effect across the culture that […]

God the Omniwriter? – The Biblical Argument for God That Does Not Materialize

June 5, 2024 by Jan Golan in Opinion

There’s a modern Christian custom to include a reference to a Bible verse in Twitter bios, Instagram descriptions, and even Tinder profiles. Whenever I encounter this, for whatever reason, I feel compelled to check the actual passage. I open an online Bible and enter the numerical code into the search engine. I want to know: […]

From Seminary to Atheism: A Whirlwind Journey Out of Orthodox Judaism

May 30, 2024 by Serina Vadella in Opinion

“I was steeped in contradiction. Never before had I felt the suffocation that I was living someone else’s life, that I was living by someone else’s values.” Growing up, I attended Chabad Sunday school, celebrated the major holidays, and was part of Jewish Teen groups. Despite my orthodox education, I was raised in a reformed […]

Richard Dawkins Says He’s a Cultural Christian: This Isn’t News

May 9, 2024 by Roling Kaloti in Opinion

On March 31 this year, Richard Dawkins appeared in an interview with Rachel Johnson on LBC, where he made headlines after identifying himself as a cultural Christian. After stating he was “slightly horrified” to hear about when Oxford Street in London began promoting Ramadan instead of Easter, he explained his belief that England is a […]

Ron Lindsay on Wokeism as a Religion

April 30, 2024 by Peter Clarke in Opinion

I recently interviewed philosopher Ron Lindsay about his new book, Against the New Politics of Identity. During the interview, I asked Ron about the claim that the new leftist idiology, or wokeism, is a religion. His response, lightly edited for clarity, is below: Ron Lindsay: I’m a little reluctant to embrace that because, just for […]

Logical Atheism: Neither Materialism nor Spiritualism

April 23, 2024 by Sheldon Richman in Opinion

I’ve been an atheist for over 50 years. It took one lecture to convince me. I don’t just disbelieve in the existence of the supernatural. I believe in the nonexistence of the supernatural. The natural universe is it. How do I know? (That’s always the appropriate question but with the caveat below). The wrong answer […]

Adam the Ape – Book Review

April 16, 2024 by Autumn Berend in Opinion

If you want primate power and thought-provoking storytelling, Adam the Ape is your best bet. You’ll wonder who the real animals are after reading Wolfgang Wambach’s children’s book, which is filled with compelling characters, ethical dilemmas, and a bond between a boy and a chimp. In Adam the Ape, Wolfgang Wambach explores themes of animal […]

Free Markets vs. Special-Interest-Pandering Politicians

April 9, 2024 by Sheldon Richman in Opinion

Trump promises to slam a 100-percent tariff on imported cars made in Chinese-owned factories in Mexico. He announced this not to a group of prospective car buyers but to a group of car makers. So what else is new? Car buyers, who outnumber the well-organized car makers but are not themselves organized, would have to pay more […]

Jesus Was a Psy-Op: A Book Review of ‘Creating Christ’

March 26, 2024 by Jeremy Greenberg in Opinion

The origins of Christianity are shrouded in time, hidden and obscured. However, through decades of painstaking research and careful study, researchers are able to uncover illuminating details. The 2018 book Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity, by James S. Valliant and Warren Fahy, argues that Christianity was not a natural, organic development from the […]

A Response to Bret Weinstein on the ‘Mistake’ of New Atheism

March 6, 2024 by Roling Kaloti in Opinion

Recently, the biologist Bret Weinstein appeared on the Rubin Report to discuss his views on western civilization and how bad things have gotten with far left identity politics. The whole conversation is about an hour long, but I want to focus on one specific clip: “The New Atheists Made a Massive Mistake We’re Still Paying […]

Atheism’s Four Horsemen—an Honest Look at Where They Are Now

February 20, 2024 by Peter Clarke in Opinion

The online publication Evolution News, which advocates for intelligent design and a religious worldview, recently published an article titled, “Atheism’s Four Horsemen—Where Are They Now?” I can’t say I recommend clicking on the article. If you do, it’s a safe bet you’ll regret it. Rather than attempting to answer the question posed by the headline, […]

Exploring Atheism as a Transhumanist

February 9, 2024 by Zoltan Istvan in Opinion

The following is the introduction to Zoltan Istvan’s nonfiction book of essays: The Theistcideist: A Transhumanist Explores Spirituality, Religion, and Atheism. For years I’ve called myself an atheist, but naturally I am not one. Anyone that thinks they know for sure whether God exists or doesn’t exist is taking an irrational stance in not […]

Is Atheism High Status?

January 30, 2024 by Peter Clarke in Opinion

The “high status” discourse online is a treasure-trove of amusing quips and vapid analyses. If you want to signal your status, avoid Zoom backgrounds. If you’re low status but want to feel high status, join X. As for getting the blue check on X, that could be either a high-status symbol or total cringe. Choose […]

A Secular Humanist Goes to an Art Museum

January 23, 2024 by Jeremy Greenberg in Opinion

On my way back home from a trip, I stopped by the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine. I wanted to take a break and relax while appreciating beautiful art. Fortunately, I was able to see paintings by Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent, a breathtaking painting by Thomas Moran entitled The Lotus Eaters […]

The Religious Right Fails the Satanic Temple Liberty Test

January 16, 2024 by Jan Golan in Opinion

The religious right spouts freedom and liberty at every turn. Yet in practice, their idea of “liberty” is often driven by tyrannical instincts. John Stuart Mill offers a test that can be applied to see through this type of masquerade: “Liberty lies in the rights of that person whose views you find most odious.” The […]

Andy Ngo’s Trial Against Antifa

December 20, 2023 by Roling Kaloti in Opinion

Andy Ngo, a journalist and an ally of Atheists for Liberty, experienced a brutal attack by Antifa on June 29, 2019. In response to simply recording their activities, they punched him, kicked him, threw eggs, and threw a milkshake at his face. This led to his hospitalization where he also suffered a brain hemorrhage. Ever […]

Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness: Two Sides of the Same 19th Century Coin

November 3, 2023 by Max Carlisle in Opinion

Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses often get lumped together simply because they are both “those people who come to your door talking about God”. And although they do both lean heavily on proselytization efforts, they are still two distinct religious movements. They share some similarities,and they also have significant differences in their beliefs, practices, and history. […]

Navigating the Landscape of Skepticism, Cognitive Dissonance, and Confirmation Bias

September 15, 2023 by Max Carlisle in News / Opinion

In an age characterized by an influx of information from various sources, the human mind often finds itself grappling with a trio of psychological phenomena that profoundly influence the way we perceive and process information. Skepticism, cognitive dissonance, and confirmation bias are all integral aspects of human psychology that shape our beliefs, decisions, and interactions […]