By Sigmund This is the first in a series of posts on the decline of the Catholic Church in Europe. The term faitheist was invented several years ago to denote in individual who, despite having no belief in the supernatural, instead views a general belief in religion as a positive … Continue reading
Changing the Definition of Marriage Again
By Sigmund Despite their historical differences on issues of scripture and power, the Catholic Church and major protestant denominations, both mainstream and evangelical, are currently united on one issue – their opposition to gay marriage. Indeed, in a prime example of interfaith cooperation, the Christian blocks have been joined by … Continue reading
Religious Threats and the Rising Cost of Free Speech
By Sigmund Swedish artist, Lars Vilks, has a lot on his mind. A trial involving charges of conspiracy to murder him recently ended in Gothenborg. Three men armed with knives had been arrested at a gallery exhibition where Vilks was due to attend, the police suspecting a plan to … Continue reading
Secular nations have no business outlawing online poker
By: Michael Bell The rise of religious conservatism across North America has resulted in an increasingly harsh stance on gambling – especially online poker. In April of this year, the United States government cracked down on some of the largest online poker companies in the world, using flimsy legal justification … Continue reading
Catholic Schools-A student’s perspective
By: Cameron Miles Many atheists are opposed to Canada’s separate school system, which allows tax money to be spent on Roman Catholic schools. These schools require students to take a religion course from junior kindergarten, all the way to graduation in grade twelve. This system has been criticized by the … Continue reading
Attending a Catholic School Board meeting
By: Kevin Smith Andrea Houston is like a dog with a bone. She’s relentless in her pursuit of rights for gay, straight, bi and transgendered on the pages of XTRA! In person, more so. At your peril, no one messes with Ms. Houston. January 2011. The sleepy, taxpayer funded Halton … Continue reading
Majority to Minority: Shut the Hell Up!
By Andrew Komar Tom Sears has a new op-ed up in the Daily Star proclaiming that the numbers of the atheist movement ‘doom us to irrelevancy’. I’m not going to spend my time here debunking the numerous attacks, misconceptions and smears against non-theists, but the mere fact that Sears felt … Continue reading
The Christmas Carol Dilemma
By Andrew Komar I was raised Catholic, carrying on the intense Catholic tradition of my father. He is an accomplished organist, and he uses his talent primarily as the organist at our parish’s 8 o’clock mass. With our heavy musical background, it was inevitable that my brothers and I would … Continue reading
Skepticism 101 with Michael Shermer
By Andrew Komar Michael Shermer, the founder and editor of Skeptic magazine and demi-god of the skeptic community, was in Montreal a few weeks back for a pseudoscientific symposium hosted at McGill. You can watch the whole lecture series for free online, also including David Gorski from Respectful Insolence, Ben … Continue reading
Gnu Atheist Questions
By Andrew Komar The factually challenged wingnuts over at the Discovery Institute have asked the scary new atheist movement some questions. I’ll do my best to answer them, but if the courtier’s reply applies, I’m going to use it. I’m an engineer, damnit, not a doctor of philosophy. 1) Why is … Continue reading