Atheism

The story began in early 2017, when Abigail Piland was born without any obvious problems. But when the midwife who helped deliver her checked back the next day, Abigail didn’t look healthy. The midwife told mother Rachel Piland to take the child to a hospital because the baby “could suffer brain damage or die if not properly cared for.”

Rachel refused, insisting “God makes no mistakes.”

Days later, Abigail was dead. (Rachel and her husband Joshua then prayed for Abigail’s resurrection. Surprise: That didn’t work, either.)

A medical examiner later attributed the death to “unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia and kernicterus,” both jaundice-related problems that were treatable. Abigail never had the chance to see a doctor when blood was coming out of her mouth, or when she wasn’t eating, or when her skin became further discolored. All because her parents put more trust in God than someone who could actually help.

I rejected the christ story around age 8. I told my mother that it seemed like a fairy tale. She got pretty upset.

I'm a history nerd, so maybe this won't apply to you. But learning about the early stages of christianity has been a lot of fun for nearly two years. Who'd have thought, right?

If you enjoy reading and learning and you dislike the hold that religion has on society, you might enjoy learning about the earliest stages of the church. There's so much material. The starter that I'll recommend is The Passover Plot. I've become way more radical after this, but I think this might be a good bridge for readers who are beginning their exploration. Hope you enjoy!

I mean samatha/vipassana or whatever.

I encounter things relevant to atheism sometimes when I meditate.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13501735/Syrian-refugee-murders-Westernised-daughter-18-honour-killing-dumps-canal-started-dating-local-Dutch-boy-wanted-stop-wearing-headscarf.html

A Syrian refugee who fled to the Netherlands has reportedly confessed to murdering his 18-year-old daughter and dumping her body in a canal before fleeing the country in an apparent admission note sent to a Dutch newspaper.

Father-of-nine Khaled al-Najjar, 52, wrote in an email sent to De Telegraaf that he had killed his 18-year-old daughter Ryan al-Najjar, urging the publication to report 'I am the one who killed'.

The confession did not specify exactly why he had decided to murder his daughter, with al-Najjar writing only that he was 'very angry with her', adding: 'The reason is between me and the judge. I will read that in court'.

But neighbours and friends suspect Ryan's death came as the result of an honour killing, with one claiming they had previously sheltered her when she had fled the family home in fear of retribution from her father.

Requesting anonymity to prevent any backlash, they told De Telegraaf that Ryan had a Dutch boyfriend, wanted to stop wearing a headscarf and had been beaten by her father who disagreed with her adoption of a Western lifestyle.

Source: Pew Research

I feel that atheism forums online, such as this one, can often revolve a lot around all the negative ways that religion manifests itself, in our society and in people. And that's to be expected, but today I wanted to add something a bit different.

As quite a hard atheist myself, I find John's religious point of view extremely refreshing. I wish all religious people had this kind of understanding about their own faith.

John is not convinced that his faith is correct - in fact, he seems to recognise that whether his faith is "real" or not is irrelevant. His faith is not about being correct, because that is not inherently something that faith deals with.

I find the end of the video especially moving. John can easily agree and work with his atheist brother, because ultimately they reach the same conclusions, albeit from (only slightly) different paths. I wish we spent more time thinking about all the ways that we (atheists and religious people) actually agree on how the world should move forward, and less time antagonising one another.

Perhaps you find John's point of view interesting too? :)

Over the past few decades, the number of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated—often referred to as “nones”—has grown rapidly. In the 1970s, only about 5% of Americans fell into this category. Today, that number exceeds 25%. Scholars have debated whether this change simply reflects a general decline in belief, or whether it signals something more complex. The research team wanted to explore the deeper forces at play: Why are people leaving institutional religion? What are they replacing it with? And how are their personal values shaping that process?

May 14, 2025 | This webinar will explore the intersection of religion, gender, and populism in contemporary political and social landscapes. Populist movements frequently invoke religious and gendered narratives to define national identity, mobilize support, and justify exclusionary policies. From Christian nationalism in the United States to right-wing populism in Europe and Latin America, these movements often use traditional gender norms to bolster their legitimacy.

A global comparative approach is essential to understanding how these dynamics operate across different political and cultural contexts. Populist actors often borrow tactics from one another, and religious-nationalist discourses are increasingly transnational, influencing policies on gender, sexuality, and religious freedom beyond national borders.

In this webinar, scholars will share notes from the field based on their research in diverse settings, offering grounded insights into how religious and gendered narratives function within populist movements. By bringing together perspectives from multiple regions, this discussion will illuminate both broader patterns and local specificities of religious populism, offering insights relevant for scholars, policymakers, and civil society actors worldwide.

The webinar will be moderated by Berkley Center Senior Fellow Jocelyne Cesari. The discussion will feature distinguished scholars Didem Unal Abaday, Ruth Braunstein, Tatiana Vargas Maia, and Elżbieta Korolczuk.

This “small group of Colorado Pastors and faith leaders from small churches across the state are doing all we can together to oppose these assaults on our people's God-given liberties.” By which they mean they were lying to people about what the bill said because nothing in their religion ever taught them that lying is bad.

This was originally titled: 1 Christian v 20 Atheists, but it seems they changed it after JP keeps muddying the waters.

Update: I get why most of you wouldn't want to watch the video. I went to a men's group therapy session and went after the organizer for recommending me a Jordan Peterson book. I get it. The video, however, isn't a Jordan Peterson channel (yes I know we're still bumping him in the algorithm) but I think it fit the community for sure.

I just don't get why you would comment: "I'm not watching that." Congrats dude. I know it's for you, not every video is. There is some value in seeing Peterson get dunked on and seeing the way he weasels out of things and getting called out. If you think it's not worth the cost of watching the video. I'm not going to disagree with that. That's cool too. We can all be cool about things.

Should have been a complete rejection, but I'll take it

cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/19573173

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Short conversation clip from a larger discussion about how Rhett lost his faith.

Watch the full episode now on Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com/p/rhett-mclaughlin-explains-why-heTo donate to my PayPal (thank you): http://www.paypal.m...

What does it mean that religion, not porn use, predicts porn-related problems?

I recently came across a brutal review from a devoted Christian on goodreads of a novel called Insane Entities, he called it blasphemous and asked for it to be removed. The novel takes religious concepts and twists them into something… unsettling. It got me thinking—why do people react so strongly when a book dares to reinterpret sacred ideas?

One scene in the book hit me particularly hard: a character with three eyes, one weeping while the other two smile as he knots a corpse like a bag. It’s gruesome, sure, but the hidden symbolism makes it even darker—it reflects the Christian Trinity, with Jesus suffering while the Father and Holy Spirit remain distant. It’s a powerful and eerie take on an old concept.

It seems like books that tackle religious themes in unconventional ways always get the harshest criticism. Do you think that’s because people fear reinterpretation, or is it just resistance to any challenge of belief?

Maybe it's too much to say people who experienced this stuff are delusional? I know a lot of them personally and they live a normal life, but they keep saying testimonies about holy experience, that God talks to them etc.