World population growth is in the 1-2% per year range. GDP growth is typically 2-3%; US economists consider about 3% the ideal. Most of what is decent about modern life depends on growth. From biology, we might expect a nasty, Darwinian competition for resources. In Richard Dawkins’s words, During the minute that it takes me … Growth

Anyone interested in current scientific approaches to explaining religion as a human phenomenon should take a look at The Evolution of Religion: Studies, Theories, and Critiques, edited by Joseph Bulbulia et al. It has a lot of good stuff.

I recently read The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam’s Threat to the Enlightenment, by conservative commentator Lee Harris. It’s pretty worthless, except as evidence that anyone seems to feel free to write a book on Islam, without the benefit of research or experience. Some of Harris’s points are sane enough. Liberal Enlightenment-based politics is different. … The Suicide of Reason

A short while ago I asked, Why is skepticism primarily a male thing?, and speculated on how traditional gender roles inclined women toward religiosity. There’s an interesting post on the feminist blog Pandagon, called “Feminism helps collapse religion,” that addresses some of the same questions. The comments on it are also interesting. Still, there’s no … Women, feminism, and religion

On the Touchstone web site, there’s an article by Logan Paul Gage, “Staying Power”, that is an interesting current example of the argument that religion is socially beneficial. Presumably this means that religion deserves public support of some kind. Some of the article is basic conservative spin. But it’s not entirely so easy to dismiss. … Religion as a social good

A Turkish-language atheist web site has been rendered inaccessible to Turkish readers, due to a court order obtained by a leading Muslim creationist movement. I’ve received a plea for help, in the form of protests against Turkish institutions. The full text of the plea has also been posted on a blog page. Here are some … Atheist web site blocked in Turkey

Catholicism is interesting in the way it can be such a big tent. Protestants go their separate ways when they disagree, which I guess gives them some clarity at the expense of unity. But especially the way Catholics respond to science in so many different ways is fascinating. There are plenty of Catholic conservatives who … Catholicism and science

Religious studies professor Ira Chernus has an interesting article, “Is Religion a Threat to Democracy?,” in which he says: In itself, faith in politics poses no great danger to democracy as long as the debates are really about policies — and religious values are translated into political values, articulated in ways that can be rationally … Moral certitude in politics

I recently noticed, on the new books stand in a Borders bookstore, a small book called The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality. By French philosopher André Comte-Sponville, it looked like a user-friendly popular book designed to cash in on the improbable success of some recent atheist books. Indeed, I picked it up to browse, expecting … The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality

I’m in Chicago at the moment, and in the Chicago Tribune, I noticed a story about a 14-year old Illinois atheist fighting a “Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act.” It seems to treat nonbelief as a curiosity rather than as a menace, though there’s the “lawsuit-happy infidel being a nuisance for the community” media stereotype … “Teen atheist” newspaper story