The philosopher Joel Marks has an interesting article, “An Amoral Manifesto,” in the latest Philosophy Now. He argues for a kind of amoralism (which seems correct to me). He also affirms the theistic argument that without a God, there cannot be the kind of (hard) morality as we usually understand it. That also seems to … “An Amoral Manifesto”

Patheos is running a series on the future of religion, and this week they feature contributions about the Future of Humanism and nonbelief. I’ve got a short essay, as well as Ed Buckner, Chris Highland, Hemant Mehta, Ronald Lindsay, David Silverman, and Roy Speckhardt. In keeping with the demographics of nonbelief, all of the contributors … “Future of Humanism” on patheos.com

From the New York Daily News, about the protests concerning the (non)Ground Zero (non)Mosque: Later a scuffle broke out at the site of the pro-mosque protest a when a mosque opponent held up a sign that read, “I can draw Mohammed if you can build a mosque.” That seems very reasonable to me. But since … “I can draw Mohammed if you can build a mosque”

The Center for Inquiry, one of the leading US organizations supporting skepticism about the paranormal and the supernatural, plus secularism and humanism, is in serious financial trouble due to a large donor not being able to contribute as much as usual. Please consider donating a small amount to help. CFI is the organization behind magazines … CFI needs help

Many nonbelievers are convinced that Islam subjugates, even oppresses women. Now, there’s a certain carelessness in such blanket descriptions. The Islam of the Taliban and that of the Bosniaks are quite different. Still, we can identify a historical mainstream within Islam, and observe that this mainstream upholds patriarchal social ideals. I guess for many of … Oppression? False Consciousness?

This video is getting attention on some secular blogs now. I must say, it’s surprising to see that Catholic anti-democracy views still survive, in the US especially. But here it is: a four-minute defense of rule by a Catholic monarch as a political ideal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A-cWrs5mwE It has a kind of semi-insane coherence characteristic of some … Catholic monarchism

Here’s a photo that’s a part of a story run by The Daily Mail, “The Talibanisation of British childhood by hardline parents”: The caption: Joyless: A Muslim family stay covered up as the[y] bathe on a British beach. The “joyless” assumption is understandable. After all, they’re all wrapped up in clothes that restrict movement; such … Joylessness or family values?

Here’s a quotation from a piece by Gary Gutting, a philosopher of religion, as a prelude to a defense of faith: . . . when philosophers disagree it is only about specific aspects of the most subtle and sophisticated versions of arguments for and against God’s existence (for example, my colleague Alvin Plantinga’s modal-logic formulation … Conservatism in philosophy