As the Pope arrives in the UK, a provocative new study claims that religious practice changes people's attentional mindset (how much they're focused on detail vs. the big picture), not just while they're still a believer but even for years after becoming an atheist. What's more, it's shown that different religions can tune the mind in contrasting ways, potentially hindering communication and unde
7 Vote(s)
September 16, 2010
December 8, 2009
What you want, god wants
Religious people tend to think that they know what their god wants, but how do they come by that knowledge? For me, as an atheist, it's a fascinating question. The gods can't be communicating their preferences directly (because there's no such thing), so where do these beliefs come from?One obvious source is the various holy books. However, even if you restrict yourself to adherents of a single r
7 Vote(s)
7 Vote(s)
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November 4, 2009
Live long and be atheist
The splendid World Happiness Database has released a new analysis of their 2009 data. Basically what they've done is to multiply happiness scores in each nation with the life expectancy. The idea is that what most people want is a life that's both long and happy.Costa Rica came out top, followed by the usual gaggle of Northern European Countries (and Canada).Now, there's an 'ecological' problem i
7 Vote(s)
7 Vote(s)
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September 22, 2009
Why do atheists have fewer kids?
Here's something interesting from the papers last week. First we've got the philosopher Julian Baggini, an atheist, arguing in The Guardian for the virtues of a childless life. Then, in response, Ed West writes in The Telegraph arguing that atheism is facing a kind of demographic implosion, as the religious inexorably overwhelm them in in the fertility arms race.Now, this isn't a new argument, b
11 Vote(s)
11 Vote(s)
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September 3, 2009
Why are atheists so disliked?
Bruce Hood has a post up about the atheist bus ad controversy in the US state of Iowa (OK, it was a couple of weeks ago, but I've been away...). What caught my eye was a comment by Konrad:The thing that got me was the governor of the state saying that he found the ad disturbing. Clearly, people seem to treat religious adherence as symbolic of group identity so that they find the idea of atheists
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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July 18, 2009
How Atheist Democrats Fell Behind Christian Republicans in Cheating Sweepstakes
When former President Bill Clinton (followed by ex-Senator and VP candidate John Edwards) were found out cheating on their wives, Demoncratic men secretly swelled with pride - "We're really showing those Republicans which partiy is victorious in the cheating sweepstakes!"But, lately, Democrats have had good cause to reflect on their dwindling success in this area. And it seems to be be
9 Vote(s)
9 Vote(s)
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June 4, 2009
Atheist nations are more peaceful
The 2009 Global Peace Index has just been released. It's basically a ranking of how turbulent and warlike a country is.They put it together by assessing 23 criteria, including foreign wars, internal conflicts, respect for human rights, the number of murders, the number of people in jail, the arms trade, and degrees of democracy (Guardian).You can see a world map of peace at the Vision of Humanity
8 Vote(s)
8 Vote(s)
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April 25, 2009
Atheists are unhappy? Really?
Most studies looking at the demography of religion take a broad look - religion as a continuum from the highly devout to the stridently atheist. They tend to find that the religious people are, the happier they are.But it's pretty hard to gauge what that actually means for atheists. Atheists are different from religious people with doubts. Also, many atheists in religious countries find themselve
6 Vote(s)
6 Vote(s)
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