Challenging Religious Faith & Privilege
David Silverman’s talk was organised by the Council of Atheism UK. David is President of American Atheists and the recipient of the 2017 Richard Dawkins Award. He talked about his book ‘Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World’.
The talk was held at ConwayHall to a packed (78 attendees, plus we had to turn 3 more away even though they had tickets because they were late) Brockway Room on Monday 24th July 2017. Watch the 80-minute presentation below.
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Email me (or comment below) if you find a current atheist quote.
President, Atheism UK
Story taken from “The Thinking Atheist” podcast:
An Oklahoma children’s home happily accepted a $100 donation (given by Matt Wilbourne, a Muskogee (Oklamhoma) resident), until it realized that the money was given in the name of the Muskogee Atheist Community.
Two ex-muslim atheists are about to be deported to Pakistan on Tuesday 5th August 2014. They have lived in UK for 5 years. I visited them this week in prison.
The Guardian links to a data mapping application which utilises the Census data to visually represent the most godless places in the UK. The bluer the map, the higher the godless population!
What are the numbers like where you live?
Please sign this Change.org petition –
Mubarak Bala is a highly educated chemical engineer. He was about to continue his studies in petroleum engineering in London, England, before he was abruptly committed to a secure psychiatric ward.
He has been beaten by his family, drugged and confined to the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, in the Shariah state of Kano in Nigeria. This has been done because he renounced Islam and has openly declared himself to be an atheist.
His father, a politically powerful figure has declared atheism to be a mental illness and is holding Mubarak in a secure ward behind tight security.
A human Rights lawyer has tried to gain access to Mubarak, but has been denied entry.
We need to get the Human Rights Organisations to take action and free Mubarak Bala from false imprisonment and forced medication.
The situation is beyond dire, as Mubarak’s family has already threatened to move him to a secret location which Mubarak feels could indicate the possibility of an honour killing. The doctor also indicated that his condition is worsening, due to the drug treatments and not being able to eat.
Chris Street, one of Atheism UK’s Council Members took part in a debate at The Cambridge Union Society on 25th April 2014.
Chris was the first speaker opposing the motion that ‘This House Believes That The Catholic Church Is A Force For Good’
View the debate on youtube in which Chris speaks from 16 minutes. Read the Press Release.
The motion failed to carry:- Ayes 82, Noes 85, Abstentions 65. Cambridge Union Society does NOT believe that the Catholic Church is a force for good!
From our friends and colleagues at the Atheist Alliance International:
New laws were recently annoucend by the government of Saudi Arabia that strengthens the criminalization of atheists in the country, including any communication with other known atheists or using the Internet to post or read about atheism. The laws further allow the government to prosecute atheists under the state’s anti-terrorism statutes, including the death penalty – simply for being an atheist!
This is even more outragous coming from a country that was recently elected to the UN Human Rights Commission!
Atheist Alliance International has recently obtained “consultative status” with the United Nations and will now be participating as an NGO in the UN Human Rights Council and other UN and human-rights agencies to address this outrage. We will be contacting heads of state and their UN ambassadors to encourage a denouncement of these actions by the Saudi government and to seek protection for those who are now subject to arrest as terrorists simply for their religious unbelief. We are also providing legal funds to defend those who have already been arrested as well as to challenge the new laws.
If I may be self indulgent for a moment…
Rich Honess of Atheism UK joins host Jake Farr-Wharton and AAI President Stuart Bechman in discussing the top religion stories from 2013 on the Secular World Podcast.