Mystic Politics

Religious People Less Driven By Compassion Than Are Atheists And Agnostics

‘Atheists may not believe in God, but they may be better at loving thy neighbor than churchgoing folk.’

Should Atheists Slam Religion or Show Respect?

‘As the atheist movement expands, we need to consider whether non-belief will gain more traction if prominent atheists are more respectful of religion.’

Religion & Brain: Belief Decreases With Analytical Thinking

‘Researchers say the findings have potentially significant implications for understanding the cognitive underpinnings of religion.’

The persistence of superstition in an irreligious Britain

‘The decline in religious belief in the UK is matched by increasing faith in life after death – something incompatible with materialism’

Behind the Right’s Phony War on the Nonexistent Religion of Secularism

‘One of the most robust and effective conspiracy theories on the right, the notion that “secularism” – or, just as often, “Secular Humanism” – is a religion is meant to be taken entirely literally: right wingers genuinely believe it refers to an actually existing religious practice.’

Has Physics Made Philosophy and Religion Obsolete?

‘From Aristotle’s prime mover to the Catholic Church’s first cause, we’re always driven to the idea of something eternal. I think Steven Weinberg said it best when he said that science doesn’t make it impossible to believe in God, it just makes it possible to not believe in God.’

Without Knowing: Is Buddhism Agnostic?

‘Buddhism does not have a formal doctrine about the afterlife, or about karma. And there is no single consensus about whether the Buddha was a divine figure or just a really smart guy.’

Religious Belief Declining Very Slowly Around the World

‘For a century or two now, people have been predicting the eventual disappearance of religion. As education spreads and scientific knowledge increases, people were supposed to cast off their old superstitions and come into the light of reason. ‘

Science vs. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam on Finding God

‘God might exist, but the Abrahamic religions are an obstacle. Quantum physics will lead us to find the fundamental mechanisms of the universe.’

Modern Metaphysics: Does science make belief in God obsolete?

‘The predominance of scientists among those preaching the new gospel of atheism might lead to the assumption that science has somehow rendered religious belief unintelligible.’