Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the “intellectual elite” considered themselves atheists than the national average.

A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed.

But the conclusions - in a paper for the academic journal Intelligence - have been branded “simplistic” by critics.
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Professor Lynn, who has provoked controversy in the past with research linking intelligence to race and sex, said university academics were less likely to believe in God than almost anyone else.

A survey of Royal Society fellows found that only 3.3 per cent believed in God - at a time when 68.5 per cent of the general UK population described themselves as believers.

A separate poll in the 90s found only seven per cent of members of the American National Academy of Sciences believed in God.

Also Large Online Library; Lifelong Curriculums

For Immediate Release - Contact Fred Edwords at (202) 238-9088 fedwords (at) americanhumanist (dot) org - www.americanhumanist.org

(Washington, D.C., May 14, 2008) The Kochhar Humanist Education Center (KHEC) was launched today by the American Humanist Association at a Washington DC press conference. The new center is already developing curriculum for the humanist equivalent of Sunday schools, which include programs in ethics geared to serve the children of atheists, agnostics and freethinkers. It is also developing similar curriculums to serve high school and college students, parents and older adults. And to support this endeavor, the KHEC launched an online resource center, together with the first books of what will become a massive online freethought library. (Go to www.americanhumanist.org/khec/ to see it now.)

Submitted By : (Frederick H. Spoerl) fredspoerl (at) yahoo (dot) com

There has been a lot of misinformation about what role religion played in the history of our great country, from many who claim that our constitution was inspired by Christianity… Here are a few facts that you might not have known.

The United States was the first nation in history to introduce the separation of church and state. The Christian principles that the Puritan had of burning witches and King George III’s mandate that subjects worship in a manner approved by the Church of England, made our Founding Fathers aware of the problems of having any religion involved in our new country.

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — Like hundreds of young men joining the Army in recent years, Jeremy Hall professes a desire to serve his country while it fights terrorism.

But the short and soft-spoken specialist is at the center of a legal controversy. He has filed a lawsuit alleging he’s been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn’t believe in God. The suit names Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

“I’m not in it for cash,” Hall said. “I want no one else to go what I went through.”

Known as “the atheist guy,” Hall has been called immoral, a devil worshipper and — just as severe to some soldiers — gay, none of which, he says, is true. Hall even drove fellow soldiers to church in Iraq and paused while they prayed before meals.

By Guest Blogger, Lance Llewellyn

If atheism is to succeed in America, it must first combat the assault on reason, logic, empirical evidence and other scientific pursuits. Recently, P. Z. Myers of the University of Minnesota, Morris, and Richard Dawkins of Oxford — tried to go to the movies at the Mall of America in Minneapolis Thursday evening. Dr. Dawkins got in. Dr. Myers did not.

The movie the two scientists wanted to see was “Expelled,” whose online trailer asserts that people in academia who see evidence of supernatural intelligence in biological processes — an idea called “intelligent design” — have unfairly lost their jobs, been denied tenure or suffered other penalties as part of a scientific conspiracy to keep God out of the nation’s laboratories and classrooms.

Tags: atheist, expelled

Is this really free?

Yes, becoming ordained with the First Church of Atheism is entirely free of charge.

Why is this free?

We believe that everyone should have the right to preach what they believe, to start a congregation, and to perform ceremonies. This is usually reserved for members of traditional religious sects. We have started a church of our own, based on our beliefs, and will provide our service of ordainment free to anyone who shares our beliefs.

Will I be a minister in the eyes of the law?

Yes, you will be a legally ordained minister. You will be able to perform every task that a clergy member can perform.

How do I prove I am an ordained minister?

Visit the store to purchase an Ordainment Certificate, which comes with a free identification card.