Author: Adam Lee

Happy winter solstice, everyone! As you doubtless already know, today is the shortest and darkest day of the year (assuming you live in the northern hemisphere). Ancient people, who were keen observers of the skies even without high technology, knew this date and its significance very well. It’s no surprise that so many holidays which…

This piece was originally published on AlterNet. When America was founded, it was the first modern nation to throw off the rule of absolute monarchy and prove that democracy was feasible. But at the same time, when America was founded, it was hardly a democracy at all. The vote was denied to women, to millions…

Most atheist writers in America have encountered the phenomenon of “fatwa envy“, where Christian apologists sneer that we wouldn’t dare criticize Islam in the same way we criticize Christianity. (This is false, for the record.) Evidently, they’re jealous of Islamic extremists’ willingness to commit violence in an attempt to silence their critics. Sometimes, it almost…

In top news this week, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And in other news: • A paper in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that the HPV vaccine doesn’t change girls’ later sexual behavior. • A new survey by the Pew Center finds that the percentage of Americans who consider religion…

My latest article has been posted on AlterNet, How We All Pay For the Huge Tax Privileges Granted to Religion — It’s Time to Tax the Church. In it, I discuss the enormous wealth owned by churches, financed in part through generous tax exemptions not available to any other organization; the shameless greed of “prosperity…

Christopher Hitchens has died. I never personally met the man, but I want to say a few words in tribute. Of all the popular figures commonly styled as the New Atheists, he was the hardest to pin down. He could be caustic, crude, witty, and brilliant by turns. He was a dauntless defender of free…

I wanted to highlight this excellent post on JT’s blog about the rewards of activism: Joe was sick in the hospital, and asked a friend of his to go down to Philadelphia to collect the award for him. Friend went to see him in hospital, said “Joe, what do you want me to tell these…

Last month, the TLC television channel premiered All-American Muslim, a reality show which follows several, from what I can see, fairly normal American families who happen to be Muslims. On any other planet this shouldn’t have been in any way controversial – but the Florida Family Association, a Christian-right hate group, has been pressuring advertisers…

[Note: Please welcome Hemley Gonzalez to Daylight Atheism. Hemley is the founder of Responsible Charity, a secular non-profit organization serving the poor of Calcutta, which was a past beneficiary of the Foundation Beyond Belief. In this interview, he discusses his time as a volunteer with Mother Teresa’s supposed charitable organization, how he became disillusioned, and…

I was at the pharmacy the other day when I happened to notice this little accessory, which boasts on the package that it “may help to promote BALANCE, STRENGTH & ENDURANCE” (and which carries a disclaimer about not being evaluated by the FDA – always a good sign): I have to admit, I get weirdly…