In my last article on Penguinism, I pointed out that Sq’wak, The Divine Penguin, is not a god. So is Penguinism a religion if it doesn’t have a god belief?« Continue »
Is Penguinism a Religion?
Is The Divine Penguin, Sq’wak a God?
While Sq’wak is labeled, “The Divine Penguin” she is not actually a god, at least not as they are generally viewed. Here is why.« Continue »
Penguinism: More Detail
Last year, I wrote a little bit about Penguinism, and provided the first passage of the Penguinomicon. Here I will provide more detail on the religion.« Continue »
Religion and Infant Mortality in the United States: A Flawed Study
In a recent article, posted on Atheist Republic, there was a suggestion that fundamentalist religion was positively associated with PNIMRs. However, the analysis seems to be an interpretation, of an interpretation, of maybe even one more level of interpretation before getting to the actual study. Furthemore, the study itself faces significant methodological errors. « Continue »
Breaking the Spell: Unreasonable Views on the Nature of Religion
Recently, I came across an article discussing Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. I have not focused on Daniel Dennett’s work, but I wanted to respond to the discussion in the article, and will be adding more to this discussion as I read through the book. One of the largest issues is that Dennett’s position seems to be that Dennett, or at least the author of the blog article, seems to view religious behavior as being indistinct from non-religious belief: “from the meme’s-eye-view, there’s no difference between a Muslim who prays five times a day because he truly believes in Allah and the truth of the Koran, and a Muslim who prays five times a day because that’s what Muslims do.” The second issue is the view that religion perpetuates itself because there is a belief that religion is good. « Continue »
Those Who Claim Religion is a Delusion are Delusional
Prominent individuals in psychology have stated or implied that religion is a delusion. These people are often delusional themselves. I have explained why religion is not a delusion or mental illness in “The Pervasive Nature of Religiophobia” and “Religion is an Illness and Evolution is Wrong (Not).“« Continue »
A Rebuttal to “Is Religion Useful…” by Genetically Modified Skeptic
Religion is useful, but Genetically Modified Skeptic misses the real point and fails to understand a lot about the scientific study of religion.« Continue »
What Would an Eternal (After)life Feel Like?
Certain people who argue against the existence of an eternal afterlife like to argue that it would feel like “hell” or that we cannot even imagine it. I disagree. There are ways that we can guess what it would be like, and to find a clue to this question, all one needs is a little bit of calculus.« Continue »
Religion is an Illness and Evolution is Wrong (Not)
Religion is not an illness. This short discussion provides one of many arguments as to why this is the case.« Continue »
Rebuttal to Faith and Belief: Remnants of Our Ancestry Used to Enslave Our Minds
Faith and Belief: Remnants of Our Ancestry Used to Enslave Our Minds, by Glen Vickers, attempts to look at the evolutionary psychology of religion, but fails miserably. It had the potential to be a solid work, however it could have benefited from better fact checking, a more skilled copy editor, and the reliance on citation. It also suffers from clear biases against religion, expressed by the author, rather than scientific objectivity. « Continue »