Naturalist Scandinavia Doing Quite Well, Thank you.

Phil Zuckerman spent 14 months in Scandinavia, talking to hundreds of Danes and Swedes about religion. It wasn’t easy.
Anyone who has paid attention knows that Denmark and Sweden are among the least religious nations in the world. Polls asking about belief in God, the importance of religion in people’s lives, belief in life after death [...]

Darwin, Britain’s Hero, Is Still Controversial In U.S. : NPR

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, and to say Darwin mania is gripping England does not overstate the case.
The Royal Mint has created a Darwin coin, the Royal Mail has made a Darwin stamp set, and there are countless lectures and exhibitions throughout the country.
Bob Bloomfield is in charge of Darwin200, [...]

Hindu radicals vow to attack Valentine’s Day couples - The Irish Times - Fri, Feb 06, 2009

Hindu radicals vow to attack Valentine’s Day couples - The Irish Times - Fri, Feb 06, 2009
HINDU EXTREMISTS who recently dragged young women out of a fashionable bar in southern India and thrashed them as part of a morality campaign have vowed to assault couples who celebrate Valentine’s Day.
“Valentine’s Day is definitely not Indian culture. [...]

U.N. assembly again votes against defaming religion

By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly condemned defamation of religion for the fourth year running on Thursday, ignoring critics who said the resolution threatens freedom of speech.
The non-binding resolution, championed by Islamic states and opposed by Western countries, passed by 86 votes to 53 with 42 abstentions. Opponents noted that support [...]

Buzzing Buddha

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) _ The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester is abuzz over what they believe is a miracle: a wasp nest in the shape of a seated Buddha built in the eaves of their temple.

The nest was spotted last week. Elder members of the community say they have never seen an apparition of the [...]

Catholic Priest Who Ordained Woman Faces Ex-Communication

VATICAN CITY  —  A Roman Catholic priest faces excommunication for attending a ceremony to ordain a woman in the United States, a Vatican official said Friday.
The Rev. Roy Bourgeois joined a June ceremony in Lexington, Kentucky, to ordain Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a member of a group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests.
His excommunication would likely be automatic, requiring [...]

Google Earth revives ancient Rome

Google has added a new twist to its popular 3D map tool, Google Earth, offering millions of users the chance to visit a virtual ancient Rome.
Google has reconstructed the sprawling city - inhabited by more than one million people as long ago as AD320.
Users can zoom around the map to visit the Forum of Julius [...]

Atheism is a belief system too — should it be protected?

Rob Breakenridge, For The Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, November 04, 2008
There’s a very simple way to look at the controversy raging over the convocation speech at the University of Alberta: the university is free to decide whether to maintain the “glory of God” reference in the speech — no one’s rights are being violated.
However, here’s an equally [...]

Cybercrime wave sweeping Britain

Online identity firm Garlik’s cybercrime report claims that more than 3.5 million online crimes were committed in the UK last year.
The majority of crimes related to fraud and abusive or threatening e-mails. There was an 8% drop in online identity theft and sexual offences fell 2%.
Tom Ilube, of Garlick, said he expected to see a [...]

Lord’s Prayer questioned in Australian Parliament

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - The speaker of Australia’s Parliament has called for a public debate about whether the country’s lawmakers should end the practice of starting each session with the Lord’s Prayer.
Lawmakers have started every day of Parliament with the Christian prayer for more than a century - a tradition inherited from Britain during colonial [...]

Britain Adopts Islamic Law, Gives Sharia Courts Full Power to Rule on Civil Cases

Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.
The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with [...]

Anglicans back Darwin over ‘noisy’ creationists

The Church of England expressed deep concerns last night about the spread of creationist views as it prepared to unveil a website promoting the evolutionary views of Charles Darwin.
Anglican leaders fear that “noisy” advocates of a literal interpretation of the Bible - especially in the United States, where even the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, [...]