Secular Sunday #63 – It's Perfunctory
This week’s edition might be a little short on content because your editor was away from home yesterday, and today spent several hours lunching with other atheists. Nonetheless we have some news, upcoming events and of course a roundup of the most interesting of the week’s news from Barbara Monea.
– Derek Walsh, Editor
Atheist Ireland News
- As alluded to above, our second Secular Sunday Second Sunday Second Breakfasts took place today in Dublin, Galway and Sligo. We will be holding these on the second Sunday of every month (hence the name). Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive for these family-friendly occasions. If you fancy having lunch with a bunch of mostly friendly strangers then make sure to come along to the next one. If there’s none in your area, take a leap of faith (ahem!) and organise one. Let us know and we’ll make sure it gets publicised.
- Reminder: Tickets are available for our conference “Empowering Women Through Secularism” which takes place in Dublin on the weekend of 29 & 30 June. We’re working on a student price and we’ll have news of that as soon as possible but if you’re not a student tickets are currently €100 and you can buy them here.
If you have any questions about the conference you can email wsconference@atheist.ie
Calendar
- Monday 11 March, 8:30 pm, McSwiggans Bar and Restaurant, Woodquay, Galway (map)
Galway Skeptics in the Pub. More science and skepticism in the pub! Facebook event page - Wednesday 20 March, 8:00 pm, Absolute Hotel, Sir Harry’s Mall, Limerick (map)
The Mid West Humanists are meeting. As well as old and new attendees (new people always welcome) getting to talk about life as an atheist or humanist in a society with a religious-biased culture, they are continuing their plan to meet TDs in the region, on the Constitution, starting when the Blasphemy article arises in the Convention. - Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 June, O’Callaghan Alexander Hotel, Dubln 2 (map)
“Empowering Women Through Secularism” An international two-day conference featuring some of the biggest names in atheism, skepticism, secularism and feminism. Buy tickets now
News Digest
compiled by Barbara Monea
IRELAND
- Genetic parents win landmark surrogacy case
- Surrogacy case gives mothers new legal status
- European Court of Human Rights to hear Cork woman’s abuse case
- EU Commission: Zero tolerance for female genital mutilation
- Magdalene nuns hit back at critics and defend their role
- Magdalene survivors “shocked and upset” by nun interview defending laundries
- Gender discrimination is biggest barrier to work promotions for women
- Labour senators seek new inquiry into priest’s murder in 1985
- Mosque for 3,000 gets go-ahead in Dublin
- Women of Ireland, the hustings need you
- Protestant fee-paying schools eye Kilkenny College move to enter the public education system
- Health boss defends serving sausage rolls and pizza to patients
- Average welfare payments for religious ceremonies halved in 2012
WORLD
- Vatican accused of covering up cardinal scandal for five months
- Vatican report hidden from the cardinals electing the next pope
- Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa accused of homophobia after saying “gay people should take a backseat”
- UK pledges 40 million euros to end female genital mutilation
- Mob in Pakistan torches Christian homes
- The father of all men is 340,000 years old
- Scientists Have Perfected Mouse Re-Cloning to the 25th Generation
- The Europeans, no 10: Carolus Linnaeus
- The Human Body—In ‘Google Map’ Form
- Canadian Human Rights Museum Now in 3D on Google Earth
- Google is mapping Museum of Science and Technology in Milan
ANALYSIS
- No evidence to support abortion landslide claims
- Faith-based schools may ‘fuel racism’
- Hypocritical media is new guardian of society’s morals
- Garry O’Sullivan: Why the Irish church must learn from mistakes of Benedict’s reign
- Is it even possible to live a celibate life?
- Church’s two-faced attitude to gays cruel
- Fight for Irish women’s equality far from over
- Threat of suicide cannot be basis for abortion law
- Gwendoline Christie on the androgyny of her “Game of Thrones” character
Category Secular Sunday,
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1 Comment
When is Nugent going to produce evidence to back up his claim that both murder and teenage pregnancy rates are lower in secular states? It was promised, but no sign of it so far. And what is his definition of ‘secular state’? For example, the teenage pregnancy rate in Ireland is much lower than in the UK. No doubt Nugent will claim that this backs his argument as, technically, Ireland comes closer to being a secular state than the UK (no state religion in one, a state religion in the other).