John Richards, Publications Director of Atheist Alliance International (AAI) and editor of AAI’s magazine Secular World, interviews David Rand, president of Atheist Freethinkers, about Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21: Interview: David Rand, Canada, John Richards, AAI Youtube channel, 2020-05-02. See…
Atheist Freethinkers
Philosophical Materialism, Critical Thought, Secularism
Category: In the News
News articles
In the News: AAI Fundraiser: Free Mubarak Bala
#Free Mubarak Bala, Fundraiser by Atheist Alliance International (AAI), Facebook. Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria has been arrested on a charge of blasphemy. He was arrested in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. Sources say he will be taken…
Tagged with: AAI
In the News: Sudan Criminalizes FGM
Sudan criminalises female genital mutilation, as campaigners welcome a ‘new era’ for women’s rights in the country, Ryan Fahey, Daily Mail, 2020-05-01. Sudan has criminalised female genital mutilation (FGM), making it punishable by three years in jail, a move campaigners…
In the News: Sikhs Must Respect Workplace Helmet Rules
Supreme Court won’t hear Sikh truck drivers’ challenge to workplace helmets, The Canadian Press, 2020-04-30. The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear a case from Sikh truck drivers seeking exemption from wearing protective helmets upon exiting their vehicles at…
In the News: Archives Show Pope Pius Knew about the Holocaust
Wartime Vatican archive shows how much Pius knew about the Holocaust, says researcher, Tom Heneghan, Religion News Service, 2020-04-27. PARIS (RNS) — The long-awaited opening of Pope Pius XII’s wartime records only lasted a week before the coronavirus shut the…
In the News: Je suis Mila: Even in France, insulting Islam is taboo
Je suis Mila: A French teenager has been mobbed on Twitter, forced out of school and investigated by police for insulting Islam., Fraser Myers, Spiked, 2020-02-07. A 16-year-old has become the most hated girl in France after she criticised Islam…
In the News: Kazimierz Lyszczynski Foundation Calls for Nominations for Atheist of the Year
Atheist of the Year 2020 Contest: Call for nominations, Nina Sankari, Fundacja im. Kazimierza Łyszczyńskiego, 2020-02-01. Kazimierz Lyszczynski Foundation is pleased to announce that the Atheist of the Year Award is already held for the seventh time in Warsaw. The…
In the News: US Congressional Hearings on Blasphemy, Heresy and Apostasy Laws
Humanist Witness Provides Testimony at Congressional Hearing on Blasphemy’s Impacts, American Humanist Association, 2020-01-28. (Washington, DC, January 28, 2020) — On Tuesday, American Humanist Association Policy Manager Rachel Deitch read congressional testimony on behalf of the AHA from Rafida Bonya…
In the News: Council of Europe Rejects Religious Accommodation
Council of Europe rejects recommendation on reasonable accommodation, European Humanist Federation (EHF), 2020-01-29. Brussels, 29 January 2020 – The European Humanist Federation (EHF) welcomes the rejection of the recommendation on “The protection of freedom of religion or belief in the…
In the News: Complete Revision of ERC Planned
Quebec to abolish ethics and religious culture course, to make way for ’21st-century themes’ , Laura Marchand, CBC News, 2020-01-10. The Coalition Avenir Québec government plans to abolish the ethics and religious culture (ECR) course currently offered in Quebec schools.…
In the News: MLQ Intervenes in Court For Bill 21
Pro-Bill 21 group wins round in court challenge, Presse Canadienne, Montreal Gazette, 2020-01-09. A pro-secularism group has obtained leave from Quebec Superior Court to intervene in one of the legal challenges to Bill 21, Quebec’s secularism legislation. The Mouvement laïque…
In the News: Ireland’s Blasphemy Law Finally Gone
Ireland no longer has a blasphemy law, Atheist Ireland, 2020-01-02. We start the new decade with the good news that Ireland no longer has the medieval crime of blasphemy in our laws. Over the Christmas period, President Michael D Higgins…
In the News: Clergy Excluded from Order of Precedence in Quebec
Le clergé écarté de l’ordre de préséance pour les cérémonies publiques au Québec (Clergy Excluded from Order of Precedence for Official Ceremonies in Quebec), Marie-Michèle Sioui, Le Devoir, 2019-11-22. Catholic Church authorities will no longer have precedence over Members of…
In the News: Freedom of Thought Report 2019 from Humanists International
Blasphemy laws exist in 69 countries, report finds, National Secular Society (NSS), 2019-11-13. Sixty-nine countries have blasphemy laws and penalties have hardened in parts of the world in recent years, according to a report on the status and rights of…
In the News: Alberta Conscience Rights Bill Threatens Access to Abortion and Other Health Services
Dissent grows over Alberta conscience rights bill as MLAs vote for more consultation, Nadine Yousif, The Star Edmonton, 2019-11-18. A controversial bill that deals with conscience rights for healthcare workers who refuse to provide care on moral or religious grounds…
In the News: Benefits of Banning the Veil in French Schools
Effects of banning the Islamic veil in public schools, French policy improved Muslim girls’ educational outcomes, IZA Newsroom, 2019-11-14. High school graduation rates improve for Muslim girls In particular, comparing women with and without a Muslim background shows a marked…
In the News: MLQ Honours Legal Expert Julie Latour
Le prix Condorcet-Dessaulles 2019 à Me Julie Latour (2019 Condorcet-Dessaulles Prize Awarded to Ms. Julie Latour), Mouvement laïque québécois, L’aut’journal, 2019-11-12. The Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ, Quebec Secular Movement) awarded its 2019 Condorcet-Dessaulles Prize to the legal expert Ms. Julie…
In the News: An Outrageous Religious Privilege in Ohio Schools
Ohio House passes bill allowing student answers to be scientifically wrong due to religion, WKRC Staff, ABC 6, 2019-11-13 Ohio lawmakers are weighing in on how public schools can teach things like evolution. The Ohio House on Wednesday passed the “Student…
In the News: CEMB announces fundraising for an Ex-Muslim Refuge
Help us establish first ex-Muslim refuge in world, Maryam Namazie, CEMB, 2019-10-28. Click to view full size We at Council of Ex Muslims of Britain (CEMB) are raising funds for the first emergency shelter for ex-Muslims in order to provide…
In the News: Femen denounces the visit to France of the Torturer of Raif Badawi
Femen, Facebook page of Femen, 2019-09-16. Cliquer pour agrandir The Foundation of Islam of France and the Muslim World League together organize an “International conference for Peace and Solidarity” tomorrow on the 17 of September 2019. The conference will be…
In the News: Elected Women Against the Burquini
Burkini : l’Association des femmes élues de l’Isère “lance un cri d’alarme” (Burkini: The Association of Elected Women of Isère Sounds the Alarm), ledauphine.com, 2019-07-06. An association of elected women from the French region of Isère, which includes the city of…
In the News: Tunisia Bans Face Coverings in Public Buildings
Tunisia bans niqab in government buildings, France 24, 2019-07-06 Tunisia’s premier on Friday banned the niqab face covering in government offices, citing security concerns after attacks in the North African country. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed signed a government circular “banning…
In the News: Quebec is Secular!
An Historic Date and a Great Victory! 16th June 2019 The National Assembly Adopts Bill 21 An Act respecting the laicity of the State Quebec Becomes a Secular State! RPL Press Release, 2019-06-17: Secularism, Finally!
In the News: Open Letter to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
Public Letter To the Prime Minister of New Zealand, 2019-03-31. Given the importance of this petition, we reproduce it below in its entirety. To the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mrs, We wish to send our deepest sympathies to you…
In the News: AQNAL Writes to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
To the attention of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, AQNAL, 2019-03-27. Given the importance of this letter, we reproduce it below in its entirety. To the attention of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Madam Prime Minister, It is…
