It's rare to find someone who can come up with a new take on the old canard about atheism being an ideology. Unfortunately, being "new" isn't also the same as "good," and that certainly describes Matthew Carlos' understanding of atheism. The most charitable thing that I can say about his argument is that, with a little remedial work in English, he might yet manage to develop something interesting.

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Matthew Carlos: Atheism is an Ideology originally appeared on About.com Agnosticism / Atheism on Monday, February 6th, 2012 at 12:00:17.

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Belief in paranormal, supernatural and mysterious claims have always been very popular, so how can skeptics best approach such claims to evaluate their credibility and offer a critical perspective? What tools and principles should we employ in dealing with obviously weird things that come up in life? What are the methods of thinking which people should be employing more often, but aren't? So long as separating truth from falsehood is important, these are vital questions for everyone.

Book of the Week: How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age

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It's become widely accepted that a major (if not primary) force behind the development of big, complex brains in humans was the development of controlled fires for cooking. Cooked food is food that's been digested a little for us -- breaking down proteins and fibers means more calories and more nutrients with less work.

But what if this view is wrong? Controlled fire may only date to around 400,000 years ago, much too late to produce our big brains.

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Did Cooking Really Help Produce Big-Brained Humans? originally appeared on About.com Agnosticism / Atheism on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 12:00:45.

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From: Ramli
Subject: Equality and inequality

There are two genders found on Earth. Either you were a male or a female. Universally in all application forms, you are asked to tick for sex as ( ) male or ( ) female; nothing in between. Having agreed on this fact, we'll proceed to ask ourselves whether these two genders are equal.

Well, it depends on what. Equal right to vote - yes. Equal opportunity in education - yes. Equal authority in managing family - no. Equal skills , yes/no. Equal brawn - no. Woman obedience to husband - yes. Husband to exercise reason in treating wife - yes.

Then it will be a happy family, the building block of a happy community and country.

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Anti-Prop 8 Protest in Pittsburgh
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Supporters of legalized gay marriage insist that there is no threat to marriage and, hence, that the arguments of opponents are ill-founded. Even if one concedes the truth of at least some threat on the margins of marriage, that isn't enough to justify opposing gay marriage because bans on gay marriage devalue same-sex couples and hold gay citizens in a second-class status. You can't protect a social institution through bigotry, injustice, and discrimination.

Read Article: Gay Marriage & Freedom: Protecting Marriage is No Reason for Discrimination

Most atheists today seem to spend a lot of time online. This makes sense because there are so many active and engaging atheist communities online. But did you ever stop to wonder if perhaps the "people" you were interacting with weren't really people in the first place? They probably are, but the time may be coming when such assumptions will be tougher to justify.

Recently there was a little contest called Socialbots 2011. Three "socialbots," each run by a different team. Each bot integrated itself into an online Twitter community in order to test whether they could appear sufficiently human and alter the structure of the targeted social network. In each of the three cases, the answers to both questions was "yes".

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Are You Being Fooled Online? originally appeared on About.com Agnosticism / Atheism on Saturday, February 4th, 2012 at 12:00:38.

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Atheists and agnostics seem to be less likely than the national average to want to make a difference in the world. But why? Are there good reasons for this difference in attitude? Should this reflect poorly on atheists and agnostics in America? Are atheists and agnostics are more selfish than others? Are they just more concerned with themselves and their own lives?

Share Your Ideas: Why are Atheists & Agnostics Less Interested in Making a Difference?

It seems that everyone uses Facebook these days, doesn't it? You can't get away from it, but some people have done a nice job using Facebook to promote their causes, ideas, or organizations. Atheists are no exception, so there are lots of atheists on Facebook and lots of Facebook fan pages. Which do you like the best? Nominate your favorite atheist Facebook fan page for the 2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards!

Submit Your Nomination: Favorite Agnostic / Atheist Facebook Page of 2011

What would you think of a person who said to you that you should just kill yourself and save the air for others? Such a person definitely doesn't think very well of you and certainly couldn't be counted on to even be decent and civil, never mind helpful. Well, that would probably describe Nicholas Pfab, a Roman Catholic who wishes atheists all kinds of ill.

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Nicholas Pfab: Atheists Should Kill Themselves, Save Air for Others originally appeared on About.com Agnosticism / Atheism on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 12:00:25.

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Atheists and agnostics are increasing in numbers in America, especially among the youth. The result is the percentage of atheists and agnostics increases in every successive generation in America. Surveys show that while there are as few as 6% atheists and agnostics among those over 60, they number nearly 20% with those aged 18-22. What does this mean for the future?

Read Article: Agnostic & Atheist Demographics America

My name is Ron Tavalin, and it is no accident that I am quoting from the Rolling Stones' classic Sympathy for the Devil, although it must be admitted that it is due to my sense of irony rather than any alleged wealth or taste I might possess!

I am an atheist, albeit a reluctant atheist. I say "reluctant" because I really wanted to believe in the existence of the Judeo-Christian god to the point that I earned my BA and MA in conservative evangelical schools and taught at one for 4 years. Even so, I had numerous debates with my pastor during that time about the existence of god, and over time felt increasingly pressured to make a break with my faith and come to terms with who I am and what I believe.

Read Article: Out of the Closet: From Professional Theologian to Freethinking Atheist

Brad Pitt has revealed in interviews both atheist and agnostic perspectives. There aren't many famous people willing to come out as an atheist or an agnostic, though it's probably easier for someone like Brad Pitt because he's unlikely to lose a job or lose family members because of it. And, if more people like him do come out, it could make it easier for others as well.

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Brad Pitt: Agnostic / Atheist originally appeared on About.com Agnosticism / Atheism on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 12:00:40.

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Buddhism is often categorized as a religion, but because it doesn't mandate belief in any gods some argue that it should be treated like a philosophy instead. Buddhism isn't the only 'religion' like this. Are they really philosophies, or is demand that there be a belief in some god the wrong way to define religion?

I find that defining religion exclusively as theistic is very provincial and ethnocentric. It may be standard for religions in the West to be theistic, but this is hardly a sound basis for making declarations about the nature of religion as a whole for all cultures at all times. We might as well say that religion requires belief in a single creator god or belief in a savior figure.

Religion is a very diverse phenomenon and while religions have a number of common elements, no one element -- not even theism -- serves as the sole determining factor for separating religious from secular belief systems.

Twitter is an awfully busy place with lots of real gems and lots of.... well, not gems. Twitter is so busy, in fact, that it's hard to figure out which people are worth following and which aren't. Which atheists do you think are the best ones to follow? Nominate you favorite atheist or agnostic to follow on Twitter for the 2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards!

Submit Your Nomination: Favorite Agnostic / Atheist to Follow on Twitter of 2011