The Rise of Humanist Marriages

A humanist wedding is like any other wedding – it is a ceremony where the partners can express their commitment to a life-long partnership with each other. It takes place in the company of family and friends, the bride usually wears a wedding dress, there’s a wedding cake, vows are recited, and rings can be…

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Animal Ethics in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism

Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religions. There are many sub-traditions within Hinduism, but there are two beliefs about humans which seem to dominate the religion’s view of animals. The first belief recognises that humans exist on a continuum with the rest of life and that we are not completely separated from other animals. The…

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How the Bible Borrowed From Other Stories

The Bible (consisting of both the Old and New Testament) is central to Christianity and so are its many myths, stories and parables. But even though many of these myths help to define the religion, some of them are not original – they have been borrowed or copied from other myths from other religions. This…

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Atheist Bloggers Arrested in Bangladesh

Police in Bangladesh recently arrested a number of “atheist bloggers” and subsequently shut down their websites. One of the more popular bloggers, Asif Mohiuddin, had been viciously attacked in January, almost resulting in his death. Islamists have given the Bangladeshi government a list of 84 “atheist bloggers” who demand that they repent or face blasphemy…

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The Psychedelic Origin of Christianity

The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970) is a book by the British archaeologist John Marco Allegro. His early career focused on studying the earliest manuscripts of the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls. With this book, however, many say that it ruined his career, although others say it gave him the fame that he deserved.…

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