Atheist Ireland is hosting a series of occasional lectures by prominent atheists. Here is the first one, with Professor AC Grayling, speaking last month in Dublin.
Category Archives: Atheism
Setting Prometheus Free: a lecture by AC Grayling for Atheist Ireland
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Atheist Ireland attends OSCE human rights conference in Warsaw
Atheist Ireland chairperson Michael Nugent and Education Policy Officer Jane Donnelly are in Poland today for the OSCE Human Rights Conference on Human Rights. This is the first time an Irish atheist advocacy group has taken part in an OSCE event. We will highlight the need for a secular Irish Constitution, education system and laws where the state is neutral about religion and protects the equal right of each citizen to freedom of and from religion.
The OSCE is the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It includes 56 States from Europe, North America and Asia. Next year Ireland will chair the OSCE for the first time. This week’s conference in Warsaw is about how the OSCE States address human rights issues, and Atheist Ireland will take part in the session this morning on freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.
Earlier this year, the World Atheist Convention in Dublin launched a new umbrella advocacy group called Atheist Alliance International, which we hope will be liaising with the OSCE on a regular basis in future years. Delegates at that Convention also debated and adopted the Dublin Declaration on Secularism and the Place of Religion in Public Life. Today we urge all OSCE States and NGOs to discuss, adopt and promote the principles in the Dublin Declaration on Secularism.
In particular, we urge the Irish State to hold referenda to remove the religious clauses of our Constitution, to establish a secular State education system that respects the human rights of all citizens, to replace religious oaths for officeholders and in courts with neutral declarations, and to repeal the Irish blasphemy law and the clauses that exempt religious organisations from complying with Irish equality laws.
Religious States promote religion. Atheist States promote atheism. We want a secular State, which promotes neither. We want a secular State for a pluralist people, where citizens behave ethically and the State does not take sides on religious issues.
Also posted in Meetings, Religion, Secularism Leave a comment
This house rejects atheism – a response
The following video is on our YouTube channel. It’s Professor Brian Bocking at a UCC debate last year, proposing the motion ‘that this house rejects atheism’.
For context, Professor Bocking founded UCC’s Study of Religions Department, which studies theories of religion and atheism in a methodologically agnostic way. For clarification, he has said on our YouTube channel that the arguments that he made in this debate apply as much to theism as they do to atheism, and that his argument was against the elevation of any ‘-ism’ over the service ethic in matters of government.
Paul Hannah of Brisbane has written the following response to the specific arguments made by Professor Bocking in the debate.
As atheism is not a religion we have no supreme leader to speak for us, nor could that be possible. Atheists can be conservative, liberal, racist, homophobic, democratic, communist, socialist, sports mad and sports indifferent. We are so diverse that no one *could* represent us. However, as an atheist I feel qualified, at least in some respect, to correct a few misapprehensions you appear to have in relation to people like me. So when I say ‘we’ below, I speak only from my experience and not as any sort of spokesperson.
Also posted in Video 7 Comments
Transcripts of WAC talks from ILCAFT & AAU
Michael Mpagi Kirumira from AAU was unable to make it to the Conference at the last minute, but he sent us his speech which was read out to the audience by Stuart Bechman. We also have the script of Roger Lepeix of ILCAFT who addressed the Conference as well.
Hello Fellow Atheists,
Greetings from the Atheist Association of Uganda. It’s a pleasure to know that we, in Uganda can have a chance to write to this congregation of bright minds. It’s very hard to imagine how life is with other people who see life just as we see it. This was going to be my speech – had I made it to this event! A friend of mine, once told me that there’s only two curses, one is to be born in Africa and to be poor (I do not believe in strong holds and curses but to give you a greater understanding, I have used the words.) Since year 2000, I have received many invitations to speak in conferences, but all my visas are denied, simply because I am poorer – most EU states, Australia, USA and Canada, all think that I will remain in their country. Am not sure why they judge me like that.
Am writing from Uganda, a country whose president (President Museveni), his wife, and the first daughters, are pastors and run a church alongside the State issues. Their church is called The Covenant Nations Church. This church is under Museveni’s daughter Patience Rwaboogo Museveni who is a pastor and her church service airs on LTV here in Kampala. Museveni’s supporters have now created a cult that you may call “Musevenism”. Museveni himself is like a god. We have heard President Museveni himself telling Ugandans to trust and respect God by not challenging him on many issues failing our country. His wife Janet Museveni is the patron of all Pentecostal churches of Uganda and when she was running for Member of Parliament for Ruhama county, she told the masses that she is being sent by God to run for a political office and that she has God’s phone number. Despite of all those allegations, their regime is the most corrupt and oppressive Government. In simple terms, it’s a group of criminals running the Nation’s affairs and, worst of it all, they are supported by Ireland, USA, Australia, and many more. Since year 1994, President Museveni has donated public funds worthy millions of shillings to religious groups and is publically proud of it.
Also posted in Conference, Education Leave a comment
Blog Round-up after the Conference
Here’s a round-up of some of the thoughts on the conference from various people around the web.
UPDATE:
A Gloriously Godless Weekend (Part 1 )from Adventures of a Middle-Aged Boy is up: “The weekend began – as all weekends should – on Thursday.”
Part 2 is here and Part 3 is here
Over on Why Evolution is True, Jerry Coyne asks: Are there too many atheist meetings?
Maryam Namazie has written The Islamic Inquisition. She gave a truly rousing and memorable speech on the politicisation of Islam and its consequences for ordinary Muslims.
Over on RichardDawkins.net you can read Bulletins from the Dublin Atheist Conference.
Also, don’t miss this entertaining moment from the Conference where Richard Dawkins was challenged by a Muslim Creationist.
P.Z. Myers has written various pieces about it over on Pharyngula.
Furious Purpose has written an analysis of a number of the panels as has Consider The Teacosy with an especially interesting piece called “Conference musings: Atheists, non-atheists, and the Four Horsemen. ”
Atheist Alliance International President Tanya Smith has written about it too and makes particular mention of non-Western members of A.A.I. and some of the unique troubles faced by them.
It has also been reported on in the Irish Times by Patsy McGarry “Dawkins urges constitutional reform to remove church role” and Róisín Ingle in “Our 256,000 (and counting) atheists, agnostics, humanists and non-religious“.
You can also see numerous photographs and video clips up on our Facebook page and keep an eye on our Youtube channel for more videos still to come.
Also posted in Conference, News 4 Comments
World Atheist Conference is now sold out!
In spite of the impending Rapture, tickets to the World Atheist Conference are now sold out.
We’re looking forward to meeting you all in Dublin on the 3rd of June.
Also posted in Meetings 9 Comments
Aron-Ra and D.P.R. Jones join our line-up
Atheist Ireland is delighted to announce that influential internet activists Aron-Ra and D.P.R. Jones have joined our exciting line-up.
D.P.R. Jones is well known for his videos on religion, science and philosophy and is host of The Magic Sandwich Show.
Aron-Ra is a passionate advocate of rationalism in science education, and is a regular co-host of the Magic Sandwich Show on BlogTV.
Update:
Mpagi Michael Kirumira of the Atheist Association of Uganda will be joining us as well. His organisation challenges religious superstition and prejudice, promotes the scientific method and upholds the constitutional separation of church and state in Ugandan society.
They join our excellent line-up of international speakers:
- Richard Dawkins (evolutionary biologist)
- Lone Frank (neurobiologist, science writer, Denmark)
- Michael Nugent (chairperson Atheist Ireland)
- Paula Kirby (secular consultant, activist UK)
- PZ Myers (author science blog Pharyngula, USA)
- Jane Donnelly (Education officer Atheist Ireland)
- Dan Barker (Freedom from Religion Foundation, USA)
- Rebecca Watson (Skepchick blogger, podcaster)
- David Nash (professor, expert on blasphemy, UK)
- Ivana Bacik (Irish Senator in 30th Oireachtas)
- Mpagi Michael Kirumira (Atheist Association of Uganda)
- Aroup Chaterjee (author, UK)
- Annie Laurie Gaylor USA (Freedom from Religion Foundation)
- Mark Embleton UK (President Atheism UK)
- Thomas Prosser (Trinity College, Dublin)
- Nick Lee (Freethinkers Association of Central Texas)
- Tanya Smith (Atheist Alliance International; Atheist Foundation of Australia)
- Bobbie Kirkhart (Author and Activist, USA)
- Tom Melchiorre (Editor, Secular World, USA)
- Phillipe Besson (ILCAF, France)
- Richard Green (Atheism UK)
- Rene Hartmann (Int. League of Non-religious & Atheists, Germany)
- Maryam Namazie (British Council of Ex-Muslims)
- Roger Lepeix (ILCAF, France)
There are only a few tickets left. If you would like one, you can click through on this link. 
The God Delusion or Solution? Michael Nugent debates Hamza Tzortzis
As part of Islamic Awareness Month in Ireland, Michael Nugent debated Hamza Tzortzis on the topic God Delusion or Solution in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Here’s an extract followed by the full debate:
Extract: Atheism, Islam, Morality and the Quran
Part 1: Opening Address by Hamza Tzortzis
Part 2: Opening Address by Michael Nugent
Part 3: Moderator’s Questions & Answers
Part 4: Audience Questions and Answers
Also posted in Islam, Video 3 Comments
Bringing the Scientific Method to Magic Crackers
I have long heard claims being made, specifically in the Catholic faith, that during certain ceremonies, when certain propitiations are made, that normal Cracker Bread is changed “literally” into the body of a long dead Jewish Human Male who displayed later Zombie tendencies to refuse to stay in the grave.
There are those of course that claim that the transformation is symbolic not literal, which I have not concerned myself with here as they are essentially saying nothing. I limit my inquiry only to those who claim a literal transformation.
I decide some time ago therefore to investigate over a 2 year period these claims. Since the results of this have been sitting on a shelf for some time I thought it useful to disseminate a short summary of my tests and summary of my results to the internet. The hope is that further testing can be suggested that I might have missed and which I can now take up the mantel again and continue to engage in.
Experimental setup:
As a setup I obtained “normal” and “consecrated” hosts in sufficient numbers and continued to do so over the 2 year period to make sure that I was working with both “fresh” and “dormant” samples. Both are surprisingly easy to obtain as those that have them seem keen to be rid of them.
As the transformation was meant to be into something resembling human flesh I, where possible, also used volunteer skin samples in my tests.
Blind experimentation:
To remove and risk of bias in the experiments I performed ALL experiments in the following fashion. I used 4 cracker samples in all cases.
Sample A: Chosen randomly by me from the “normal” pile.
Sample B: Chosen randomly by me from the “consecrated” pile.
Sample C: Chosen randomly by a third party from either pile without informing me which it was from.
Sample D: Chosen randomly by a third party from the other pile without informing me which it was from.
Sample E: Collection of random skin samples from human volunteers, myself included.
The order of the samples was then hidden and mixed from me by another separate party so that until the results were in I would not know if the results connected to samples A, B, C or D.
Sample summary of Experiments performed:
The samples were then subjected to many tests of which this is a random but not exhaustive sample list:
1 ) Burning tests, testing energy released in burning, burning time, change in mass of sample between before and after burning, color of flame (light wavelengths measured).
2 ) Chemical testing: Disolving in various chemicals and measuring energy releases, mass changes, chemical composition of diluted samples.
3 ) Degradation testing: Observing the differences in samples left to their own devices to measure differences in chemical breakdown due to food “going off” etc.
4 ) Luck testing: Engaged in various tests of luck in the presence of, or following the consumption of Samples from each group. Dice Games. Lottery Ticket use. Guessing Games and much more.
5 ) Emotional testing: Gauged personal subjective impression of mood changes in a group of volunteer subjects in the presence of, or following the consumption of, Samples from each group over 24 hour periods.
6 ) Priest testing: Proffered Samples to a selection of priests who were unable to identify which crackers were “normal” and which were “consecrated”.
7 ) Float testing: Tested the floating properties of each Sample.
8 ) Mass testing: Tested for differences in mass, density and other physical properties between samples, including aerodynamic abilities and resistance to physical stress such as piercing with nails (rusty and normal), tearing, toasting, hammering, bending, stamping and more. It has been suggested to me independently a number of times… seriously by those of a theistical bent, and jokingly by those who are not… that I rename this section the “Torture Testing”.
Summary of Results:
There was in ALL tests absolutely NO difference between the samples at any stage except for minute expected differences in mass between all samples (even internally among each sample group) which are within expected tolerances for normal human food manufacturing variances.
There was in ALL tests NO significant overlap of comparative results between any crackers and any human skin samples.
Conclusion:
There is no basis at this time apparent to support any claims that there is any form of “literal” transformation in the “consecrated” samples.
Further Study:
I still posses a number of samples of each time and am more than happy to engage in further testing should anyone manage to submit a test idea that I have not yet engaged in.
Also posted in Blasphemy, Catholicism, Religion, Science 23 Comments
Interview about Atheist Ireland for skyzthelimi7 and Atheism TV
Last week Randall Calvin interviewed Atheist Ireland chairperson Michael Nugent for skyzthelimi7 and Atheism TV.