Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Secular Spectrum

Home
Nonreligious

critical thinking

Select a Category Ableism Activism Addiction and Recovery Agnosticism Anti-intellectualism Arts Atheism Beauty Catholicism Charles Darwin Children China Christianity Church/State separation churchgoing communication compassionate humanism Creationism critical thinking Culture death disaster response doubt education Egypt Entertainment Environment ethics evolution Existence of God Exploration fear Foundation Beyond Belief Free speech God Health History Human rights humanism identity India Interfaith Islam labels Language LGBT Love Meaning Media Medicine Middle East misconceptions mixed belief marriage Moral argument Morality Myths Near-Death Experience Nonreligious parenting Parody Persecution complex Philosophy Poetry Politics prayer Psychology Rationality Religion religious atheists Religious privilege Republican Party Satire Schools science secular parenting Spirituality The Unpigeonholeables Uncategorized United Kingdom Wonder

Select a Month March 2021 August 2020 March 2020 January 2020 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 June 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

July 2016

July 28, 2016

A Reason-Oriented Perspective on Meanings and Values

Caption: Happy people (image credit) _________________________________________________________ How can you collaborate with others to...

July 26, 2016

Two by Two, Kentuckians Led Astray By Ark Encounter

A message from Satan near the entrance to Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter brought me back...

July 25, 2016

Police Racial Profiling – How Neuroscience Can Help

____________ The deliberate murders of white police officers in Baton Rouge and Dallas...

July 17, 2016

A Pastor Walks Into a Room Full of Atheists

This is a guest post by my friend and United Methodist Minister Rev. Caleb Pitkin....

June 2016

June 09, 2016

Why We’re Not Rational in Evaluating Others (And What The Science Suggests We Can Do About It)

(image credit) So imagine you are driving on autopilot, as we all do...

May 2016

May 30, 2016

What Do Politics Have to Do with Meaning and Purpose in Life?

You pass through the long security line at the United States Capitol building inWashington,...

May 10, 2016

Living In Sin? Why Secular People Should Support Polyamory.

Mary, an electrician, and Bob, an administrative assistant, are happily married, and have been...

April 2016

April 25, 2016

Trump Feels Your Anger and Anxiety: How Neuroscience Helps Explain Trump’s Triumphs

Caption: Donald Trump pointing (image credit) Despite desperate opposition from the Republican establishment, Trump...

April 18, 2016

Is God Needed For Finding Meaning and Purpose? Science Says No!

Caption: Image of man thinking about religion, courtesy of Cerina Gillilan. Imagine the following...

April 14, 2016

What is the Meaning of Life for You?

“What is the meaning of life?” I struggled with this question throughout my teenage...

April 07, 2016

Making America Safer From Muslim Terrorists

(image credit) How do we make America safer from suffering the same kind of...

April 07, 2016

Glimpsing Truth through the Blinders of Religion

Charles Darwin knew how explosive his theories would be—that’s why he sat on them for...

March 2016

March 27, 2016

Science Provides The Keys To Success In A Secular Life

As secular people, we know that there is no afterlife, and we need to...

March 27, 2016

My Last, Desperate Act of Satire

My students were angry to learn that their college was named for someone who probably...

March 21, 2016

When Saints Go Missing, Do They Make a Sound?

The details of the 4th century life of St. Catherine of Alexandria are painstakingly woven into...

March 17, 2016

Saving Lives Using Reason and Compassion

(image credit) “If others have half the experience I had today, they will be completely...

March 06, 2016

Secular Civic Engagement and Your Life Purpose

I remember how in November 2013 my wife (and fellow Intentional Insights co-founder) and...

February 2016

February 29, 2016

Don’t Let God Be Your Driver

You know those people who have the "God Is My Driver" bumper sticker on their...

February 25, 2016

Dropping the Mic on God: 9th Century Edition

Jainism is an atheistic religion that's mostly about pacifism and nonviolence--but that doesn't keep Jains from unleashing the...

February 08, 2016

Do You Need God for Life Purpose?

Religion is only one among many ways of developing a personal sense of life meaning...

January 2016

January 28, 2016

A Teacher in the South

The moment I stopped waffling between agnosticism and atheism, I was sitting at the wake...

January 22, 2016

Evolution for Breakfast

My kids learned about evolution from pink deer, scowling crabs, and chewable vitamins.

January 22, 2016

Idaho’s Faith Exemptions are Killing Children

At least 12 children have died in 3 years from preventable causes in one Idaho...

January 19, 2016

Sustained Conversations Change Us

Slogans like "religion is evil," and "atheists are going to hell" still frame the discussion....

December 2015

December 17, 2015

Because the Bible Tells Me So

As a Jewish-agnostic Unitarian, I was a gefilte fish out of water when we...

December 10, 2015

Riding the Hippocampus Hobby-Horse with Santa and the Coca-Cola Polar Bears

It was some time before I realized that my coma-dream was a form of...

December 02, 2015

Myth-Taken by Santa

“Santa is a fake!” I said to my mother, scandalized. I thought about it for...

December 01, 2015

Riding the Backwards Bike: A Christian at Skepticon

Once Sandlin rewired his brain for the backwards bike, he couldn't ride a regular one....

November 2015

November 30, 2015

No, Virginia…and the World is Still Wonderful

There is a crucial turning point in the Santa game, and Virginia had reached it....

November 27, 2015

Santa Claus – The Ultimate Dry Run

Thinking their own way out of the Santa myth can prepare kids to think their...