Religion

Study Discovers Children Raised Without Religion Are Kinder

There’s an interesting study, conducted by the University of Chicago about non-religious upbringing and kindness. 

The research shows that children raised without religion were not only kinder but also showed more empathy towards others.

While most people may think that belief in religion and a deity produces a better upbringing, this study seems to indicate otherwise.

Led by Professor Jean Decety looked into the perceptions and behavior of various children located in six different countries. 

They looked into the children’s likeliness to share, as well as their habits regarding judging and punishing others.

“Overall, our findings … contradict the commonsense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind towards others,” said the authors of The Negative Association Between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism Across the World.

“More generally, they call into question whether religion is vital for moral development, supporting the idea that secularization of moral discourse will not reduce human kindness – in fact, it will do just the opposite.”

When asked to choose stickers, after being told there was not enough to go around, the researchers observed to see which children shared. 

Additionally, they showed the children films of kids pushing and bumping other children, to see their responses.

Their findings were quite interesting, and found that “religiosity affects children’s punitive tendencies”. Children from religious households “frequently appear to be more judgmental of others’ actions”, it said.

Altruism, as defined by the Oxford English dictionary is a ‘disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.’ However, the behaviors of altruism being defined as selfless have bothered scientists and scholars alike for years. 

In the ‘Selfish Gene,’ a book published in 1976, the idea that altruism may actually be somewhat selfish on a genetic level was presented.

While more research should be conducted in that area, the study did discover a clear link between altruism and a lack of religion.

“It would be interesting to see further research in this area, but we hope this goes some way to undoing the idea that religious ethics are innately superior to the secular outlook. 

We suspect that people of all faiths and none share similar ethical principles in their day to day lives, albeit may express them differently depending on their worldview.”

Mandatory Religious Education in Wales

It seems that students will be forced by the Welch Government to take part in religious education classes and parents will have no say in the matter.

Parents' right to withdraw their children from religion lessons will be removed under Wales' new curriculum.

But Sir Malcolm Evans (photo below) said this could lead to parents taking legal action.

The Welsh Government keeps insisting the indoctrination would not breach human rights.

Currently parents are able to request their children do not take part in religious education, under an opt-out arrangement.

But under the new curriculum, set to be rolled out in schools from September 2022, the lessons will be compulsory, regardless of parental objections.

Under the changes, Wales will become the first part of the UK to remove the opt-out for religious education.

Ministers have argued making the subjects mandatory ensures all children will be taught important information.

But Sir Malcolm, a member of the Commission on Religious Education and Professor of Law at Bristol University, said removing the opt-out option for religious classes could breach human rights. 
Actually, it does violate the students rights.
Yes, schools can choose the subjects they want to teach, but parents should have the right to decide if they want their children indoctrinated.
If the schools insist on teaching religion, we would hope that would include an honest portrayal of Paganism.
Whatever the school sets as a curriculum, the parents of these students should ultimately be able to decide what is best for their child. 

Under the European Convention on Human Rights parents have a right to have their children educated in accordance with their religious or philosophical convictions, which also includes non-religious belief.

Sir Malcolm goes on to say:

"In my view having an opt-out is very much a safety valve.”

“It is a useful and important safety valve to ensure those parents and children who genuinely find it impossible to reconcile their beliefs with the content of an education of that nature still have the right to be able to exempt themselves from those classes.

"For that is, in my view, what human rights law says they are entitled to."

Under the new curriculum Religious Education will be renamed Religion, Values and Ethics.

In response to the concerns, the Welsh Government said the new legislative rules would be compatible with the rights protected by the Human Rights Act 1998.

"The Welsh Government has been clear that its policy in this area will require careful and sensitive handling prior to its implementation in September 2022," a spokeswoman promised.

A bill before the Ohio Legislature allows students to give wrong answers because of their religious beliefs

Ohio lawmakers have been trying to figure out how public schools can teach things like evolution.

The Ohio House on Wednesday passed the "Student Religious Liberties Act." Under the law, students can't be penalized if their work is scientifically wrong as long as the reasoning is because of their religious beliefs.

Instead, students are graded on substance and relevance.

Here’s the bill wording:

Sec. 3320.03. No school district board of education, governing authority of a community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, governing body of a STEM school established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code, or board of trustees of a college-preparatory boarding school established under Chapter 3328. of the Revised Code shall prohibit a student from engaging in religious expression in the completion of homework, artwork, or other written or oral assignments. Assignment grades and scores shall be calculated using ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance, including any legitimate pedagogical concerns, and shall not penalize or reward a student based on the religious content of a student’s work.

The Power of Women

Healers throughout time have honored the Old Religion of nature.

These powerful women have practiced their craft understanding their connection with nature.

Through ignorance and fear these women have been persecuted and to this day, women in general are denied equality.

Women are not servants or owned by anyone or anything.

It’s an on going battle, but it’s worth fighting.

Here's what a good wife does according to 1955...

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
• 
  
• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.
• Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. and then run a dustcloth over the tables.
• Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
• Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little 
• treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
• Be happy to see him.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home later or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.
• Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his 
• judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
• A good wife always knows her place.

Elections and Religion

We were always told not to discuss politics or religion, but here we have both.  We can’t help but be interested how the religious believers and elections may or may not influence an election.

Professor Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University, has been using 2018 data from the General Social Survey to show the latest faith-related trends in the United States.

He has posted the change in the religious makeup of the two major political parties.

Burge shows who made up the parties every 10 years beginning in 1978. 

Here are the Democrats:

You will notice the evangelicals (blue, on the left) are shrinking, from 22% of the party in 1978 to 14% today. Mainline Protestants are cut in half. Catholics have lost some numbers as well.

The biggest increase over the past 50 years is that Americans with no organized religion have tripled in numbers, from 9% in 1978 to 28% today.

“Nones” are the largest single group in the Democratic Party.

How about the Republicans? 

You might think there would be a decline in “Nones” as time passed and there would be a wild increase of growth for evangelicals.

It’s surprising, the evangelical growth is only slight… 25% (in 1978) to 33% today. 

Evangelicals make up only a third of the GOP today.

The Mainline Protestants are becoming something of an endangered species, bordering on extinction.

As for the “Nones”, they became a bigger number over time, going from 5% of GOP voters to 14%.

We might want to mention, the “Nones” simply might mean they don’t belong to organized religion, or maybe they are Atheists or Agnostic.

Overall, Church membership has decreased over the years as illustrated below:

Tennessee Says All Liberties Come From God

The Tennessee House has passed a resolution, HJR 17, that would amend their state constitution with the line that liberties do not come from government, but from Almighty God.

The bill was sponsored by Republican State Rep. Micah Van Huss.

Even though the 1st sentence of the 1st amendment to the US Constitution reads: “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion ...”, the big question is, which God are they referring too?

In an effort to eliminate any confusion, here are some possible God choices...

Agdistis or Angdistis

Ah Puch

Ahura Mazda

Alberich

Allah

Amaterasu

An

Anansi

Anat

Andvari

Anshar

Anu

Aphrodite

Apollo

Apsu

Ares

Artemis

Asclepius

Athena

Athirat

Athtart

Atlas

Baal

Ba Xian

Bacchus

Balder

Bast

Bellona

Bergelmir

Bes

Bixia Yuanjin

Bragi

Brahma

Brigit

Camaxtli

Ceres

Ceridwen

Cernunnos

Chac

Chalchiuhtlicue

Charun

Chemosh

Cheng-huang

Cybele

Dagon

Damkina (Dumkina)

Davlin

Dawn

Demeter

Diana

Di Cang

Dionysus

Ea

El

Enki

Enlil

Eos

Epona

Ereskigal

Farbauti

Fenrir

Forseti

Fortuna

Freya

Freyr

Frigg

Gaia

Ganesha

Ganga

Garuda

Gauri

Geb

Geong Si

Guanyin

Hades

Hanuman

Hathor

Hecate (Hekate)

Helios

Heng-o (Chang-o)

Hephaestus

Hera

Hermes

Hestia

Hod

Hoderi

Hoori

Horus

Hotei

Huitzilopochtli

Hsi-Wang-Mu

Hygeia

Inanna

Inti

Iris

Ishtar

Isis

Ixtab

Izanaki

Izanami

Jesus

Juno

Jupiter

Juturna

Kagutsuchi

Kartikeya

Khepri

Ki

Kingu

Kinich Ahau

Kishar

Krishna

Kuan-yin

Kukulcan

Kvasir

Lakshmi

Leto
Liza

Loki

Lugh

Luna

Magna Mater

Maia

Marduk

Mars

Mazu

Medb

Mercury

Mimir

Minerva

Mithras

Morrigan

Mot

Mummu

Muses

Nammu

Nanna

Nanna (Norse)

Nanse

Neith

Nemesis

Nephthys

Neptune

Nergal

Ninazu

Ninhurzag

Nintu

Ninurta

Njord

Nugua

Nut

Odin

Ohkuninushi

Ohyamatsumi

Orgelmir

Osiris

Ostara

Pan

Parvati

Phaethon

Phoebe

Phoebus Apollo

Pilumnus

Poseidon

Quetzalcoatl

Rama

Re

Rhea

Sabazius

Sarasvati

Selene

Shiva

Seshat

Seti (Set)

Shamash

Shapsu

Shen Yi

Shiva

Shu

Si-Wang-Mu

Sin

Sirona

Sol

Surya

Susanoh

Tawaret

Tefnut

Tezcatlipoca

Thanatos

Thor

Thoth

Tiamat

Tlaloc

Tianhou

Tonatiuh

Toyo-Uke-Bime

Tyche

Tyr

Utu

Uzume

Vediovis

Venus

Vesta

Vishnu

Volturnus

Vulcan

Xipe

Xi Wang-mu

Xochipilli

Xochiquetzal

Yam

Yarikh

Yhwh

Ymir

Yu-huang

Yum Kimil

Zeus

Nature, The Oldest Religion

The Old Religion is the magic of the Earth itself.

It is the essence which binds all things together.

Freedom of Religion

Young People Are Abandoning Religion

A recent report conducted by theology professor Stephen Bullivant of St Mary’s University in London, finds that the youth of many European nations are abandoning religion.

For more information: READ HERE

BlessU-2-The Priest

 

Yes, there really is a robot 'priest' that beams lights from its hands and gives automated blessings to believers.

This comes from the town that gave fame to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.

The robot priest, called "BlessU-2" was developed by the Evangelical Church.

BlessU-2 is a metal box with a touch screen, two arms on the side, a head with eyes and a digital mouth at the top.

After the robot wishes users a "warm welcome", it asks them if they want to be blessed by a male or female voice.

It then asks the believer "what blessing do you want", which results in the robot making a mechanical sound as it raises its arms to the heavens and starts to smile.

Then the lights start flashing in the robot's arms and he/she says, "God bless and protect you" and recites a biblical verse.
You can watch the video below to learn more:

 priest, called "BlessU-2" and was developed by the Evangelical Church.

Abby, Mormons, Being a Woman

If you read many of our posts you know we only see equality between men and women, we are all people, reconnecting with nature, reconnecting with ourselves.

But throughout the ages women have been assigned the back seat and regarded as second class citizens.

Religion has played a major roll in all this, "women should keep silent," "women should obey their husbands." "Women should know their place..." You've heard it all before.

So, we were interested in an article posted by Abby, it deals with her realization and awakening that women are not subordinates to anyone or anything, it's entitled, "The Mormon Church Made Me Hate Myself."

Abby Van Buren is a student at Utah Valley University studying journalism and the world around her. Her blog, "Dear Abby," explores everything. 

We're not picking on Mormons, but Abby discusses her adventures as a Mormon in the article, so it is what it is.

Here's a sample of the post and a link to the full article:

"This is another thing that I noticed a lot during my time in this church. Other members of the church will tell you that if you question something, pray about it. They want you (or at least they say they want you) to always ask God if something is true. But here’s the catch. If you come back from that prayer or pondering session and feel that the doctrine isn’t correct, you’re wrong. I experienced this first hand.

I had an open mind and heart about everything this church had to offer me but every time I would ponder it, something felt wrong. Actually, a lot of things felt wrong (but we’ll get to those later). But when I would talk to my church leaders about my finding, they would shrug it off or tell me that I wasn’t asking properly or I have closed heart. They put the blame on me, not the sexist doctrine.

The mind games began.

I felt guilt. I felt like I was doing something wrong. God didn’t want to speak to me or maybe I just couldn’t understand him correctly because this church did not feel right to me. I was in this cycle of feeling shame so I would go to the LDS church to try to feel cleansed and the cycle continued. I would feel a distance from a doctrine the church taught, and I again felt guilt. Guilt. Always guilt.

I was told in church that as a woman I “have, by divine nature, the greater gift and responsibility for 

home and children and nurturing there and in other settings.” This is a quote from the Mormon Message called “Women in the Church.” I cannot act in all things to bring salvation to man, but don’t you worry. I can nurture children and make bread and keep my home in order (it’s like we’re stuck in the 1800’s for Christ’s sake). “As a disciple of Jesus Christ, every woman in the Church is given the responsibility to know and defend the divine roles of women, which include that of wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.” Another quote from the same article.

Wife, mother, daughter, sister…why can’t I just be a person?

Continue Reading...Here

What It Feels Like To Still Be Judged For Not Following Any Religion

Rachel Yen wrote an interesting personal story about not following a religion and the judgments that come with that.

"In the sixth grade, as I knelt down by my locker, my friend asked me what religion I practiced. My mind froze.

This was the worst possible question I could have been asked. At 14 years old, my values were far from formed, although I did have a hint about what I believed.

Instead of answering truthfully, I pretended to not know what religion really meant. I stammered, “Um, I’m Chinese.” I ran away before she could press further and see through my feigned cluelessness. Ignorance became my defense mechanism.

To begin with, I am in no way claiming that Christianity – or any religion, for that matter – is detrimental. Instead, I’m highlighting the continued prejudices against atheists and their assumed “culture.”

At an early age, I already felt like I had to hide being an atheist. In my 14 short years, without any influence from my parents, I at least had that much sense about what I believed.

I was embarrassed to be an atheist. Why did I feel like my atheism was the equivalent of having a dark and sinister secret?

Living in the Bible Belt, it seemed like being anything other than Christian was wrong. I realized that whenever someone found out I was an atheist, I was immediately assumed to be immoral.

The scorn on these people’s faces was as plain as day.

As I got older, I began to slowly reveal parts of my beliefs. But I was far from revealing the full truth. I claimed that I didn’t know, just “wasn’t spiritual” or wasn’t religious..." 

Read More

Religion & Politics

On the heels of Philippines President-elect Rodrigo Duterte's battle between the Church and politics, we are reminded of this:

The Free Thinking 8 Year Old

Rúbaí, is an independent, smart and spirited child, and she is definitely not the typical Irish girl. Her point of view is just different to everyone else’s.

Rúbaí is told by her teacher that the First Holy Communion, a bastion of Irish tradition and culture, is fast approaching but Rúbaí flatly refuses to be a part of the classroom preparation.

She’s an atheist and proud of it and whilst she is happy to stand by her convictions the wider society has a problem with such an independent girl and her convictions.

Rúbaí is played by the talented young actor Doireann Ní Fhoighil, 8, from Indreabhán, Co Galway.

Watch the Trailer