Category: Op-Ed

Civility is valuable, yet not so much so that the state—or a university—can properly require it.

Western liberals underestimate the extent to which, in the Arab world, Islamic extremism is a mainstream phenomenon.

Vanquishing evil cannot be the goal of any state or empire for the simple reason that evil, violence, and injustice are the foundation blocks of every state, not to mention empires.

A libertarian opposed to most government programs wrestles with his enjoyment of the programs he likes.

As a moral thinker, Seneca leaves Jesus in the dust. Why do we never hear someone ask, “What would Seneca do?”

Predictions of the imminent decline of atheism keep on coming . . . and they keep failing to come true.

In an authoritarian Facebook post, one Catholic bishop reveals more than he might have meant to.

On further consideration, there are still specific situations where it is ethical to conceal your atheism.

There are risks, but the prospect of reducing parasitic diseases through gene-drive genetic engineering seems too good to pass up.

Critias believed not in religion but only in its utility. His closet atheism made him more reprehensible than many tyrants who were honest theists.

Uncharacteristically, Israel silences a domestic critic. But Hamas is the real enemy.

Despite early Christians’ efforts to destroy it, the ancients—especially the Greeks—had much of value that contemporary society could stand more of.

Our approach toward a more secular society cannot be solely achieved through the courts.

Like spirit, words such as transcendence and reverence can’t help making us sound like we still believe in woo.

A life with absolute certainty is no life at all.

Things may not be what they used to be at my old Boston high school, but they surely are across a resegregating nation.

Advocates for fetal “personhood” gain ground in part because scientists and clinicians quail from calling out their errors of fact.

“I prefer to identify myself with atheism and humanism as parts of a larger national and global movement, rather than identifying principally with people who happen to come from the same religious background I did.”

The separation of church and state in the U.S. constitution is more honored in the breach than in the observance.

People who believe the United States can somehow be saved by a rebirth of religious piety miss the most profound lesson American history has to offer.

“Enraged by the presence at a cultural festival of Aziz Nesin, translator of parts of the novel into Turkish, the mob set fire to a hotel, killing thirty-five people.”

“A major battle the no-choice side has won is that of convincing a great many people, including many of those who support abortion rights, that abortion itself is tragic.”

“While we hardly know anything about Jesus before he was thirty, we have hundreds of hours of video-recorded testimony about Superman growing up in his hometown of Smallville, Kansas…”

“. . . Despite all its successes, liberalism suffers from debilitating flaws that incline it to self-destruction.”

“We have gone so far beyond George Orwell—yet this isn’t fiction.”

“The gist of public choice theory is that so-called public servants . . . promote goals of their own even as they claim to be serving the public interest.”

“Legal challenges to the motto and Pledge produced court decisions calling the affirmations mere ‘ceremonial deism’ that have ‘lost through rote repletion any significant religious content.’”

If family feelings—including religious beliefs—can mandate prolonged medical care for the dead, society suffers.

If every one of us who can do it comes out about our atheism to one person who doesn’t already know, it could change the world.

Liberalism and democracy are very different things. Failure to grasp that underlies America’s failed attempts to “export” “liberal democracy.”

If only more believers could recognize that their taboos apply to them, not to everyone.

Too little attention has been paid to a practice that results in actual, destructive interruptions in schooling.

Two main ethical concerns are advanced against the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

The number one thing I want to say today is this: social justice issues are atheist stuff.

Even if we all fully embraced the ideal of secular government, and even if this nudged us all in the direction of liberty and social pluralism, there would remain much scope for political disagreements.

I’ve decided that there is no such thing as sophisticated theology.

Have you ever noticed how fundamentally boring God is? I think that’s a slightly neglected subhead under atheism and secular humanism.

So often, ideologues display an intensity of conviction, and an unscrupulousness in acting upon it, against which good, fair, perhaps liberal-minded people seem helpless.

While people could be rational most of the time, they often don’t choose to be. This is especially true when it comes to religious faith.

Did Putin say anything outrageous? Not in the least. What he said was almost platitudinous.