Here’s your Canadian Atheist Weekly Update for to .
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[] So a Geologist Walks Into a Creationist Museum …
The article is pretty much what the title promises, but it’s a delightful read. What really fascinated me was the glimpses into creationist lore. For example, apparently people lived longer before the Flood because the waters of the firmament blocked cosmic rays. That’s both dopey and brilliant at the same time.
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[] Anti-gay message in Catholic parish bulletin sparks outrage
Credit where it’s due, there has been an overwhelmingly positive response by Canadian Catholics – both the laity and the leadership – to the anti-LBGTQ shit the Church has been doing recently. This community’s response to the idiot pastor’s “reminder” was excellent: the school drew a line between themselves and the hate, the Archbishop said “fuck that guy”… it was all brilliant. But! There remains a stark disconnect between what most Catholics think their faith’s position on LGBTQ issues is, and the reality of it. It’s even evident in this very article, where a Catholic school parent’s council chair is quoted gushing about how much Pope Francis just a-loves him the LGBTQ people… the very same week that the Vatican issued some wildly transphobic “guidelines” for Catholic schools.
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Virtually every Canadian secular, humanist, atheist, and freethought organization of note (not to mention civil liberties groups, feminist groups, and so on) has come out against Québec’s Bill 21. Some of them, like CFI, waited for the bill’s passage to make an official statement. But the sentiment’s been clear for a while.
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[] A chronicle of the anti-vaccination movement
This is sexy. At it’s core, it’s a timeline of the growth of the anti-vaxx movement in the US, tracked via articles in The New York Times. But it’s presented in such an interesting and dynamic way, it’s a pleasure to scroll through.
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[] Bill 21: Quebec passes secularism law after marathon session
While we all knew this was inevitable, the way it was eventually done was nonetheless surprising. The CAQ’s disdain for justice and due process was on full display here. The pretense of caring about people’s concerns was rather unceremoniously tossed aside, and the bill was rammed through. And with the added little cherry atop this turd in the form of a last minute amendment that actually creates a Québécois mutaween! What could go wrong, though, right? (Note: Read the other items this week to see what could go wrong.)
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[] Court challenge, protest greet day one of Quebec’s anti-religious symbols law
It took less than 24 hours. What’s not mentioned in this article, though – and this really highlights the incompetence of the Québec government – is that the case, which was supposed to be heard on Thursday, has been postponed to July 9th. Why? Dig this. The Québec government was not prepared to have the law challenged, derp. Yeah, seriously. They’re screaming mad because several organizations want to delay applying the law because, well, because they can’t make any fucking sense out of it (see some of the other items for details)… but they need to delay answering challenges to the bill, because… wait for it… they can’t make sense of their own friggin’ bill. Good job there, folks; your one responsibility as the goddamn legislature is to pass good, well-thought-out law. This is what happens when you ram shit through without proper review or debate.
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[] Left by the pope with a choice between glory to God and death to the carbon tax, what will Jason do?
Hoo, hoo, Dave Climenhaga’s been on fire recently, and this is another scorcher. I really hope he gets well soon. His voice is the best in all of Alberta journalism for calling out the religious (and general right wing) bullshittery in the province’s politics.
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[] Hypocrisy of Quebec secularism law hurts families and schools
Yikes. I’ve been calling Bill 21 hypocritical, because it obviously is. But not living in the backwaters of Québec, I don’t really appreciate just how hypocritical it is.
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[] This World Humanist Day, What Do We Wish People Knew About Humanism?
was World Humanist Day, and the folks at TheHumanist.com did something interesting. They asked their people what they wished more people knew about humanism. There are some pretty interesting answers there, but the most common sentiment seems to be that humanism isn’t merely about opposing religion.
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[] Toronto imam charged with sexually assaulting woman over several years, police say
We all knew Catholics don’t have a monopoly on religious rape, but oof, this guy is a real piece of shit. Not only did he rape the woman after winning her trust with his religious bonafides – and under the guise of a religious ritual, no less – and not only did he threaten to kill her if she spoke out, he was actually trying to flee the country when they arrested him. And the only reason they waited that long is because they suspect there are other victims, and were investigating.
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[] Trudeau says he will defend minority rights in face of Quebec religious-symbol law
Trudeau’s spoken up, but so have the major school boards in Québec, and McGill. Nobody seems pleased about this bill except the dipshit bigots who don’t seem to have any real sense of how law or rights actually work, and can’t come up with a coherent way to make this law work (because as everyone knows, and as is well-documented, this law isn’t about “secularism” or “feminism” or “equality” in any sense, it’s about Muslims).
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[] Confusion, questions as Quebec schools forced to apply ban on religious symbols
Here’s the thing that bigots don’t seem to get: when you make a law, you can’t just declare an edict from on high, then pat yourself on the back for a job well done. It actually has to be applied. And for that to happen, it has to be coherent, or at least well-specified. When it’s not… you get this: confusion.
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[] Samra Habib, founder of gay Muslim project, turns the camera on herself in new memoir
It’s damn near impossible to convince the bigots of this, but “Islam” is not a monolith made up a horde of murderous idiots acting like a hive mind of ignorance and hate. Just as with any religion of any size, there are countless takes on its core tenets, some more progressive than others. And yes, there are queer Muslims. A lot of them. And no, they don’t want you to fucking “save” them from Islam. They just want you to accept them for who they are, and not discriminate against them or attack them. Is that really so much to ask?
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It’s laughable!!! How Quebec now declares to be a secular province in Canada Ignorance is bliss! Statistics speaks for it self the majority of Quebecers and Canadians are religious and all bill23 does is commit a human right violation Lock them up !!!
Yourwebsite does not work like all existing websites claiming no religious views It’s laughable!!! How Quebec now declares to be a secular province in Canada Ignorance is bliss! Statistics speaks for it self the majority of Quebecers and Canadians are religious and all bill23 does is commit a human right violation Lock them up !!!
The website works fine. Your comments just got put in moderation, like all comments by first-time commenters. We get a lot spam and hate mail.
All canadian secular websites are old with old posts without any comments and mostly not maintained What we need is a dependable blog able to access from coast to coast to coast The secular community in Canada is larger then most think but it takes intelligence and determination to manage a blog or website FRUSTRATING!!!