According to an ancient Chinese proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Very often, we focus not on those initial small steps but on giant leaps, often undertaken by government. Think, for example, of Franklin D. Roosevelt signing Social Security into law in 1935, a giant step that changed the lives of the elderly. Or Lyndon B. Johnson’s signature on the Medicare law 30 years later that did the same.

We talked to five black atheists about what it's like to be black in America and reject the the idea of a higher power.

Is god dead? If he isn't to you, then no.

Atheists have a reputation for putting their faith in science, not divination. Now, it’s a fact. A new Pew Research Center survey shows that the godless are more likely to get vaccinated for COVID-19 compared to religious groups — as 90% of atheist respondents said that they will “definitely” or “probably” seek the shot, or have already received their first vaccine dose.

Christians long held a monopoly on virtue—until Pierre Bayle made the case for moral atheists, using comets and aliens.

In recent decades, a number of studies have found that being religious can be good for your health. People who regularly attend services are less likely to smoke, may be less likely to use drugs or be obese and may live longer than those who don’t attend services. Those findings have led some to conclude that, if religion is good for you, being an atheist will be bad for your health.

When it comes to religion, parents—atheist parents, in particular—may find themselves stumbling to explain to their kids why other families believe in certain things, but we don’t. There are an endless number of “Big Talks” we have with our kids over the course of their childhood, but talks about religion are often steeped in the experiences of our own childhood, which may or may not hang off us like baggage now.

One doesn’t have to believe in God to believe in goodness, according to an analysis published in PLOS ONE on Wednesday analyzing various values driving the morals of atheists and religious believers. This finding challenges many people’s belief in belief itself.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is dead. Whatever your thoughts on his impact, Limbaugh’s death should come as a surprise to right-wing preacher Lance Wallnau, who said back in October that his prayers had cured Limbaugh’s terminal lung disease.

It’s not often you read something like this. Apropos of nothing, the Guardian ran brief profiles of a handful of non-religious people talking about how they find meaning in their lives without God.

With the percentage of U.S. adults who do not identify with a religious group growing, we asked these people to explain, in their own words, why they left.

Thinking of sending your "thoughts and prayers" to those affected by tragedy or a natural disaster? Well, not everyone wants them. A new study shows that while Christians placed a positive value on receiving thoughts and prayers from strangers, nonreligous people did not.

Some jokes reveal truths. Remember the quip that “no Christian wants to go to heaven right now”? Obviously, the hidden truth is that most Christians secretly doubt church promises of paradise.

Atheism is defined as the lack of belief in the existence of a God or gods. Despite its history and cultural roots as a Christian nation there's little doubt that over the years the U.S. has become home to a growing number of non believers. Some of the most powerful and well known atheists in America include David Silverman (former President of the American Atheists group), author Philip Roth, and writer/neuroscientist Sam Harris (who has been dubbed as one of the "Four Horsemen of Atheism").

Why are we here? What is our purpose? Why are U.S. service members not allowed to grow beards? It is questions such as these, which tug at mankind’s innermost curiosities, that religions have endeavored to answer since the beginning of time. For some of those faiths, proper observance necessitates the growth of facial hair.

In the myth of Adam and Eve, one of the first privileges granted to Adam is that of naming all the animals in the Garden of Eden. With the ability to name things, Adam has the power to think about, and differentiate between, the other inhabitants. Naming is a potent ability as for Adam, the ability to designate gives him dominion. But sometimes naming and categorising can be problematic.

It’s become almost a trope at this point among people who study and write about American religion and politics – evangelicals punch way above their weight. Their voter turnout has stayed relatively steady despite their drop in population share. But, I was working through some data today and noticed something that I don’t think that I’ve seen reported on much – atheists are incredibly politically active – more so than any other religious group.

I’ll miss the Democratic presidential debates — especially watching Ron Reagan tell us he’s a “lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell.” It may be my all-time favorite TV ad, delivered with a slight grin and perfect timing — very Reagan-like — by the son of the 40th U.S. president. He’s touting the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a 32,000-member organization of nonbelievers that fights for the separation of church and state.

Many religious people don’t like atheists, and in fact would apparently rate them alongside rapists on levels of trust, suggests a new Canadian study that claims to be one of the first psychological probes into anti-atheist prejudice. Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Oregon conducted a series of studies that found a deep level of distrust toward those who don’t believe in God...

Three million digital copies of Dawkins’ best-selling “bible of atheism,” The God Delusion, have been downloaded in the kingdom, “one of twelve Muslim-majority states where the statute books prescribe the death penalty for apostacy,” according to an article in the new February/March edition of Free Inquiry, a periodical of the secular Center for Inquiry organization.