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.

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.

The number of congressional lawmakers who identify as Christian remains disproportionately high compared to the rapidly shrinking Christian population in the American public, the Pew Research Center reported Monday. The study says about a quarter of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, a category that includes atheists, agnostics and people who described themselves as “nothing in particular.” But only one member of the new Congress, Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, identifies as religiously unaffiliated.

The Supreme Court’s decision last week overturning New York State’s limits on religious gatherings during the COVID-19 outbreak previewed what will likely become one of the coming decade’s defining collisions between law and demography. The ruling continued the conservative majority’s sustained drive to provide religious organizations more leeway to claim exemptions from civil laws on the grounds of protecting “religious liberty.”

As the pandemic raged in April, churchgoers in Ohio defied warnings not to congregate. Some argued that their religion conferred them immunity from COVID-19. In one memorable CNN clip, a woman insisted she would not catch the virus because she was “covered in Jesus’ blood”.

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.

On Friday night’s edition of HBO’s Real Time, comedian Bill Maher argued that Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett should be attacked over her religion, Mediaite reported. Barrett was chosen by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away in September.

Democrats are once again doubling down on religion this year. Faith was on full display during the Democratic National Convention, where Joe Biden closed out the week with several pointed references to his Catholic faith. And the Biden campaign is also making an ambitious play for white evangelical Protestants and Mormons, two loyal Republican groups where Democrats hope to make some inroads.

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.

An American atheist watchdog organizations believes Christianity embedded in online student courses is being sneakily taught during pandemic.

The number of Americans who believe in God continues a substantial decline. In their latest survey of religion, the Pew Research Center found, “In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace.” (1) [All data quoted in this diary comes from this report].

Educated people who live in rich countries are far less likely to say belief in God is necessary for good morals, according to a massive new survey of 38,000 people in 34 countries. The survey, released Monday by the Pew Research Center, revealed a gaping "God gap" between relatively rich and poor countries.

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").

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.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought out the best and worst aspects of religion. Faith has inspired countless acts of generosity and goodwill while helping believers get through an extraordinarily scary and difficult time. But some believers, from Christians to Hasidic Jews, have flouted social-distancing guidelines, insisting that God will protect their congregation. And as in previous pandemics, some have gone looking for scapegoats to explain why God would allow such immense suffering.

Young people likely to challenge Islam and see themselves as less religious than previous generations