Just in time for one of our April talks: "A heathen in the Kingdom" http://www.meetup.com/sydneyatheists/events/167265962/ 
comes this article from the Richard Dawkins Foundation:

Why Are Saudis Tearing Up the Quran?More Sharing Services

Saudi Arabia is not the go-to country when you think of atheism, being one of the world’s most repressive Islamic societies. Turns out we may have them pegged all wrong. A 2012 Gallup poll revealed that there is a similar proportion of atheists in Saudi Arabia as in the United States and parts of Europe, and what’s more, those atheists are being increasingly vocal, despite the threat of violence against them.

Atheists in Saudi Arabia tend to keep a low profile (because beheadings), and because Islamic law is the law of the land, they often maintain a semblance of religious observance in public. Not so online, where they’re skirting danger and expressing their atheism via anonymous accounts. The dual existence makes for some incongruous posting—like the user below, defiantly declaring atheism from Mecca, with the holy Qabaa stone in the background.

To read more: http://proud-a.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/TearinG.Up.Quran.html

Should Priests be above the law?

From the Sydney Morning Herald comes this article: 

Confession must be subject to mandatory reporting

Date

Bryan Keon-Cohen, Joseph Poznanski

The absolute confidentiality of the Catholic Church's 
confessional puts vulnerable children at risk.

Comment

Illustration: Andrew Dyson.

While the Catholic Church appears willing to accept the Victorian parliamentary committee's recommendations in its report Betrayal of Trust, the church hierarchy rejects the application of a mandatory reporting regime to the sacrament of Penance, that is, the Confessional.

The report also declined to extend mandatory reporting to compel priests, in appropriate circumstances, to break the Seal of the Confessional. COIN (Commission of Inquiry Now) disagrees.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/confession-must-be-subject-to-mandatory-reporting-20140325-35gck.html#ixzz2x73xBoIm

The dunghill origins of morality

By ABC's Michael Collett

Posted 25th March

PHOTO: The "golden rule" can be found across a disparate array of religions and ethical traditions.

While vast numbers of people across the world (and Australia) continue to equate godlessness with a lack of morality, unbelievers can feel confident in their virtues, writes Michael Collett.

Is it necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-25/collett-the-dunghill-origins-of-morality/5343810

Opposition to Religious Instruction in Victorian Schools Grows

A growing number of principals in Victoria are examining the teaching going on in "Chrisitan Religious Education" classes offered in their schools. In February The Age reported that Joe Kelly, a principal with decades of experience in primary education, chose to investigate the Religious Instruction classes offered by an ACCESS Ministries volunteer. He found that "It has no value whatsoever. It is rubbish - hollow and empty rhetoric … My school teachers are committed to teaching children, not indoctrinating them."

Recently, after parents raised concerns about Religious Instruction (RI) classes in Murrumbeena Primary the school decided to suspend RI for a term to let parents make an informed decision about their child's participation.

Recently it has surfaced that an RI teacher in a Victorian school, Karen Dobby, ran as a candidate for the "Australian Christians" party in last year's federal election. Dobby received 0.86% of the primary vote, with 743 votes, less than the 4375 informal votes. Christian parents in the electorate of Issacs have the right to vote against Karen Dobby at the polls if they believe she doesn't share their values, but have no say over the standards of religious instruction that their children receive in schools. Many parents don't want their children to be told that dinosaur bones don't exist by a zealous volunteer from a Pentecostal megachurch if they go to a small Anglican church.

Dobby describes her reason for running in the election saying "[Australian Christians] will uphold Godly values in this nation." She outlines her political philosophy as a person who is "concerned about what’s happening within this nation":

-  Freedom of speech is under threat;- Pressure to have Extreme discrimination laws put in place is underway;
- Constant pressure to allow Same Sex Marriage which will have a huge negative impact on the family unit as we know it now;
- A constant push for ‘diversity’ actually encourages young people into homosexuality by making it sound ‘normal’ rather than encouraging them to fight against early thoughts of same sex attractions that they might be dealing with in their teenage minds;
- The Christian culture in this nation is under threat – ‘Christmas’ to be known as the ‘holiday season’… no singing Christmas carols because it may offend other nationalities…when entering banks other religions can wear full head/face garments, but we MUST remove bike helmets,…. no crucifix jewellery permitted in schools with strict jewellery policies, but muslim students can still wear their full religious attire.  What’s happening??
- Political madness is rampant;
- Abortion rates are outrageous because women are not given accurate information about the health/emotional risks;  It’s constantly being encouraged as acceptable which makes it available like a contraceptive method.  A MCG full of babies (100,000) were aborted in Australia in 2011.
- ONLY in Victoria, abortions can take place up to 40 weeks…yes the day before giving birth!  Over 200 cases in Victoria last year of full term abortions.  I’m sorry, but why are we allowing the killing of innocent little babies?  Like it or not, abortion is another word for killing.  At 4 weeks or 40 weeks it IS a life.
-Muslims aren’t having abortions…they’re multiplying dramatically!
-Employed medical staff (including nurses) can be charged for breaching the law if they refuse to conduct/assist with an abortion;
-Sex education in schools now talks openly and explicitly about the many different ways of having sex with the same or opposite gender….and at any age that suits because ‘they know best!’
‘Australian Christians’ is a political party that is trying to infiltrate the federal government.  It is not affiliated with any religious movement.  We have a variety of candidates and supporters, including ‘muslim born’ people (who are now Catholic/Christians) standing up and fighting against the infiltration of the Islamic culture.  They don’t want it in this great nation…which is why they left countries like Egypt in the first place!
We need to get people into the political realm in this nation that will stand up/speak up for what should be ‘the majority’ but unfortunately the minority are having their say way too loudly.
You don’t have to be a Christian to share the views above.  I know many non-Christians who are alarmed and frustrated about what’s going on.
Get informed….get involved….speak up!
I refuse to believe the lie that you can’t make a difference, because the truth is we CAN!

Dobby has every right to publish her views and run on a platform that represents her values. But she shouldn't be getting access to children without the parents understanding her perspective, or that the organisation sees schools as a “mission field” in which to “make disciples.”

Dobby has resigned from her position on the board of the Foster Care Association of Victoria over her provocative expression of her views. She continues to work for ACCESS ministries in Victoria because unlike many other organisations, it has hardly any oversight of its volunteers.

The Victorian Department of Education tells parents that "Christian Religious Education" classes give students "some understanding of stories, festivals, worship and symbols of the Christian faith in the community." They don't explain honestly how volunteers from megachurches are teaching creationism and how everyone who doesn't go to Christian churches will go to hell.

We encourage parents in NSW to look at how Religious Instruction teachers have been claiming to "cure" homosexuals and teaching racist and sexist ideas, and to let your school's principal know of your concerns.

Parents from Fairness in Religion in Schools

March talk and Trivia night

A big thanks to our Vice President Jenny Chioatto who gave a great talk about how religion interferes with healthy  relationships between men and women.

Jenny's trivia quiz was also a success, and we hope to hold another trivia night later in the year.

Steve Marton

Does God speak to Tony Abbott?

From the Sydney Morning Herald comes this article:

Mr Abbott, keep God out of politics

Date

March 16, 2014

Anson Cameron

'The religious justification of political acts sends a shiver down my spine.' Photo: Andrew Meares

The prime minister spoke recently to an audience of loggers. I can't decide whether it was merely deluded or a snide declaration of war against the Greens because they collaborated with Labor against him. Was he abasing himself for votes before woodchippers or unveiling a scorched earth policy?

Worryingly, he namechecked God. Before the election, Tony Abbott's deity was rarely mentioned. His advisers would have warned him against co-opting his Lord into a campaign in which a quarter of Australians have no god, almost half a million are Muslim, and even like-minded believers are squeamish about declaring for a personally interventionist god.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/mr-abbott-keep-god-out-of-politics-20140315-34u51.html#ixzz2w4c3XOTi

New polls show US youth don't identify with organised religion

A new study from Pew Research's Social and Demographic Trends shows that younger generations in America are detached from religious and political institutions. The generation of 18-33 year olds are "digital natives", using the internet, mobile technology and social media to construct networks of friends, colleagues and affinity groups

Pew Research Center surveys show that half of Millennials (50%) now describe themselves as political independents and about three-in-ten (29%) say they are not affiliated with any religion. These are at or near the highest levels of political and religious disaffiliation recorded for any generation in the quarter-century that the Pew Research Center has been polling on these topics. 

At the same time, however, Millennials stand out for voting heavily Democratic and for liberal views on many political and social issues, ranging from a belief in an activist government to support for same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization.

Papal Selfie

Even though the Oxford Dictionary named "selfie" as the “word of the year” in 2013, only about six-in-ten Boomers and about a third of Silents say they know what a “selfie” is.

The median age at first marriage in the US is going up to 27 for women and 29 for men, partly because the Millennial generation has the highest rate of educational attainment, but also the highest rate of student debt, at a time when America is still recovering from the 2007-2009 recession.

The Millennial generation are less likely than older generations to be affiliated with any religion, they are also less likely to say they believe in God. A solid majority still do—86%—but only 58% say they are “absolutely certain” that God exists, a lower share than among older adults, according to a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project.

51% of Millennials support gay rights, while
only 36% call themselves a religious person

While in the majority of people under 33 in America claim to believe in god, a growing number of those are unwilling to identify with any religious institution. Only 36% of Millennials call themselves a religious person, while 51% support gay rights.

The support for same sex marriage has seen a substantial generational surge. A recent report by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that 69% of Millennials support allowing gay and lesbian people to legally marry. The report finds that religious groups are "alienating young adults by being too judgmental on gay and lesbian issues."

 The number of people with close gay friends has nearly tripled in 20 years:

 Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans report having a close friend or family member who is gay or lesbian, nearly three times the number (22%) who reported having such a relationship in 1993. Americans who have a close friend or family member who is gay or lesbian are 27 points more likely than those who do not to favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry (63% vs. 36%). This “family and friends” effect is present across all major demographic, religious and political groups.

Among Millennials who no longer identify with their childhood religion, nearly one-third say that negative teachings about, or treatment of, gay and lesbian people was either a somewhat important (17%) or very important (14%) factor in their disaffiliation from religion.

The majority of churchgoers avoid talking about LGBT issues in church, believing that the majority of their fellow congregants are opposed to same sex marriage while the majority support it. The views of bishops are not representative of their church members.

Regular churchgoers (those who attend at least once or twice a month), particularly those who belong to religious groups that are supportive of same-sex marriage, are likely to over- estimate opposition for same-sex marriage in their churches by 20 percentage points or more...
About 6-in-10 (59%) white mainline Protestants believe their fellow congregants are mostly opposed to same-sex marriage. However, among white mainline Protestants who attend church regularly, only 36% oppose allowing gay and lesbian people to legally marry while a majority (57%) actually favor this policy.

Roughly three-quarters (73%) of Catholics believe that most of their fellow congregants are opposed to same-sex marriage. However, Catholics who regularly attend church are in fact divided on the issue (50% favor, 45% oppose).

From The Age newspaper:

Pressure builds on state's religious instruction educator

The main provider of religious instruction in Victorian state schools is under financial pressure and currently being propped up by the federal and state governments.

Financial statements from Access Ministries, the chaplaincy organisation that also delivers 81 per cent of religious instruction in primary schools, show that they received almost $20 million in government grants between 2009 and 2012.

Despite this support, the group recorded successive losses in those years of $248,683 (2009), $17,000 (2010), $483,000 (2011) and $235,815 (2012), according to documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/pressure-builds-on-states-religious-instruction-educator-20140306-349or.html#ixzz2vJOnihRj

New Appointment

Peter Cartledge has resigned from the position of Public Officer. The committee of Sydney Atheists thank Peter for his contributions to Sydney Atheists over many years in the organisation.

Peter has been replaced by Mike Beecham, one of our Parramatta and general organisers. Mike was unanimously voted into the role of Public Officer by the committee. As Public Officer, Mike is now a member of the committee of Sydney Atheists.

On behalf of Sydney Atheists we congratulate and welcome Mike to his new role as we look to further build the organisation.

Steve Marton