Category: Secularism

Secular Connexion Séculière Targets Discrimination Against Atheist Refugee Claimants

October 26, 2020June 18, 2021 Critical Links

Doug Thomas Canada’s refugee policies discriminate against atheist refugee claimants. That policy includes a Less Complex Claims (LCC) category that applies to refugee claimants from certain religions, and from certain countries. It allows them to gain refugee status without a hearing, or with a shortened hearing, but atheists are excluded. Secular Connexion Séculière (SCS) is…

Secularism

Is Religion’s Economic Contribution Beneficial?

September 30, 2020June 18, 2021 Critical Links

By Sandra Dunham Recently, the Sarnia Observer printed an article from Cardus, a faith-based think tank, describing the “overall totally beneficial effect of religion on the lives of everyday Canadians,” not just the religious. For those reading only the headlines, and not noting the self-serving nature of the think tank, it appears that religion is good for the economy….

Secular Check, Secularism

La Grande Noirceur: When Church and State Unite

September 30, 2020June 18, 2021 Critical Links

By Sandra Dunham & Seanna Watson It has been said about the people of France that they are “not religious, and the religion they are not is Catholic.” In Canada, the same description can be applied to the Quebecois of French heritage. As we have seen in recent history, “secularism” in English Canada often has a different…

Secular Check, Secularism

Are We Breaking the Culture Barrier?

August 31, 2020June 18, 2021 Critical Links 1 Comment

By John Varghese “Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” — Jalaluddin Rumi I feel I have been an atheist my entire life even when I was a practicing Christian. Oxymoronic though this statement sounds, it seems a perfectly natural state of being to me!…

Secular Check, Secularism

The Turkish Government’s Last Card: Hagia Sophia

July 30, 2020June 18, 2021 Critical Links 1 Comment

By Ateizm Dernegi (Association of Atheism, Turkey) Volunteers When converting the Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque was added to the agenda of the Turkish government, we worried that this would be a sign of the governmental system being converted into a religious system. More precisely, if Hagia Sophia were opened for worship, one of the symbols of…

Secular Check, Secularism