Friendly Atheist by @hemantsblog » A Good Reason for Canceling Church

And in other news, water is being reported as being what some are calling, “wet”.  Hahahaha, I love the Onion.

Many churches had suspended the tradition of keeping holy water in open fonts into which people dipped their hands following the outbreak of the H1N1 virus.

But an Italian inventor has combined faith and ingenuity to create the electronic terracotta dispenser, which is now being used in the northern town of Fornaci di Briosco. It functions like an automatic soap dispenser in public lavatories - a churchgoer waves his or her hand under a sensor and the machine spurts out holy water.

I audibly laughed at this.  It’s holy water.  Shouldn’t it repel the evils of H1N1 on its own?

Germ theory? Sure, we’ll buy into that.  Evolutionary theory? Not so much.

But… isn’t germ theory only a theory?

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn’t change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

[…]

The church’s influence seems limited. In separate interviews Wednesday, council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) referred to the church as “somewhat childish.” Another council member, David A. Catania (I-At Large), said he would rather end the city’s relationship with the church than give in to its demands.

I’m proud that some people in reasonably important positions aren’t settling for the church’s heavy handed position.  How sad is it that a “charitable” organization that helps thousands of people would throw such a tantrum if they (gasp) had to be fair to everyone?

Atheist scientists have been shouting it from the rooftops: anyone who has enjoyed a higher education has no business being in a church. Many European sociologists have offered a rising level of education as the explanation for dwindling church attendance. Now two Dutch sociologists are countering this theory.

Stijn Ruiter, senior researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, and Frank van Tubergen, a professor of sociology in Utrecht, compared ‘religious participation’ in 60 countries. They found no effect of education, but instead came to the conclusion that social insecurity and the environment people grow up in have a significant impact. Results of their research will be published in the American Journal of Sociology next month.

Economics as a factor in church involvement? It’s not an unreasonable explanation.  When people are at their economic worst is when they’re willing to forego some sense of reason and rather hope for miracles, whereas when people are doing well, there are no need for such miracles.

The paper will be posted here when it’s available for internet consumption.

“Thankfully, your average Catholic is open minded enough not to believe that the earth is 6000 years old, I thought. Then another thought occurred to me: how funny it would have been had that slab of marble found its way into a Creationist church! Oh sweet, sweet irony!”

Sweet irony, indeed!