In an Ipsos MORI poll of 1000 people last month, “to examine faith, belief and superstition”, one of the questions was – Do you ever cross your fingers for good luck? 44 per cent of Christians said yes, compared with 31 per cent of atheists. Ben Schott’s Almanac of Belief -Times Online. Surely not? Tags: Ipsos+MORI+poll, superstition, luck, atheists

Christmas should be downgraded unless other religious festivals are marked on an even footing, a Government think-tank has said. Channel 4 – News – Think-tank says ‘downgrade Christmas’. The Institute for Public Policy Research makes the same mistake as many others, by assuming that “Christmas” is a religious festival, and that other “cultures” (i.e. religions) should have similar attention paid to their festivals. Oh, give me strength! It might be a good idea to downgrade the whole hoo-ha, but not for religious or “multicultural” reasons.

AS HER husband works to bring about peace between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims, Cherie Blair put both religions in the dock over their unequal treatment of women. With characteristic aplomb, she attacked the continuing inequality of women’s role in world religion and said differences of culture or religion could not be used as a justification for denying equal rights. She denounced the treatment of women on religious grounds as a “distortion” of the true message of faiths such as Islam.

Listeners who are, or have been, parents or teachers might have experienced the problem of fair shares, when a child has a sweet or a treat, and the others get wind of it and demand one too. It’s no good trying to sneak a treat to one child, without setting off wails of “O-oh! That’s not fair!” Sometimes it seems that some politicians are having similar problems over “multiculturalism”. One religious group has faith schools, and they all want some.

We’ve had a mention in Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia written by volunteers around the world. If you follow the link below and click on the little [1] reference, you’ll be brought back here to my Evolution Day Thought for the Day on 24 November 2006. Evolution Day – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Evolution Day is the anniversary of the first publication of The Origin of Species on November 24, 1859.

Further to the story about Dr Evan Harris MP’s stance on abortion, a letter in today’s Observer signed by Harris and others challenges Archbishop Williams’ position: The Archbishop of Canterbury (News and Comment, 21 October) and the Catholic cardinals have raised concerns that there are too many abortions. The best way to minimise unintended pregnancy is not to criminalise or stigmatise abortion, but to ensure that good-quality education, information and contraceptive services are universally available.

Available now from the NSS shop, “Did Christians steal Christmas?”. A stocking filler for only £2.99. Give it to a skeptical friend or relative. Where did Christmas come from? Is it rooted in prophecy or paganism? And why did it take centuries for most Christians to agree on a date for Jesus’s birth? Robert Stovold explores the myths and legends around the December festival that dates back to earliest times, investigating the origins of Christmas trees, the divine child and the virgin birth – and finding some surprising connections.

Prayer is a vital part of life for nearly half of UK adults, with 20 million saying they pray and one in three adults believing that God is watching over them, according to a report published today (November 11th) by Christian relief and development agency Tearfund. NEW SURVEY: 20 million pray in the UK. The survey, conducted among a representative sample of 2,000 adults, reveals strong belief in the power of prayer to bring about positive change in the world.

Is religion bad for women? That’s the question being asked by a conference held in Newcastle this week [8 November]. The main speaker is Professor Daphne Hampson, author of ‘Theology and Feminism’ who argues that ‘religions have proved the ultimate weapon in keeping woman in her “place”’. Professor Hampson joins Jenni along with Dr Tina Beattie, Reader in Christian Studies at Roehampton University and Farah Khan, journalist and practicing Muslim, to ask if women can find a place for religion in their lives.

Once upon a time there was a very wise Old Man with a huge white Beard who lived in the clouds and was quite bored, so he decided to create a magical kingdom with all sorts of funny creatures and plants and place them in his new kingdom and let all the funny things learn good and bad things and he did all this in six days… give or take.

In case you thought we were fixated on religion, this post was going to be about ethical issues unrelated to religion, but there’s one story about bishops that I couldn’t resist, from New Humanist magazine. Stephen Bates used to be the Guardian’s religious affairs correspondent, but now he’s had enough. Now I am moving on. It was time to go. What faith I had, I’ve lost, I am afraid – I’ve seen too much, too close.

You may well have heard about Facebook in the news, or heard workmates or friends talking about it. You might have had invitations to join Facebook clogging your email inbox. Chances are, you have already given in and joined. Membership of the social networking site is increasing all the time, with an ever-greater range of ages and interests joining. Well, now Suffolk Humanists have set up a group on Facebook as well!

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is being studied by the American Academy of Religion. Honestly. This weekend in San Diego, some of the world’s leading religious scholars will be discussing the satirical “deity” in pop culture. Faith Central – Times Online – WBLG: Flying Spaghetti Monster theology. You couldn’t make it up. Will they research pirates too? The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (all hail his noodliness!) Tags: FSM, Flying+Spaghetti+Monster, American+Academy+of+Religion, AAR, Silliness, Kansas

Dr Jacqueline Watson of the School of Education at the University of East Anglia researched the situation regarding Humanism in RE, including in Suffolk. You can read the results here (PDF). This is from the report on the BHA website: New research published today (11/11/07) has suggested that Government policy on including ‘secular worldviews such as Humanism’ in school RE is not being effectively implemented. The British Humanist Association, which commissioned the research, has expressed its disappointment with the findings, and called for Government action and legislative change to address this failure.

Making the case for the separation of religion and the state in The Economist (1/11/07): A RELIGIOUS fanatic feels persecuted, goes overseas to fight for his God and then returns home to attempt a bloody act of terrorism. Next week as Britons celebrate the capture of Guy Fawkes, a Catholic jihadist, under the Houses of Parliament in 1605, they might reflect how dismally modern the Gunpowder Plot and Europe’s wars of religion now seem.

Saturday November 24h 2007 is Buy Nothing Day (UK), It’s a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. The rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without shopping. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending! BUY NOTHING DAY – Saturday November 24th 2007. Tags: But+nothing+day, Consumerism, Shopping, Not+shopping

An American Humanist group, run by a Brit – Bill Potts, born in Yorkshire.

Within the same week, two people have asked me if we have Humanist Sunday Schools in the UK. One drew my attention to this article from Time magazine about an American Humanist Sunday School. I think we’ll have to get our ourselves organised. On Sunday mornings, most parents who don’t believe in the Christian God, or any god at all, are probably making brunch or cheering at their kids’ soccer game, or running errands or, with luck, sleeping in.

The November 2007 edition of IHN is now available online for download in PDF format. There are articles on: Superstition, Witchcraft and Humanism Leaving Faith Looking at North America The Turin Colloquium, 16 June 2007 I wrote some of it, but don’t let that influence you! International Humanist News Tags: IHN, IHEU, International+Humanist+News

Libby Purves writes: Of all the sure ways to promote a film, one of the surest is to get it criticised by the religious right. On that basis Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, out in the US (in time for er, um, Christmas), is on a winner. Pullman has responded. Newsweek reports on the row; the Catholic League is incandescent. Parents are being warned not to let their children see the film as it is “spiritual poison”.

Report Launch: Proposed public service reforms risk discrimination against employees and service users and negative effects on social cohesion The British Humanist Association (BHA) today [28/11/07] announces the launch of a major new report into the contracting out of public services to religious organisations. The launch of the report is being supported by the TUC and its conclusions endorsed by public figures including Lord Warner, former minister at the Department of Health.

Europeans who have no religion are increasing in number but are becoming increasingly disadvantaged in the political process. This was the claim by the National Secular Society at a meeting in the European Parliament on “Religion and Politics in the New Europe” sponsored by Catholics for Choice. Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society said: “The majority of the EU population are either non-religious or do not actively practise any religion and they are being betrayed because increasingly strident religious influence on moral matters in EU institutions.