01: In a paper delivered at the CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions) conference at Baylor University (Waco, Texas) in early June, J. Gordon Melton analyzed atheist groups as organizations similar to new religious movements (without a supernatural component) and the new public presence of atheism on the American scene.
Actually, the percentage of atheists has remained stable for as long as they have been counted. There were 4 million atheists in 1944, and they then made 4 percent of the U.S. population. They still make 4 percent today, but the population has tripled in the meantime, and thus atheism has grown in absolute numbers.
Several atheists and humanist organizations are competing with different approaches. The American Humanist Association, originally a split from the Unitarians, has nearly 200 centers around the country and offers humanist celebrations such as weddings. American Atheists (founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O’Hair) follows a strong atheist line and has launched in late July the first atheism-dedicated television channel, Atheist TV, presented as an attempt to fill a void beside a plethora of religious channels.
In the 1960s, upon the initiative of a very radical reform rabbi, a secular, non-theistic congregation was founded and led to the organization of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. There were splits over the history of atheist and humanist movements, and there are now seven organizations active at the national level. However, all these organizations combined gather less than 200,000 members, according to Melton.
02: More members of religious communities around the world were forced to flee their homes last year than at any time in the recent past, according to the annual report on religious freedom by the U.S. State Department.
Reuters (July 29) quotes the report as saying, “In almost every corner of the globe, millions of Christians, Muslims, Hindus and others representing a range of faiths were forced from their homes on account of their religious beliefs.” Hundreds of thousands of Christians had fled three years of civil war in Syria and in the Central African Republic, lawlessness and sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims had reportedly resulted in the displacement of more than a million people in 2013.
The report also highlighted anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar that led to up to 100 deaths and 12,000 being forced from their homes in the area of the town of Meiktila in early 2013.
03: A unique snapshot of Syrian public opinion reports that only a small minority supports the idea of an Islamic state led by insurgents. The survey, conducted by Opinion Research Business, which specializes in polling in conflict areas, conducted 1,014 face-to-face interviews, covering 12 of Syria’s 14 provinces consisting of areas controlled by the government and rebels, including Raqqa, the Islamic State’s stronghold.
The Islamic State, an offshoot of Al Qaeda, enforces a strict interpretation of Islam, which has resulted in the execution of Shi’ite Muslims and increased disaffection from many civilians. The survey finds that only 4 percent of Syrians believe that the Islamic State insurgents represent their interests. The Islamic State also wants to erase national boundaries from the Mediterranean to the Gulf and return the region to a “medieval-style caliphate,” reports the news service Reuters (July 8).