by Richard Dawkins Donald Trump was surely right when he said, in 2012, “The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy . . . A total sham and a travesty”. And he confirmed his sensible view on November 13th, 2016 (after winning the election by the Electoral College system, but losing the popular vote) …

Richard Dawkins 24 Oct 2017   I had tweeted an invitation to attend lectures in various parts of Britain by Saba Douglas-Hamilton, who grew up among wild African elephants while her father, Iain Douglas-Hamilton was conducting his pioneering studies of their ecology and behaviour, and he and his wife Oria were fighting the poachers. Saba’s …

By Michelle Starr When we peer out into intergalactic space, evidence for dark matter is everywhere. It’s in the rotation of galaxies, which cannot be accounted for by observable matter alone. It’s in the way galaxies cluster together, and the path of light as it travels through the Universe. We can’t see dark matter directly, but the …

By Laura Kelly More than 30 faith leaders on Monday issued a warning against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s new push to put property rights and religious freedom at the forefront of American diplomacy. In a statement, faith leaders across denominations warned that Pompeo’s push for a hierarchy of rights with religious freedom at the top “will …

By Yonat Shimron As a religious studies teacher at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, a Catholic High School in San Francisco, Ish Ruiz knows he’s probably considered a “minister” by the archdiocese. But he’s also charged with helping teachers in secular subjects discover their spiritual gifts, or charism, in Catholic nomenclature. A recent Supreme Court decision …

By Alisha Ebrahimji The Satanic Temple wants to help high school graduates pursue higher education with its “Devil’s Advocate Scholarship.” The organization, which fights for a separation between religion and pubic affairs, will sift through submissions from 2020 graduates and award two winners $500 in scholarship money. Interested applicants are asked to submit a creative response in …

By Brandon Specktor After five years of peering into the deepest reaches of space, researchers have released what they call the “largest three-dimensional map of the universe” ever. No, you cannot see your house. The mind-boggling map is the result of an ongoing project called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) — an ambitious, international …

By Angela Ruggiero A judge issued a warrant for the arrest of an Alameda priest who did not show up to his court hearing Monday on a charge of sexual battery. Varghese Alengadan, 67, known as “Father George,” was recently charged with one count of misdemeanor sexual battery, which is said to have occurred July …