Category Archives: Scientific Study of Religion

Why does religion create killers?

Posted on December 1, 2008 by ylooshi

This is an interesting topic and one that I’ve been putting together a blog post about but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Of course, it’s important to note that not all religionists kill. In fact, very few, by comparison … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Scientific Study of Religion, Spells to Break | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Conservative Churches are More Fanatic

Posted on September 17, 2008 by ylooshi

I’m sure many would object to my use of the term “fanatic” to describe the outcome of a recent study published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion[1], but that description truly captures the essence of the data, … Continue reading →

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Pareidolia and Anthropomorphism

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Ylooshi

Christopher Moreau, a 47 year old Canadian man, recently noticed the tree growing in his yard presents the image of “the Virgin Mary.” According to the Sun Media article in the link, the tree: has left dumbfounded residents wondering if … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Study of Religion | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Religion Doesn’t Get a Free Ride

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Ylooshi

Sorry, but it just doesn’t. There are more comments in the 1800Flowers.com post than any other on Breaking Spells (and I’m not ashamed to admit the Pharyngula Effect is fun while it lasts) and some of them revolve around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Wars, New Atheism, Scientific Study of Religion | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Morality: Big “M” and little “m”

Posted on July 1, 2008 by Ylooshi

I had the pleasure of discussing morality and atheism with a commenter who I would assume is a Christian although his/her actual beliefs haven’t been specifically discussed. In responding to the second of two posts the commenter left, I realized … Continue reading →

Posted in Myths of Atheism, Scientific Study of Religion, humanism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Religious Liberty?

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Ylooshi

This is an idea that Christians in the United States love. That is to say, if the religious freedom you express is Christian. The First Amendment Center surveyed 1,007 respondents’ opinions on the First Amendment and found: Only a slim … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Study of Religion | 4 Comments

Largest Religious Groups within U.S. Populations

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Ylooshi

Here’s an interesting graphic that I came across while looking for some other data. I thought I share it. What you’re looking at here is the largest or most dominant religious groups within a given county’s population -the largest participating … Continue reading →

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Witchcraft: Taken Very Seriously in Africa

Posted on January 6, 2008 by Ylooshi

There are some things that even the most devout religious adherents in the United States would scoff at that are held to be very serious beliefs of the supernatural elsewhere in the world. So much so, that lives are affected … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Study of Religion, Superstition, Witchcraft | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Historicity of Jesus: the Making of a Myth

Posted on December 16, 2007 by Ylooshi

So often I see it written on blogs or internet communities where the historicity of Jesus is being discussed where the Christian apologist will respond to those skeptical of a historical Jesus by reminding them that very little evidence exists … Continue reading →

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The Recent Harris Poll on Belief

Posted on December 10, 2007 by Ylooshi

Harris Poll Interactive conducted a recent poll in November in which they sampled 2,455 American adults and asked a variety of questions regarding the their beliefs, mostly religious, though they did poll with questions about UFOs, ghosts, reincarnation, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Study of Religion, humanism | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments