Nameless Heathen

Blog

  • The Heathen’s Weekly: May 2, 2026

    Logical implications for a superstitious world.

    1. The Oklahoma “Religious Charter” Collapse

    In a significant win for the Establishment Clause, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has blocked the state’s attempt to fund the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The court ruled 7-2 that the state cannot use taxpayer dollars to fund a school that is “sectarian in its programs and operations.” You can read the full court opinion at Justia.

    • The Heathen’s Take: This is a victory for the “Lemon Test” principles. Education is a civic function; the moment you introduce sectarian indoctrination on the public dime, you aren’t providing “choice”—you’re providing a state-sponsored subsidy for mythology.

    2. Talarico: The “Christlike” Atheist

    Texas State Representative James Talarico—himself a seminarian—recently pointed out the staggering hypocrisy in the Texas legislature. He noted that while many “Christian” politicians are busy gutting healthcare and education, his atheist colleagues are often the ones fighting for the vulnerable. Talarico’s speech on the House floor has been widely circulated; watch the highlight on Youtube.

    • The Heathen’s Take: It’s a punchy observation, though it highlights the irony of our “closet” existence. It takes a progressive Christian to point out that “morality” isn’t a proprietary product of religion, while the “fundamentalist rubbish” being passed in the statehouse does nothing but breed fear and inequality.

    3. The “Anti-Christian Bias” Nothingburger

    The final report from the “Anti-Christian Bias” task force, a holdover project from the Trump era, has finally been released, and Friendly Atheist has the breakdown. Despite years of searching for a “war on Christianity,” the report reveals… absolutely nothing. No systemic persecution, no “closet” for believers, just a series of grievances about not being allowed to use the state to bully others.

    • The Heathen’s Take: Read the full analysis at Friendly Atheist. It’s a classic study in the “fear of becoming a minority.” When you’re used to 100% privilege, equality feels like oppression.

    4. Academic Purge in Turkey

    In a disturbing international trend of regression, a prominent Turkish professor recently had his honorary doctorate revoked solely because of his public stance as an atheist. The university argued that his lack of faith was “incompatible” with their values, despite his massive contributions to his field. Details on the academic community’s response can be found via the UK National Secular Society.

    • The Heathen’s Take: This is exactly why many of us stay “underground” in the workplace. Even in the 21st century, a “preponderance of evidence” in your professional work doesn’t protect you from the “self-inflicted lunacy” of those in power who feel threatened by a lack of superstition.

    5. The “Reason Tax” in Louisiana

    Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments in public colleges is officially being challenged in federal court this week. The lawsuit, Roake v. Brumley, argues that the mandate creates a “coercive religious environment” that violates the First Amendment. Check the case status: Official Case Statement (ACLU): Roake v. Brumley – Challenging Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Mandate

    Legal Complaint (PDF): You can access the full First Amended Complaint which outlines why the plaintiffs believe this mandate is “inherently coercive.”

    • The Heathen’s Take: This is the “incremental tool” at work again. If you can force a bronze-age list of rules onto a college campus, you’ve successfully signaled that ideology trumps academic freedom.

    🌐 Freethought Resources

  • April 25, 2026

    The Heathen’s Weekly: April 25, 2026

    Logical implications for a superstitious world.

    1. The Fifth Circuit’s “Historical” Hallucination

    The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled 9-8 in favor of Texas Senate Bill 10, allowing the mandatory display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms. The court’s “logical” leap—that a religious text displayed by the state “requires no religious exercise”—is a masterclass in cynical manipulation. By discarding the Lemon Test for a vague “Historical Context” standard, they’ve created an incremental tool to prioritize bronze-age mythology over constitutional clarity. No wonder our state leaders want to gut real education; it’s easier to manage a population trained in “willful ignorance” than one trained in critical thinking.

    2. FFRF Shuts Down Creationist Pseudoscience

    The Freedom From Religion Foundation successfully forced a Colorado charter school to stop teaching “intelligent design” in 8th-grade science. It’s the same old “teach the controversy” nonsense we’ve seen for decades. Anyone with a basic understanding of DNA Cladistics knows there is no “controversy,” only a desperate attempt to ignore the overwhelming preponderance of evidence. It’s refreshing to see a small victory for the scientific method in a year that feels increasingly like a regression toward the middle ages.

    3. CRISPR and the “Cures” of Human Ingenuity

    The 12th Breakthrough Prize was awarded this week to the researchers who used CRISPR gene-editing to effectively cure sickle cell disease. It’s a powerful illustration of the difference between “faith” and “reason.” While the superstitious pray for miracles to heal “acts of God,” rational people are busy editing the genetic code to solve the “poor design elements” of our own mammalian bodies. This is humanism in action—using the tools we built to fix the flaws we inherited.

    4. Neutron Science and the “First Moments”

    The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge just hit a record 2.0-megawatt power level. For the layperson, it’s a big number; for us, it’s a high-resolution window into the “unimaginably hot” state of the early universe. We don’t need a creator-myth when we have high-energy physics providing a physical explanation for our origins. The more neutrons we fire, the further we push back the boundaries of “mystery” that the religious try to claim as their own territory.

    5. Local Austin: The Secular Spectacle

    For those of us in Austin who miss the “Reason Rally” energy, Pioneer Farms is hosting Hecate’s Torch tonight. It’s fire dancers and synchronized drones—a purely theatrical “ritual” that provides all the awe and communal wonder of a religious service without any of the dogmatic rubbish. It’s a reminder that we can appreciate the “magic of reality” and high-production spectacle without pretending it’s a miracle.