Who won the Pope wars?
Catholics, secularists, protestors, pilgrims and provocateurs all claimed victory after the Pontiff’s recent visit. Paul Sims assesses the final score
Rationalism, Atheism & Humanism
Against humanism
Of course we should love, honour and cherish our species, says Mary Midgley. But should we have to worship it too?
Don’t fall into the faith school trap
Responding to Francis Beckett's proposal for a humanist school, Rabbi Jonathan Romain of the Accord Coalition warns of the risks of endorsing religious segregation in education
Is it time for atheist schools?
Francis Beckett outlines his proposal for Britain's first avowedly humanist state school
Editorial: Rationality rules
We should put our trust in reason, especially when it challenges our preconceptions
Friends like these
Attacks on New Atheism, especially from fellow atheists, are ill-advised, counter productive and play into the hands of the religion apologists, argues Ophelia Benson
Stargazer
David Wootton, author of a new biography, uncovers evidence that Galileo really was a heretic
Q&A: Marilynne Robinson
She has won the Pulitzer and Orange prizes for her fiction, and been called the greatest writer of prose in the English language. With her new book she enters the…
It’s all just words
Blasphemer, failure, hypocrite, comedian – Stewart Lee tells Caspar Melville why he’s so offensive
Lies, damn lies and Chinese science
The People's Republic is becoming a technological superpower, but who's checking the facts? Sam Geall seeks out the Chinese science cops