Life Without a Net
Dating Mating Sex and Reproduction
Christianity and Therapy
Over the weekend, I attended a two day workshop for clinical therapists on the topic of sex and sexuality. There was one incident that got me thinking very seriously about the negative impact of popular Christian beliefs on American culture. A great deal of the material dealt with breaking down the cultural myth of two … Continue reading
Online Dating: Especially Bad for Atheists
I wrote an article a few months ago about why internet dating is a bad choice for a lot of people. There’s a new study out which strongly implies that it might be even worse for atheists, but not for the reason you might think. There’s a psychological term called Need for Cognition (NfC). It … Continue reading
What Does Science Say About Porn?
Pornography. To be sure, it’s a controversial topic. More than a few non-believers feel that pornography is harmful or degrading to women, or that it increases sex related crime. On the other hand, many believe that it is healthy, normal, and even has positive effects on both individual and societal levels. Thankfully, there is a … Continue reading
Shania Twain and the Welfare System: America’s Fixation on Beating the Odds.
What could Shania Twain and the U.S. welfare debate have in common? It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but I believe there’s something very profound to be discovered in the comparison. If music is indeed a reflection of our culture, then I believe Shania’s greatest hit reveals a profoundly dysfunctional fixation with … Continue reading
This is Why it’s Wrong to Tell Women to Cover Their Bodies.
This may seem like just another big-haired 80s pop song to you, but it’s way more than that to me. In fact, I’m going to be a bit self-indulgent and say that this otherwise innocuous bit of music trivia is a microcosm of my coming of age, and a perfect example of what I’ve become. … Continue reading
Reader asks: I married a Christian, now I’m an atheist. What should I do?
A reader writes: I found out about you from Life Without a Net. I read your post about guilt. THAT is what I am going through. Very conservative religious upbringing, married b/c I felt guilty about sex before marriage. Now I find myself, 8 years later, still married to a woman I don’t truly love, a 4yo … Continue reading
Economics and Marriage: Making Sense of the Republican Agenda
What does marriage have to do with the political agenda of the Religious Right? Why are Republican Christians so united in their support for both conservative politics and “traditional” sex and marriage? To many non-believers, the two topics seem unrelated. Christians are sexual prudes, and Republicans are hyper-conservatives. It just so happens that most Republicans … Continue reading
Gay Marriage Isn’t Rare, and It’s Never Destroyed Society.
One of the lies peddled by the Christian bigots is that if gay marriage is allowed, it will destroy society. People will be marrying lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats… Straight marriage will be so corrupted that the “sanctity of marriage” will disappear. The thing is, like so … Continue reading
What Does Science Say about Gay Relationships?
The belief that homosexuality is abnormal and unhealthy is prevalent in the Christian community, and is the foundation of a great deal of Christian bigotry. For the time being, however, bigotry is not enough justification to subvert the constitution. Throughout the ongoing debate over the definition of marriage, Right Wing bigots have cited the damage … Continue reading
Women Really Do Like Casual Sex
In 1989, scientists published a seminal study into the real differences between men and women’s desire for casual sex. The findings have been something of a holy grail for those who insist that women only engage in casual sex reluctantly, or as an alternative when other forms of “more satisfying” sex are unavailable. Forty-eight males … Continue reading
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