Bangladesh authorities have arrested a fourth atheist blogger and charged him with defaming Islam, as part of an effort to clamp down on religious offenses over the Internet.

"(Blogger) Asif Mohiuddin has been arrested on charges of hurting religious sentiment through his writings on blogs and Facebook," a police spokesman said, according to ZeeNews.com.

Mohiuddin, 29, is a prominent figure in Dhaka, the capital, and was viciously attacked by Islamists in January, who stabbed him repeatedly when he was leaving work one night, and left him fighting for his life. more >>

An atheist group local to the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas sent a controversial message to 50 North Texas pastors on Good Friday, March 29, in what it claims to be a method of "outreach to Christians."

The message, which was emailed by the local atheist group Dallas–Fort Worth Coalition of Reason, conveyed the controversial message: "God is Dead, Have a Good Friday."

Zachary Moore, coordinator of the lesser-known local atheist group, told CBS-affiliate Dallas-Fort Worth, which first broke the story, that the purpose of the controversial email was to reach Christians who question the teachings of the church. more >>

A city in New Mexico that recently added a display at its city hall with the phrase "In God We Trust" has received a letter from a major Wisconsin-based atheist organization protesting the decision.

Alamogordo Mayor Susie Galea recently received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation of Madison regarding their display that has the United States' national motto.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the FFRF, sent the letter over Alamogordo's display at the City Commissioners' chambers and the city logo, which could also include the motto. "It is inappropriate for the city commission to adopt a proposal that would place 'In God We Trust' at City Hall … Statements about a god have no place in government buildings," wrote Gaylor. more >>

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court dismissed the three-year long lawsuit of a Florida-based atheist group against the City of Lakeland, which was being accused of violating the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause by conducting prayers at the beginning of its City Commission meetings.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined Tuesday that the city and its mayor, Gow Fields, had not violated the Constitution, as argued by the Atheists of Florida organization, due to a 2010 policy implemented by the city which allows speakers of various denominations to deliver the opening prayer at the meetings.

"The selection procedures of the invocational speakers invited to deliver an invocation at Lakeland City Commission's meetings pursuant to policies and practices initiated informally in March 2010, which were codified with the passage of Resolution 4848 in August 2010, do not support the AOF's contention that Lakeland attempted to exploit the prayer opportunity to proselytize or advance or disparage any one faith or belief," Judge Arthur Alarcon of the Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court wrote on behalf of a three-judge panel. more >>

Dr. William Lane Craig, research professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, Calif., has dismissed the American Atheists' 50 year anniversary convention as "nothing but posturing," arguing that their intellectual arguments against theism do not hold up.

"Their motto '50 years of reason' is nothing but posturing. It's an attempt to present themselves as intellectual and that their atheism is based in reason, when in fact that is far from the truth," Craig, who has written over thirty books on theology and philosophy and frequently debates atheist scholars, said on Monday in a phone interview with The Christian Post.

American Atheists, the largest secular group in America, which supports civil rights for atheists, will kick off their 2013 National Convention on Thursday, featuring three days of speakers. more >>

A German-based atheist shoe company is accusing the United States Postal Service of discrimination, claiming that when using "atheist" branded packaging tape on its shipments, the company's packages arrived to their U.S. destination at far greater delays compared to when they used a generic packaging tape.

The company, known simply as ATHEIST, explains on its official website that it conducted a trans-Atlantic experiment to determine if "atheist" packages were actually experiencing longer delays in the U.S. than "non-atheist" packages.

"We have lots of customers in the USA, but sometimes the shoes we send them take longer than they should to arrive, or even go missing," the company, which is based in Berlin, states on its website. more >>