The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), is suing the United States Treasury Department to remove the words "In God We Trust" from all U.S. currency, because they claim the motto is offensive to nonreligious citizens.

Nineteen plaintiffs and the FFRF filed the lawsuit, Newdow v. Congress in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Feb. 1. The civil action claims the motto In God We Trust violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

The plaintiffs' claim that the motto is offensive and forces atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, freethinkers and skeptics to bear a religious message they don't agree with, and are thus forced, when using U.S. currency, to make a false declaration regarding their religious views. more >>

Atheist professor Richard Dawkins has stirred up a firestorm on his Twitter account by suggesting that the only moral question behind abortion is whether a fetus can feel pain or not, by which logic he reasoned that they are "less human" than adult pigs.

"With respect to those meanings of 'human' that are relevant to the morality of abortion, any fetus is less human than an adult pig," Dawkins, who is an evolutionary biologist, posted on March 13.

In response to Tweets questioning his reasoning, the author of The God Delusion tried to explain that he wasn't arguing that pigs have human DNA, but that this point concerned solely the morality of abortion: "Of course potential to be human is among fetus' qualities. But my pig comparison was careful to specify 'relevant to morality of abortion.'" more >>

British atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has emerged as a contender among a leading Irish bookmaker's list of candidates to replace a retired Benedict XVI as pope and leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, which a religion and pop culture expert believes could be a sign of discontent among the Catholic faithful.

Dawkins, philanthropist and Irish singer Bono of U2 (who was raised Catholic) and the Father Dougal McGuire character of the old Irish sitcom "Father Ted" are among the 72 bets for the next pope being offered on PaddyPower.com. On Tuesday evening, after the first meeting of the papal conclave, the odds were Dawkins at 666-1 and both Bono and the decidedly dense Father Maguire at 1000-1 odds.

Among the serious contenders on Paddy Power with the best odds were Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, Archbishop Angelo Scola of Italy and Cardinal Odilo Scherer of Brazil. Benedict XVI, who became the first pope in 600 years to retire, fulfilled his final duties as pontiff on Feb. 28. more >>

An atheist police officer in Puerto Rico filed a lawsuit on Friday for discrimination after allegedly being fired due to his refusal to participate in Christian prayer while on duty.

The 14-year veteran of the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD), Alvin Marrero-Méndez, claims in the lawsuit filed on Friday that he suffered severe mental distress, anguish, humiliation, and shame, causing him to seek professional psychological help due to what he perceives as retaliation within the department. The defendants listed are employees, agents, and supervisors within the PRPD.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed the lawsuit on Marrero-Méndez's behalf. William Ramirez, executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico said in a statement, "Government agencies cannot require employees to take part in prayer in their workplace. To do so runs afoul of one of the great pillars of both the U.S. Constitution and the Puerto Rico Constitution, which mandate separation of church and state." more >>

Well-known atheist Richard Dawkins made an appearance as the devil on the long-running U.S. animated show "The Simpsons."

Dawkins shows up in Ned Flanders' nightmare in the form of a giant horned devil, stirring a cauldron of people in a fiery underworld. "I'm making Catholic Saint stew!" Dawkins says in the nightmare.

Flanders is Homer Simpson's devoutly religious neighbor. In the latest  segment, Flanders has a nightmare about going to hell after he loses his patience with Homer and punches him. He encounters several "warning" signs on his way to hell, such as "Brief Nudity" and "Non-Jesus-y Beards," before reaching a large cavern nicknamed "Hell's Kitchen" where the devil – Dawkins – resides. more >>

An atheist student group from a Wisconsin academic institution will be holding an "Atheist Pride Parade," said to be the first of its kind in the United States.

The Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics of the University of Wisconsin-Madison expects hundreds to show up for the event, scheduled for Saturday.

Chris Calvey, executive director for the AHA, told The Christian Post that the Pride Parade was part of the student club's second annual Freethought Festival. more >>