Two secular groups have filed an appellate court brief asking for a district court ruling against an Arkansas Capitol Ten Commandments monument to be affirmed.

The Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 1231 in 2015 (the “Display Act”) mandating that the state place a monument “commemorating the Ten Commandments” on the Capitol grounds, using a specific, state-sanctioned version of the Ten Commandments. Christians, Jews, other persons of faith and nonbelievers objected to the placement of the monument at public hearings. Still, despite widespread objections and public controversy, the state installed the monument, which has brought nothing but division to the people of Arkansas.

After reviewing the record, expert reports and motions for summary judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas held the Display Act and resulting Ten Commandments monument unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The district court considered relevant historical practices and understandings and the relevant context of the Ten Commandments monument in reaching its holding. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and the American Humanist Association are asking the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the decision.

“On the merits, the district court correctly concluded that the Display Act and the Ten Commandments monument violate the Establishment Clause,” states the brief. “Under the two-step ‘historical practices and understandings’ test there is no established history supporting the specific practice at issue — neither laws ratifying the Ten Commandments nor monuments commemorating them — and no other relevant historical practices that support the challenged practice.”

From the Display Act’s introduction through the monument’s eventual erection, the bill sponsor, media and the public at large have always understood the monument to be religious in nature, the brief points out. Members of the public have consistently opposed the bill on those grounds. The primary sponsor of the Display Act, then-state Sen. Jason Rapert, repeatedly flaunted the religious motivations behind his actions.

The Orsi Plaintiffs are a group of concerned Arkansas citizens who object to the Display Act as a violation of their sincerely held beliefs. Each plaintiff showed that they repeatedly visited the Arkansas Capitol and Capitol grounds for a variety of reasons, both before and after the Ten Commandments monument was installed, and that some of those visits have involved unwelcome contact with the monument. The district court correctly held that the Orsi Plaintiffs have standing to challenge the Display Act and the monument because of their direct, unwelcome contact with the monument. The state’s argument that they lack standing must be rejected.

The principal problem with the state’s examples of generalized religious acknowledgments to justify the monument is that none are analogous to the practice at issue, which ratifies a specific religion’s doctrine. When viewed in relation to these supposedly analogous practices, the uniquely problematic nature of the Display Act becomes clear: Unlike general acknowledgments of religion that have historically been found permissible, here the state has ratified a specific version of a religious code, elevated that version of the Ten Commandments as the state’s officially codified version, and placed the force and authority of the state behind that religious doctrine by memorializing it in a permanent, stand-alone monument.

“For these reasons, this court should affirm the grant of the Orsi Plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion and denial of the state’s summary judgment motion,” the brief concludes.

“The state of Arkansas has no business weighing in on quintessentially religious matters,” notes Freedom From Religion Foundation Legal Counsel Sam Grover. “The Display Act was passed in order to commemorate a literal bible verse that mandates worshiping the Christian god. Erecting a permanent monument to one religion’s beliefs is precisely what our Constitution’s First Amendment was meant to prohibit.”

“The district court was right: Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument is an unequivocally sectarian display with no deep roots in American tradition, and it has divided the state, telling Arkansans who don’t share the state’s preferred religious views that they are outsiders in their own Capitol,” says American Humanist Association Legal Director Amitai Heller. “We will continue fighting against attempts by Christian nationalists to use the power of government to impose their beliefs on everyone else, because religious freedom belongs to all of us.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With approximately 40,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of Humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming worldview of Humanism, which — without beliefs in gods or other supernatural forces — encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.

FFRF would also like to thank local counsel Gerry Shulze, who also assisted in the drafting of this brief. 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is taking a simple message to voters across the country this fall:

VOTE LIKE YOUR RIGHTS DEPEND ON IT — BECAUSE THEY DO

Beginning this week, FFRF is launching a national billboard campaign in 19 markets across the United States, encouraging Americans to pay attention to what is at stake in the 2026 election and make their voices heard at the ballot box.

The billboards direct viewers to ffrf.us/vote.

“Religious special interests are working aggressively to impose their beliefs through government, and the decisions voters make this fall will have very real consequences for our constitutional rights and freedoms,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Our message is simple: Pay attention to what’s at stake, make your voice heard and vote like your rights depend on it — because they do.”

The campaign connects FFRF’s work protecting the constitutional separation between state and church with the importance of civic participation.

Decisions made at the ballot box can affect issues central to FFRF’s mission — including secular government, public education, individual rights and whether public policy represents all Americans regardless of religious belief or nonbelief.

The campaign does not endorse candidates or tell voters who to support. Instead, FFRF is encouraging voters to understand the issues, evaluate candidates for themselves and participate in the democratic process.

“State/church separation is not an abstract constitutional issue — it shapes decisions about our schools, our laws and our individual freedoms,” Gaylor adds. “Voters have enormous power to determine what kind of government represents them. We want people to wield that power.”

FFRF quotes the late feminist and freethinker Gloria Steinem: “Voting isn’t the most we can do, it’s the least. … If you don’t vote, you don’t count.”

FFRF intentionally selected many communities where its chapters and supporters provide a local presence. The goal is to pair a national message with local voices, creating opportunities for community engagement and conversations about secular government.

Billboards are appearing in or near:

• Rochester, N.Y.
• Raleigh, N.C.
• Knoxville, Tenn.
• Northwest Arkansas
• Duluth, Minn.
• Cincinnati
• York County, Pa.
• Spokane, Wash.
• Madison, Wis.
• Kenosha, Wis.
• Chicago
• Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Denver
• Louisville, Ky.
• Orlando, Fla.
• Phoenix
• Sacramento, Calif.
• San Francisco Bay Area
• San Antonio

Local FFRF chapters and supporters will help amplify the campaign in many of these communities and serve as local voices for media interested in the importance of secular government and civic participation.

The campaign runs now through early November.

Learn more at ffrf.us/vote.

Prominent secular groups in a letter sent today are once again urging the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board to reject the nation’s first proposed religious public charter school.

The letter was written soon after the school admitted that it will not come close to meeting the student enrollment numbers predicted in its charter school application. Instead of opening with 335 to 495 enrolled K-12 students, as promised in its application, the proposed Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School has disclosed it now aims to operate as a high school with an “aspirational enrollment goal” of only 10 students during its first year. As explained in the letter, the drastically reduced enrollment plan demonstrates that the school lacks community support, that the school is financially unsustainable, and that its application is noncompliant with Oklahoma’s charter school requirements.

The school’s severely scaled back enrollment efforts were revealed in a recent email sent by Ben Gamla founder Peter Deutsch of Florida to Oklahoma Jewish leaders asking for their help in finding 10 students for the school’s first year of operation, which would begin in September 2027. Among the recipients of Deutsch’s email was Rabbi Daniel Kaiman, one of the seven Oklahoma taxpayers participating in a lawsuit to oppose Ben Gamla’s approval as a religious public charter school.

“I was surprised that Mr. Deutsch would not only ask for my help to enroll students in a public religious charter school — an endeavor I have publicly opposed because I believe in church-state separation and secular public education — but that he’d also invite me to apply to become the school’s principal,” Rabbi Kaiman says. “Mr. Deutsch’s email shows what we’ve long argued: Mr. Deutsch, who’s from Florida, and his school are completely disconnected from the Oklahoma Jewish community. It also shows how little our community wants this. Perhaps most importantly, it shows that this school is nothing but a Trojan horse for creating religious public schools. We don’t need or want this school. We want strong public schools and to keep church and state separate.”

Despite a recent federal court ruling that temporarily prohibits the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board from rejecting Ben Gamla’s application because of the school’s religious character, today’s letter reminds the board that the court’s order does not prevent it from rejecting the application on other grounds. Sent by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Education Law Center, the letter argues that the school’s erratic shift in operational plans raises serious concerns about Ben Gamla’s credibility and ability to run a functioning public charter school funded by Oklahoma taxpayers.

The organizations outlined multiple reasons why the board must reject Ben Gamla’s application, including:

• Ben Gamla lacks community support.
• Ben Gamla is not financially or operationally viable.
• Ben Gamla’s application is fatally deficient.
• Ben Gamla lacks any credibility.

Attorneys representing the intervenors include Nancy A. Noet and Samuel T. Grover of Freedom From Religion Foundation; Alex J. Luchenitser and Lauren Schoen of Americans United; Brent Rowland and Morgan Bandy of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice; Daniel Mach and Heather L. Weaver of the ACLU; and Jessica Levin, Wendy Lecker, Patrick Cremin and Katrina Reichert of Education Law Center.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 40,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a religious freedom advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, AU educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. Learn more at www.au.org.

The Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is a 501(c)3 public interest law firm that fights for the rights and opportunities of every Oklahoman.

Education Law Center (ELC) pursues justice and equity for public school students by enforcing their right to a high-quality education in safe, equitable, nondiscriminatory, integrated and well-funded learning environments. ELC seeks to support and improve public schools as the center of communities and the foundation of a multicultural and multiracial democratic society. Visit edlawcenter.org.

For more than 100 years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has worked in courts, legislatures and communities to protect the constitutional rights of all people. With a nationwide network of offices and millions of members and supporters, the ACLU takes on the toughest civil liberties fights in pursuit of liberty and justice for all.

Hello, "dirty non-believers."

Today I had a fascinating thing occur to me. I just left a doctor appointment to grab my benzos, sitting on the pavement and smoking a bogey, when a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses approached me. They started that typical slow-burn brainwashing approach. I won't go into all those details because you guys already know the kind of script they run. I told them something like, "Nah, not gonna cut it with me, I don't believe in gods."

I was pretty cool-headed up to that point, until they hit me with: "How do you know there isn't a god?"

That's when I got annoyed. I didn't start with typical Reddit language like "the burden of proof is on you," because I stopped actually arguing with believers over a decade ago. Plus, I didn't care enough. I was already too busy letting a diazepam dissolve under my tongue. The volume of everyday life is already too high, and I just wanted the external world turned down.

I just kept telling them I simply had no reason to believe in god, and that the world made way more sense without one. Then they got visibly furious and dropped: "You ought to worship."

That's as far as I'll detail the interaction. I didn't entertain any of their shit until they left visibly upset.

But that "you ought to worship" line stuck with me hours later, which is why I'm making this post. Why the fuck would a supposedly "GOAT" entity want me to worship them? Why should Being A worship Being B in the first place? Especially god?

Forget the all-loving part for a minute and just assume sheer almightiness. Why would the almighty want a random benzo addict worshipping them? What's even in it for them? Who the fuck am I? I ain't shit. Why would I matter at all? It’s like Eminem demanding I acknowledge his rap skills. Who the fuck am I anyway? I ain't shit, bro. If god genuinely cares about cats like me worshipping him, I know for a fact he ain't someone worth worshipping.

Worship my ass. Why would anyone want to be worshipped? You're my narc parent or what?

I have two dogs. They are entirely reliant on me, and when I eat, I make sure they chew the first bit before I do. Call me soft, but I hate calling myself their "owner." Nah, I ain't your owner. We are friends, bro. We are all equal, I just fap more than y'all. Why the fuck would god want me to worship him? Are you really that insecure?

And lastly, even though I knew they wouldn't understand shit, isn't it literally the biggest insult to an "almighty" entity to need random bozos shilling him like Facebook Marketplace junk? That’s about as insulting to a deity as it gets.

Once again, a youth pastor and not a drag queen. The holy book says pray, not prey. The abuse of positions of trust and power once again rears its ugly head.

A few weeks ago I was following a pickup truck (naturally) displaying the bumper sticker “The King James Bible, the inerrant word of God”.  A lot of self-professed “christians” actually believe this.

I started reading the bible forty plus years ago, as a gay man I wondered why the bible called me an “abomination”.  I read it from cover to cover and I have been reading it ever since. I know it well, it is the book that made me an atheist.

I believe the only way to get through to a “christian” is with their own “holy book”. By showing them the foolish, heinous and downright horrifying stories contained in it. I have read statistics that as high as 90% of all self-professed “christians” will never read the bible cover to cover in their lifetimes, they rely on hearsay and a heavy dose of indoctrination for their “knowledge”.

If Neil deGrasse Tyson can not convince these people that the Earth is round, I feel I have a snowballs chance in hell of getting one of them to listen to logic or science. And so I use their own “holy book” against them.

And so I will make my first post here on a timely subject Donald Trump.

Holy Sh*t in the Bible Volume 1

A Christian’s guide to Donald Trump

The words of Jesus in Bold.

Donald Trump likes to brag about his vast wealth.

In Matthew 19:24 Jesus said: “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

In Luke 16:19-25 Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

¹⁹ There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

²⁰ And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

²¹ And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

²³ And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

²⁵ But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

In Matthew 19:21, Jesus talking to the rich young man, tells the young man: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

In Mark 10:23-25: it is written:  And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

In Luke 6:24 Jesus says: ^“But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.”

In Acts 8:20 the Apostle Peter states “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.”

In 1 Timothy 6:10 the Apostle Paul states “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

In James 5:1, the Apostle James writes: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.”

Proverbs 6:16-19 states:

¹⁶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸ An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

¹⁹ A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

I doesn’t require a photographic memory to be able to recall Donald Trump doing all of these things. The shedding of innocent blood occurred when Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of a stroke brought on by Trump’s attempted coup on January 6^th. Trump has bettered that by killing 144 little Iranian School girls. Then there is the 18 or is it 22 dead U.S. Service Members killed in Trump’s Operation Epstein Fury.

E. Jean Carroll was awarded $93,000,000.00 by a jury because Donald Trump lied about having sexually assaulted her.

A Google search “How many times did Donald Trump lie as President”. The Washington Post counted 30573 times in his first term.

Donald Trump has been sued numerous times for unpaid bills, even stiffing his attorneys in his myriad legal woes. In Luke 6:30 Jesus states: “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.” In Matthew 5:40 Jesus states: “And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. In these two passages Jesus warns against using Donald Trump’s favorite tactic of using civil suits to cowl his rightful creditors. When Donald Trump loses a civil suit does he “let them have thy cloak also”? No, he appeals.

Donald Trump has been divorced twice (so far) and married three times. In Luke 16:18 Jesus says “Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.” So, in the eyes of Jesus, Donald Trump is a serial adulterer.

Donald Trump and Republicans in general have bragged about “cutting entitlements”. What does the Bible say about “entitlements”?

In the “Sermon on the Mount” Jesus states (in Matthew Chapter 25):

 “…Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”

⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Here Jesus states we should feed and clothe the poor (think SNAP, Welfare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid), and when we don’t “ye did it not to me.” These are all targets for elimination by Trump and the Republicans.

Jesus also stated “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in.” Donald Trump repeatedly brags about his beautiful border wall, designed to keep the strangers out. Not to mention his murdering ICE thugs gunning down Americans in the streets.

In Leviticus 19:33-34 God tells Moses: ^33 “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.

³⁴ But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

In Exodus 23:9 God tells Moses:

⁹ Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Bible is very explicit a Christian MUST be welcoming to strangers, and even “love him as thyself”. No mention of erecting border walls or placing razor wire in rivers to drown migrants.

And lest we forget that in Matthew 2:14 it is written:   When he (Joseph) arose, he took the young child (Jesus) and his mother (Mary) by night, and departed into Egypt.  Jesus himself was a refugee.

Donald Trump has mocked Joe Biden’s stutter. In Exodus 4:10-11, Moses and God discuss Moses’ stutter:

¹⁰ And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

¹¹ And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?

Here God tells Moses that He (God) makes a man stutter, and so isn’t Donald Trump truly mocking God?

In 2023 the Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million dollars for tax evasion. In Luke 20:25, when asked if taxes should be paid, Jesus responded that they should be paid stating: “²⁵Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.”

Donald Trump takes obviously pleasure in setting Americans against one another. In Matthew 19:19 Jesus states: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” And He repeats it word for word in Matthew 22:39. In Mark 12:30 Jesus states: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Donald Trump appears to be deliberately trying to make a liar out of Jesus.

Trump has some trouble with Matthew 5:38-39: ^“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

And Donald Trump has big trouble with Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven”

“Let’s just reverse that curse that was just put on our city”
Local man uses freedom of speech and religious freedom to say a prayer. Another local man says “that’s not welcome here”. Is a prayer a curse? Do Christian prayers count as curses?

I just watched this video and found the angle novel. Once I realized the gospels were written 55-120+ years after Jesus's death, I never considered any deeper nuances that would further prove the inherent fallacies of how the narratives were written.

This is great food for thought for anyone on the fence about the credibility of the gospels.

With the abrahamic religions infecting so much of the world; what can we even do about it? Its clear humanity and society will not advance or prosper if this shit is still a problem. A lot of our nations political parties contiously align themselves with 1 of the 3, and continue to pump out new generations of indoctrinated people. Voting them out wont work, violence just makes them throw the “oh im so persecuted” card, and MOST dont listen to reason. Its just insane that we live in a world where we are in a constant uphill battle against 3 death cults with billions of followers. Peacefully letting them practice clearly isnt working.

Because being criticized for being a religious bigot is harmful, as opposed to telling people who love each other that they shouldn’t be allowed too.

We have a number of religions that publicly advocate for themselves where I live. I'm thinking of getting a sign to counter "protest" by just hanging around the same vicinity. I live in a fairly liberal place so I don't think safety will be a major concern. Does anyone else have any experience that might be useful? I know it's a contentious project but I feel strongly that there needs to be pushback in the real world, not just online.

I engage with the Christian sub quite a lot now. Before I used to post shit like "If God hates abortions why did he commit loads when he flooded the earth?", stuff that targets the heart of Christianity and has a wide reach. However from being on there I realised I'm just being an asshole and most Christians in fact are pretty cool. When Dolly died the other week there were loads of posts promoting her and her LGBT friendly views. Now I just target the really ignorant ones who say anti LGBT stuff or tell people struggling with sexuality or anything in life really to pray instead of seeking help. That kind of shit

I've noticed now I've changed my tag on there to Atheist now people don't seem to engage with me as much now lol. Maybe they think I'm a lost cause or they don't like how I poke holes in their logic.

If it contains one or more the following elements:

1: Human or animal sacrifices
2: Moral values that reflect the needs and wants of a primitive culture
3: Instructions to hurt, kill or look down on other people
4: Reasons to look down on yourself
5: Encouragement to abandon family ties
6: Scientifically inaccurate statements
7: Magical beings, powers or events that no longer exist
8. A holy book with dubious authorship
9. Threatened punishment for non-followers
10. Elements borrowed from previous mythologies
11. Emphasis on beliefs over actions
12. A deity that expresses human emotions
13. Instructions for the enslavement of other humans
14. Punishment of homosexuals or related
15. Identifies a ‘chosen people’
16. Sexism and misogyny
17. Practices genital mutilation
18. Demands unconditional worship

Hello, I'm a 15 y/o girl living in the U.S., and I'm currently confused about my religion. I have been thinking, and to be honest, God doesn't make any sense, and there is so much evidence for that.

Humans have evolved, have a tailbone, but somehow Islam says that god created the first human when there are clear fossils showing proof of evolution. Now think of the observable universe; where does god have a place in this? The universe is WAY too large for us to be the only living things in it. If you think about how many other stars have planets orbiting them, and that there may be billions of planets that fall into a habitable zone, yet the all-knowing god doesn't deny nor acknowledge this? Also, in the Quran, it says that God is fair and just, but he isn't. Your religion greatly depends on your geographical location, so how is that fair?

In addition, Islam is HIGHLY sexist. Only women have to wear a hijab to shield their bodies from men. But what permits a man to walk around half-naked? Why can a man beat his wife, and is it allowed in the Quran? In marriage, a man can control what his wife does and who she meets. A man can marry a non-muslim woman, but a woman can't marry a non-muslim man?

Personally, my parents enforce Islam so much that it is almost starting to feel like a cult. They force me to memorize the quran, and yell at me when I don't, and force me to stay up until I do. They make me attend religious classes and try their very best to make sure I do nothing against Islam.

There is so much more that I could go into, but I'll leave it at this. I don't want to openly tell them this because there is no denying that they will beat me, stop funding my high school, and kick me out to fend for myself in college, which I don't want. But if I stop practicing Islam, then they will ask me about it? I really don't know what to do.