Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programmes. These were the words thundered by Hamza Aktan, Chairman of the High Board of Religious Affairs in Turkey, after he learned details of a game show aimed at converting atheists into believers. Those competing to lure 10 non-believers from the path of godlessness will be a [...]
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THERE’s gloom, consternation and not a little measure of embarrassment among Buddhists following the news this week that a young “reincarnated spiritual leader” had jumped ship. The Spaniard – 24-year-old Osel Hita Torres – made international headlines back in the 1980s, when, aged five months, he was “recognised” as the “reincarnation” of Lama Thubten Yeshe, [...]
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THE flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender Thai monks, who are often be seen wearing revealingly tight robes, carrying pink purses and having effeminately-shaped eyebrows, has become a source of grave concern to Buddhist leaders. The BBC reports that Buddhist preacher in Thailand – Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedhi – has announced plans for new guidelines [...]
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A GROUP of angry Indonesian Buddhists symbolically sealed the upmarket Buddha Bar in Jakarta yesterday, urging authorities to immediately close the Paris-based entertainment franchise for “blasphemy”. About 150 mainly student protesters carrying joss sticks and flowers gathered outside the bar in a wealthy neighbourhood of the capital and denounced its decorative use of sacred symbols [...]
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THEY can’t send text messages, don’t have a camera, and can’t browse the web. And they won’t allow access to more than 10,000 phone numbers for dating services and sex hotlines. So, in effect, they’re as much fun as scabies and about as useful as a chocolate teapot. But, hey, they do have a rabbinical [...]
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
