Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 16:56:23 -0500 From: owner-aanews@atheists.org Subject: AANEWS for Tuesday, December 18, 2001 To: unlisted
A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S #988 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12/18/01 http://www.atheists.org http://www.americanatheist.org http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv ftp.atheists.org/pub/atheists
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS "Leading The Way For Atheist Civil Rights And The Separation Of Church And State"
In This Issue: * Study questions efficacy of prayer on health * Pennsylvania Nonbelievers party this Saturday * Send free Winter Solstice E-Greetings, or buy a gift subscription for a friend * Religious "Hate Speech" law setback in Britain * Maryland-DC Winter Solstice party on Sunday * Resources * About this list...
WITHOUT A PRAYER -- MAYO CLINIC STUDY SHOWS NO EFFECT FROM RELIGIOUS INTERCESSION ON PATIENTS
A six-month study conducted by the prestigious Mayo Clinic has found that prayer had no effect on rates of death, heart attacks, strokes and hospitalizations.
The study was directed by cardiologist Dr. Stephen L. Kopecky, and was conducted between July, 1997 and October, 1999. Results were released in the current issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. A statement from the Clinic said that researchers "found that... intercessory prayer had no significant effect on patients' medical outcomes after hospitalization in a coronary care unit."
Kopecky's team followed 799 male and female patients aged 18 years or older. The survey was described as a "single-center, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial."
"We sought to improve on the design of earlier studies of intercessory prayer through the application of standard experimental methods with the hope of obtaining scientific evidence to elucidate the potential role of intercessory prayer in medical care," said Kopecky.
Patients were randomly placed into an "intercessory prayer group" and a control group. Those in the former cohort were prayed for at least once a week for 26 weeks by a prayer-team of five people. "No significant differences were found between the intercessory prayer group and the control group," noted the Mayo Clinic team.
The findings add to a growing debate among religious leaders, scientists, health-care workers and even public policy makers about the role of spirituality in physical well being. Nearly 1,200 studies have attempted to examine the effects of prayer, and even Kopecky suggested that some forms of religious involvement and spirituality are linked to healthier lives. One possible explanation, though, suggests that benefits occur not because of the intervention of a cosmic deity exchanging medical outcomes for prayer, but rather the fact that when people pray, they are often relaxed and have lower blood pressure rates. Indeed, some have pointed to the benefits of laughter as a source of potential medical benefit.
"Although the relationship between religious involvement and spirituality and health outcomes seems valid (in some studies)," said Dr. Paul S. Mueller of the Mayo Clinic, "it is difficult to establish causality. The benefits of religious and spiritual involvement are likely conveyed through complex psychosocial, behavioral and biological processes that are incompletely understood."
For those who argue that intercessory prayer and other spiritual practices benefit health due to the intervention of supernatural beings, the Mayo Clinic study offers little sanctuary. "Researchers could discern no scientifically significant differences" between groups of patients who received prayer, and those who did not. Fully 25.6% in the prayer group even suffered "negative outcomes" such as death, heart attack, rehospitalization or a trip to the emergency room. More bedeviling, of course, are the deeper philosophical and theological questions the Mayo study, and even surveys suggesting a link between health and spirituality don't answer. Why would God or angels wait until someone is on his/her deathbed, or in a serious medical crisis, before intervening? Why might prayer be said to work for some, and not others?
Equally puzzling is the comment of Rev. John Hatgidikas, "who teaches University of Minnesota medical students about spirituality" according to the AP story reporting the Mayo Clinic findings. He said that people who are unaware that they are being prayed for by others "may benefit in ways that we can't know or see."
For further information:
http://www.americanatheist.org/spr97/T2/faithhealing.html ("Trying to make a Case for Faith Healing," by Kevin Courcey"
http://www.americanatheist.org/aut98/T2/courcey.html ("Touched by a Feeling and High on Believing," by Kevin Courcey"
**
PENNSYLVANIA NONBELIEVERS HOST WINTER SOLSTICE BASH THIS SATURDAY!
Get together this Saturday, December 22 for the 4th annual Winter Solstice Party sponsored by the Pensylvania Nonbelievers. Join us at the home of Steven Neubauer and Yolanda Forry in Mt. Wolf, PA. Bring an appetizer or desert and some $$ for ordering chicken and/or pizza. The fun begins at 3 PM. For further information, contact Liz Burcin, Pennsylvania State Director for American Atheists at eburcin@atheists.org, or visit http://www.atheists.org/pa
WHAT: Pennsylvania Nonbelievers Winter Solstice Party
WHEN: This Saturday, December 22, 2001 beginning at 3 PM
WHERE: The home of Steven Neubauer and Yolanda Fory in Mt. Wolf, PA.
MORE INFO: eburcin@atheists.org
**
SEND FREE SOLSTICE GREETINGS, GIVE A GIFT SUB There's Still Time To Give A Present That Counts!
The Winter Solstice occurs this Friday, December 21; the sun reaches its lowest point in its annual journey across our sky in the Northern Hemisphere. Many celebrate this day as a "natural holiday" and alternative to the religious feasts of this period, such as "Christmas." And for many, this is also a time for gift giving, and getting together with friends and relatives.
You can send a electronic Winter Solstice Greeting Card for free! Simply visit http://www.atheists.org/egreetings.html, fill out the simple form and your E-card is on its way!
You may also wish to give another gift, such as a one year subscription to The American Atheist Magazine. This is THE quarterly journal of Atheist news, commentary and analysis, featuring writers like Frank Zindler, Earl Doherty, Conrad F. Goeringer, Margaret Bhatty, Josh Karpf, Ibn Warraq, Gary Sloan and more. What have you missed by not getting the American Atheist Magazine? Recent issues have included...
* "One Nation Under God: The Crusade to Capture the American Flag" by Whitney Smith.
* "The Children We Abandon: Medical Neglect on Religious Grounds," by Rita Swan.
* "Touched by a Feeling -- and High on Believing" by Kevin Courcey.
* "Vardis Fisher: An American and Atheist Novelist" by Earl Doherty
* "Belief and Knowledge: A Conceptual Analysis," by David Eller
* "Apocalypse Kitsch: Tim LaHaye's LEFT BEHIND Series and Its Impact," by Conrad Goeringer
... and much, much more!
And have we got a deal for you -- and a friend! Purchase a special gift subscription to American Atheist Magazine and we'll send a handsome card to the recipient acknowledging your thoughtful offering. You can purchase the subscription (for yourself or friends) on-line, along with other great Winter Solstice items. Use our secure transaction server at http://www.atheists.org/catalogue/special.html . You'll be glad you did!
**
RELIGIOUS "HATE CRIME" BILL STOPPED IN BRITAIN -- FOR NOW
Legislation that would have strengthened Great Britain's already formidable antiterrorism statutes and created a new crime of incitement to religious hatred has stalled after being voted down in the House of Lords.
In an unusual turn-about on the issue of civil liberties and government efforts to combat terrorism in the wake of the September 11 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, it was the Peers who seemed most concerned about penalizing free speech. In addition to gutting the state's plan to make religious "hate speech" a punishable crime, they also voted to subject the legislation to a "sunset clause" that makes the provisions lapse within five years.
Peers challenged claims by Home Secretary David Blunkett that penalizing unfavorable or hostile remarks about religious belief was a way to combat international terrorism. "There are very deep and serious long-term issues wrapped in the back of these simple little clauses," cautioned Lord Dixon-Smith. Another peer, Lord Strathclyde said "the most far-reaching powers ever seen in peacetime" should not last indefinitely.
"Only those who see parliamentary scrutiny as an intolerable burden could for a moment view the sunset clause on such emergency powers, and a call for their periodic renewal, as unacceptable," he said. "Hasty law is often bad law. Hasty law touching on freedom of belief is particularly risky."
The 240-141 vote in the House of Lords is the eighth defeat the Government and Mr. Blunkett have suffered over the antiterrorism legislation. Opposition has come from a broad coalition of Liberals, civil libertarians, Conservatives, and even Labor Party rebels from within Prime Minister Tony Blair's own party.
Human rights groups attacked various parts of the bill which would permit the detention of persons without access to counsel, and increase the surveillance powers of the policy and other government agencies. But one of the most controversial portions of the measure introduced by the Home Office on November 13 extended laws which prohibit inciting racial hatred to include the category of religion. Moslems and other sectarian groups had clamored for passage of the bill, according to the BBC. Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed of the Muslim Association of Britain declared that outlawing religion-based hate speech "will help enhance our rights in this country."
But civil rights groups and even members of the entertainment industry spoke out against the proposed measure, noting that it would penalize a wide range of opinions and even humorous remarks. Comedian Rowan Atkinson, creator of the misanthropic "Mr. Bean" character, said that comics and satirists could fall under the purview of the proposed legislation, and end up facing harsh prison sentences for any unflattering remarks about religious belief or groups.
"I have always believed that there should be no subject about which one cannot make jokes," Atkinson wrote in a letter to The Times of London. "For telling a good and incisive religious joke, you should be praised. For telling a bad one, you should be ridiculed and reviled. The idea that you could be prosecuted for the telling of either is quite fantastic."
Others, such as writer Matthew Parris asked if the government was intent on sending Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipaul to prison, for his written statement that Islam diminishes the status of the individual, and was a "dark" force which produced authoritarian and intimidating cultures. He added: "All three of our major religions in Britain -- Christianity, Islam and Judaism -- have a hateful idea at the very core. That idea is Exclusion: the 'othering,' if you like, of the unredeemed."
For now, the religious "hate speech" provision remains excised from the antiterrorism bill, but if Home Secretary Blunkett and the government have their way, the House of Commons could re-insert the measure.
For further information:
http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/islam11.htm ("British proposal aimed at religious 'hate speech' " 10/19/01)
**
MARYLAND - DC METRO WINTER SOLSTICE PARTY SLATED FOR SUNDAY, DEC. 23
Happy Winter Solstice to all from the Maryland and Washington DC Directors of American Atheists! To celebrate the season, we invite you to a Winter Solstice gathering at Dave & Buster's Restaurant located inside the White Flint Mall, Third Floor in Bethseda, Maryland. Join us on Sunday, December 23 at 2 PM. The mall is on Rockville Pike in Montgomery County, Maryland. For further information, visit http://www.atheists.org/dc or contact John Obst ( Maryland State Director, jobst@atheists.org ) or Melanie Obst (Washington, DC Director) at mobst@atheists.org, or phone 301-538-2670.
WHAT: MARYLAND-DC AREA WINTER SOLSTICE PARTY
WHEN: Sunday, December 23, 2001 beginning at 2 PM
WHERE: White Flint Mall, Bethseda, Maryland
MORE INFO: jobst@atheists.org, mobst@atheists.org, or PHONE 301-538-2670.
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send mail to info@atheists.org. Kindly include your name and postal mailing address.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist books, videos and other products, send mail to catalogue@atheists.org. Kindly include your postal mailing address.
* The American Atheist Magazine is now on the web! Check out select articles from current or back issues, as well as special web-only features. Visit http://www.americanatheist.org/
* If you are a current member of American Atheists, sign up for our e-mail discussion group, aachat. We have over 150 participants who discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First Amendment issues and much more. Contact the Moderator, Margie Wait, through mdwait@atheists.org
**
ABOUT THIS LIST...
AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide movement founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair which defends the civil rights of nonbelievers, and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch, provided that appropriate credit is given to both AANEWS and American Atheists. Please do not post complete editions of this newsletter indiscriminately to news groups, boards or other outlets. Edited by Conrad F. Goeringer, cg@atheists.org. Internet Representative is Larry Mundinger, lmundinger@atheists.org. President of American Atheists is Ellen Johnson, ej@atheists.org.
To subscribe, send a blank message to aanews-on@atheists.org To unsubscribe, send a blank message to aanews-off@atheists.org To change your email address, send a message to aanews-change@atheists.org with your old address in the Subject: line