End Hereditary Religion

Director of Strategy and Policy for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason

Richard Collins — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:38:53 +0000

Sean Faircloth served five terms in the Maine Legislature. Faircloth served on the Judiciary and Appropriations Committees. In his last term Faircloth was elected Majority Whip by his colleagues.

An accomplished legislator, Faircloth successfully spearheaded over thirty laws, including the so-called Deadbeat Dad child support law which saved Maine taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and was later incorporated into federal law. Faircloth had numerous legislative successes in children’s issues and justice system reform.

In two years as Executive Director of Secular Coalition for America, Faircloth conceived and led the Secular Decade plan, a specific strategic vision for resecularizing American government. Faircloth writes about his ten point vision of a Secular American government in his book Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All and What to Do About It.

Faircloth earned a reputation for strategic thinking, innovative ideas, and speaking to groups in a way that energized them to support the secular cause.

As Director of Strategy and Policy for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason, Faircloth will expand his strategic efforts on behalf of the entire secular movement, speak regarding policy issues, discuss the ideas in his book, and seek innovative ways to improve the secular movement. Faircloth has spoken around the United States about separation of church and state, the Constitution, children’s policy, obesity policy, and sex crime law. Faircloth chaired a Commission on sex crime law reform which led to substantive improvement in that area of law. Faircloth chaired an early childhood commission, as well as a Commission regarding the citizen initiative process.

In Maine Faircloth also had the idea for the Maine Discovery Museum and led the four-year project from concept to completion in 2001. Maine Discovery Museum was then the second largest children’s museum outside Boston of the twenty-five children’s museums in New England. Faircloth graduated from the University of Notre Dame and has a law degree from University of California Hastings College of the Law. Faircloth served as a state Assistant Attorney General, and as a lobbyist for the state bar association.

A New Way of Thinking — Faircloth Interview – - – Point of Inquiry (richarddawkins.net)
Q&A, Sean Faircloth on Secular Strategy, Romney & the Religious Right – Sean Faircloth – RichardDawkins.net (richarddawkins.net)
[UPDATE 10-Feb - video Chapter 7] Sean Faircloth discusses his new book Attack of the Theocrats – Sean Faircloth – Pitchstone Publishing (richarddawkins.net)
Attack of the Theocrats!: A Review and an Interview with Author Sean Faircloth (patheos.com)
Universal Tolerance (atheistethicist.blogspot.com)
Religious Bias in Public Schools (atheistethicist.blogspot.com)

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Startling new evidence is revealing the powerful neuroplasticity capability of our brains.

Richard Collins — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:07:06 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

The old idea that the brain (thus perhaps a mind set) could not physically change in later life is wrong. Illnesses like OCD, and PTSD can now be successfully treated using computer assisted training to essentially create new neuronal links in the brain. The seminal discoveries are documented in the book “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Doctor Normon Doidge. These new findings pose profound questions for all of us and go to the very roots of our law, science, philosophy, and culture.

In this respect the new knowledge is as “disruptive” as the theory of evolution. There apparently is a cure for bigotry waiting in the wings and I say that warily because the claim is based on classifying bigotry as a pathology that wants curing. Bigots are unable to adapt to new information and will not take up a new and more appropriate stance when given the most overwhelming, unambiguous evidence. They are stuck in a rut and are for all intents and purposes they are unable to climb out. The term you often hear is “willful ignorance”, yet it is probably more accurate to call this “inappropriate neuronal pathways”.

Promoters of physical child discipline are a prime example. They are absolutely not going to be reasoned out of their position no matter what. Hard core religious and political conservatives, likewise. However, for the subset of people who realize they might be on the wrong side of an argument there may be treatments that can ameliorate or even eliminate their bigoted views. Dr Doidge does not treat this aspect of his work in great detail because I think a lot of work must be done and treatments for other problems such as OCD and PTSD are more advanced at this stage.

The irony here is that the very aspect of our minds that can make us flexible can also make us inflexible. It all depends upon how the brain has been wired by our experience and learning. In the case of religious bigots, childhood indoctrination is the prime suspect because it occurs during the time children are especially vulnerable to brainwashing.

The promotional text for the presentation Dr. Doidge made in Australia reads:

“Dr. Doidge takes viewers through the latest research into the specific problems exclusive to the human brain, and human condition. And prepare to be amazed: The program interviews UCLA researcher Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, whose research is giving new hope to people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. In Montreal, Dr. Doidge meets psychologist Alain Brunet, who is currently developing a neuroplasticity-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. And in San Francisco, the program visits with Dr. Sophia Vinogradov, who is making groundbreaking advances in dealing with schizophrenia. Like many other researchers, she’s completely rethinking the current methods of treating schizophrenic patients.

With Dr. Doidge as capable tour guide, the film confirms that long-held belief that the human brain is remarkably resilient and can adapt to almost any situation.”

http://www.themonthly.com.au/brain-how-it-can-change-develop-and-improve-featuring-dr-norman-doidge-1385

Another Journalist Revels in Ignorance about Dominionism

Richard Collins — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:32:18 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Frederick Clarkson	print page
Mon Sep 19, 2011 at 11:00:10 PM EST

In recent weeks, we have seen an odd flurry of articles and conservative op-ed columns attacking a number of authors and journalists who write about the Christian Right. Religion writer Mark I. Pinsky has issued the latest scurrilous screed, this time in USA Today. It is remarkable that so much prime real estate on the op-ed pages of the leading newspapers in the country has been devoted to downplaying or denying the significance of dominionism and related subjects, or to seeking to discredit some of us who have written about these things. So much ink, so few facts. Mr. Pinsky makes three main charges I would like to address.

The first of these is his complaint that left-wing Jewish writers are primarily responsible for critical work about the role of dominionism and Christian Reconstructionism in evangelical Christianity. Those he names: Sara Diamond, Michelle Goldberg, Rabbi James Rudin, and Rachel Tabachnick do indeed hail from Jewish backgrounds, but there are many non-Jews, including evangelicals, who have prominently written about these subjects. I have written extensively about them myself, notably in my 1997 book Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy. Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst at Political Research Associates in Somerville, MA has written widely about these things in books and articles. Although we did not coin the term, he and I certainly popularized the use of the term dominionism in the early 90s. But evangelical seminary professors Wayne House and Thomas Ice predated all of our books in this area, in their 1988 book Dominion Theology: Blessing or Curse?. Steve Clapp wrote an influential feature article in Christianity Today magazine about Christian Reconstructionism in 1987. Bill Moyers did a TV documentary in 1987. More recently, Rev. Dr. Bruce Prescott a national leader in the moderate Baptist movement published a six-part series (here at Talk to Action) on dominionism based in part on his personal experiences in the right wing takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention; and when the Religious Right, led by a well-known Christian Reconstructionistnamed Steven Hotze, took over the his local Republican Party in Houston in the early 90s. There are many, many such examples. The fact is that these matters have been prominently written about by journalists and scholars, Christian and non-Christian, evangelical and non-evangelical for decades. In any case, writing about these things did not begin in 2006 nor has writing in this area been dominated by Jews.

(For a primer on dominionism and Christian Reconstructionism in the context of the current controversy, see Berlet’s essay ”Inside the Christian Right Dominionist Movement That’s Undermining Democracy.”)

Please continue reading:

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/9/19/23010/6991

USA Today Op-Ed Claims David Barton and John Hagee are “Marginal Figures” (barthsnotes.wordpress.com)
Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party Part 2 (yumaprogressive.wordpress.com)
Dominionism – Part Ii (maboulette.wordpress.com)
Dominionismism: A conspiracy theory unmasked (gentlewisdom.org.uk)
Major Ron Paul Supporter Favors Death Penalty for Gays (alternet.org)

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Kidnapped for Christ trailer

Richard Collins — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:40:19 +0000

Kidnapped for Christ follows the stories of several American teenagers who were sent to Escuela Caribe, an American-run Evangelical Christian reform school in The Dominican Republic.
Category:Film & Animation
Tags:
* Escuela Caribe
* Troubled Teen Industry
* Documentary
* New Horizons Youth Ministry

Kidnapped for Christ (queerlandia.com)
Kidnapped for Christ (patheos.com)

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What if Islam is true? Sam Harris has some ideas to share.

Richard Collins — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:42:40 +0000

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Childhood religious grooming is unethical and can be emotionally abusive.

Richard Collins — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:03:38 +0000

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Brad Pitt walked away from religion of his childhood

Richard Collins — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:09:42 +0000

Brad Pitt Turns His Back On Religion:

‘Didn’t Work For Me’

Posted on Sep 16, 2011 @ 06:00PM

By Radar Staff

Brad Pitt may have been brought up as a good Christian boy in Springfield, Missouri but he has since turned his back on the religion, which is sure to have his devout parents disappointed.

The Hollywood actor has slammed his Godly upbringing saying he didn’t agree with it. “I grew up Baptist, and then the family switched over to more of an evangelical movement, probably right around the time I was in late high school,” he told Parade magazine.

“There’s a point where you’re un-tethered from the beliefs of your childhood. That point came for me when it was finally clear my religion didn’t work for me.

PHOTOS: Brad and Angie Take The Kids To See The Smurfs

“I had questions about Christianity that I could not get answered to my satisfaction, questions that I’d been asking since I was in kindergarten. I realized it didn’t feel right to me, that one question just led to another. It was like going down a rabbit hole, each answer provoking another question. There were things I didn’t agree with.”

But Brad says that although he has a totally different belief system and point of view to his parents, Jane and William, they respect each other’s opinions.

“My family is all devout Christians. Yes, absolutely. We don’t see eye to eye on this one, yet at the end of the day we love each other, we’re still family,” he shared.

PHOTOS: Brad Arrives At Moneyball Press Conference

The father of six is raising his own brood now with Angelina Jolie, and as the couple is not married, it is of no surprise that he does not believe on the orthodox Biblical ban on pre-marital sex.

“My religion was telling me what not to do – what not to even think about doing. Those are the things I would try, because that was my nature,” he said of his rebellious tendencies. “I had to experience things to know what would work for me – say, something as simple as premarital sex. I can figure out what works or doesn’t work.

“I will know. You say that something is wrong for me to do? Well, I know it’s not wrong because I just did it.

PHOTOS: Brad & The Kids Go To The Movies

“I don’t mind a world with religion in it. There are some beautiful tenets within all religions. What I get hot about is when they start dictating how other people must live,” Brad said about the ban in most states on gay marriage. “You grow up in a religion like that and you try to pray the gay away. I feel sadness for people like that.”

Parade hits newsstands Sunday; Brad’s new movieMoneyball hits theaters on Friday, September 23.

Source:

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/09/brad-pitt-slams-christian-upbringing-religion-didn-t-work-me

Finding celebrities like Brad Pitt and Katy Perry (read our article, http://bit.ly/wGDwX5) who publicly share their experience of religion as children is putting a face on the problem of hereditary religion. Brad relates how as a small child he had questions he could not get answered. This is a common experience with children. The adults indoctrinating them believe they are too young to deserve a full and complete explanation and they would not understand it if given to them. But generally the problem is that children can spot great holes in the dogma and they ask questions that the most educated theists have trouble explaining. For example, “if god created everything, who created god?” Why does god permit tornadoes to destroy people’s houses? Children have the innocence to not feel reticent about asking hard questions, because they don’t know they are asking hard questions.

http://www.endhereditaryreligion.com/2011/03/children-discuss-jesus-with-the-vicar/ for an example of innocent children posing pointed questions to the vicar.

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The Hitting Stops Here! A campaign for teaching kindness and respect in schools everywhere.

Richard Collins — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:41:50 +0000

Image via Wikipedia Corporal Punishment in USA schools are coded red.

The Hitting Stops Here! A campaign for teaching kindness and respect in schools everywhere.

www.TheHittingStopsHere.com! !

info@thehittingstopshere.com, 408.509.6835

September 29, 2011

New York Representative Carolyn McCarthy’s federal bill for banning USA school corporal punishment, HR 3027, news reports and PSA:

www.thehittingstopshere.com/McCarthyNewsBillPSA.pdf

REP CAROLYN McCARTHY’S PETITION

For Banning USA School Corporal Punishment: http://DontHitStudents.com/

American Civil Liberties Union Petition

Tell Congress to Support The Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act:

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3669&s_sbsrc=110925_CorpPunishSchools_bor

What American Schoolchildren Can Do For Gaining Their

14th Amendment “protective” and “due process” rights :

By clicking on the following link and completing the simple form, an automated letter will be

sent to your Representatives in Congress urging them to Support H.R. 3027, “The Ending

Corporal Punishment in Schools Act,” which can be sent daily:

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3669&s_sbsrc=110925_CorpPunishSchools_bor

Additionally, it is important to know:

Where Does Governmental Power Exist For Ending USA “School Corporal Punishment”

“The Umbrella of U.S. Power,” p. 52, by Dr. Norm Chomsky, reveals that the US SenateHolds the Power to End All USA School Beatings and Other Forms of School Corporal Punishment:

“The U.S.A. accepted the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other forms of Cruel andInhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, BUT THE SENATE IMPOSED RESTRICTIONS, USING ITS POWER TO AMEND AND RATIFY TREATIES UNDER THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, to protect in part, the Supreme Court’s ruling ALLOWING CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS.”

Dr. Chomsky is an esteemed lecturer and professor of Government and International Politics at Harvard University.

Therefore, US Senator Education Committee Chairman Tom Harkin has the MOST influential power for ending USA school corporal punishment. While American schoolchildren of color, disadvantaged and special needs, primarily, face all

kinds of abusive punishment in USA schools, Tom Harkin has focused his attention on the following:

“…Tom is working to insure that the Middle Class has a bright future…” He has fought to

improve education in Iowa and across the country. He has worked to reduce class size, give

students better computer and Internet access, expand school counseling and safety programs and

improve teacher training. He has also led the effort to modernize America’s school infrastructure.

Each year he secures funding to help school districts in Iowa update and repair their facilities.

Please note: Iowa Senator Harkins resides in the top-performing state for education in America.

Do schoolchildren in US “paddling” states fit anywhere in his agenda?

Tom Harkin is the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that funds the USA Education school

system. These funds are those referred to in NY Rep Carolyn McCarthy’s bill. See news report, Bill for

Banning US School Corporal Punishment Introduced To Congress:

http://carolynmccarthy.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=155§iontree=189%2C155&itemid=1932.

Senator Tom Harkin’s biography:

http://harkin.senate.gov/

Image via Wikipedia

Senator Harkin has a, “Tell Tom how you Feel About a Bill” link at: http://harkin.senate.gov/contact.cfm

ALL U.S. SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBER names and contact information, to

be posted here soon.

The following link is to their main website containing their contacts:

http://help.senate.gov/issues/issue/?id=20c1298a-5186-4859-8488-a6731cf07a9e

__________

US House of Representative Education and Work force Committee Chairman John Kline was reelected to represent suburbs and rural Minnesota counties in the House of Representatives a fourth term in 2008. He has established himself as one of Congress’s foremost experts on defenseand veterans issues, a conservative voice on tax and budget policy, an advocate for education,and a champion for helping America become more energy independent. But ending US school beatings of disadvantaged American schoolchildren under his jurisdiction,

being targeted at them by American Educators who are under his command, appears to be for him, a daunting task. Fall 2011, the House of Representatives is expected to consider proposals to roll back FEDERAL INTRUSION in classrooms, eliminate wasteful education spending, improve accountability, support more effective teachers, and provide more flexibility to state and local education leaders.

Rep. John Kline’s contact information: MN Ofc: 952.808.1213, Wash. DC Ofc: 201.225.2271, email address for MN residents: http://kline.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=233

ALL U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBER names and contact information, to be posted here soon. The federal bill for banning USA school corporal punishment was introduced to the House by Representative Carolyn McCarthy on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011.

See news report, Paddling is Bullying, Outlaw It, Says U.S. Congresswoman:

http://news.yahoo.com/paddling-bullying-outlaw-says-u-congresswoman-211100520.html

PLEASE POST!

REP CAROLYN McCARTHY’S PETITION FOR BANNING USA SCHOOL

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT:

http://DontHitStudents.com/

PSA ON BANNING USA SCHOOL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SydswuSpWds

Other links worthy of attention:

Statistics on Children in America: www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0408_census_youth_frey.aspx

“Forced medication” in American schools: http://psychrights.org/kids/pizzuroforceddrugging.pdf

Harkin’s Education Bill Draft Shows A Federal Rollback (huffingtonpost.com)
Rare Bipartisan Accord on No Child Left Behind Revamp (usnews.com)
Bipartisan Rewrite Of Contentious Bush-Era Law Sparks Debate (huffingtonpost.com)
Corporal punishment cannot be practiced in the name of disciplining child: Shantha Sinha (equalityindia.wordpress.com)
SEN. TOM HARKIN: It was my understanding that there would be no math. Plus, from the comments: … (pjmedia.com)

End all physical punishment of children A raging argument has been going on for years over...

Robert Kunzman: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child vs. the Parental Rights Movement

Richard Collins — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:23:28 +0000

Today’s post is from Robert Kunzman, author of Write These Laws on Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling. Kunzman spent ten years as a high school teacher, coach, and administrator and is currently an associate professor in the Indiana University School of Education. He is also the author of Grappling with the Good: Talking about Religion and Morality in Public Schools.

Quick—who are the only two nations who haven’t ratified the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?

Somalia is one of them—no bonus points for that guess. Who else stands against the 193 nations who’ve ratified the treaty? None other than the United States of America. This may change under the Obama administration; U.N. ambassador Susan Rice recently proclaimed the situation a disgrace and indicated that U.S. ratification of the treaty was under active discussion.

But not if the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has their way. Calling the UNCRC “anti-family” and “anti-American,” they have urged their 80,000 members—as well as those who’ve joined ParentalRights.org, a “grassroots” organization founded by HSLDA—to voice their opposition. To further their cause, they have been a driving force in promoting a Parental Rights Amendment, which now has more than 110 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

Why does the most powerful and prominent homeschool advocacy organization in the world see the UNCRC as such a threat? Ultimately, it’s an argument about who should have a say in the raising and educating of children.

I’ve spent the past five years exploring the world of homeschooling from a variety of angles, traveling the country and visiting with families in their homes, observing their homeschooling practices and talking with them about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. I quickly discovered that the range of philosophies, methods, and outcomes is vast indeed. But one fundamental conviction among homeschool parents emerges again and again: the state has no business telling them how to raise or educate their children.

This conviction is especially strong among conservative Christian homeschoolers, who most observers agree constitute the largest subset of the likely two million homeschoolers in the United States (HSLDA describes itself as a Christian organization). Not infrequently, parents pointed to the biblical passage of Deuteronomy 6:6-9 when explaining to me their motivation to homeschool. The Message, a popular Bible paraphrase, puts it this way: “Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.”

This orientation toward parenting and education helps explain why homeschool parents are particularly resistant toward any government role or authority in the education of their children. Good parents (whether homeschoolers or not) see education, broadly construed, as part of their job description: raising a child involves constant teaching, and the most important lessons in life generally occur outside of school walls. But most homeschoolers take this a step further. They don’t see any real distinction between this broader notion of education and formal schooling itself—which makes sense, if homeschooling is just woven into the fabric of everyday family life. And if homeschooling is seen as simply part of parenting, then it becomes easier to understand why many homeschool parents view government oversight of education as an unjustifiable intrusion into their sacred domain.

For conservative Christian homeschoolers, educating their children is a God-given right and responsibility, and one they can delegate only at great moral and spiritual peril. Like many in the broader homeschool population, conservative Christians see homeschooling as a twenty-four-hour-a-day, all-encompassing endeavor. For them, perhaps more explicitly than other homeschoolers, homeschooling is a shaping not only of intellect but—even more crucially—character. This means more than just moral choices of right and wrong; character is developed through the inculcation of an overarching Christian worldview that guides those moral choices. These parents share a fierce determination to instill Christian character in their children, a process that entails protecting them from the corrupting influences of broader society. To accomplish this, the family becomes the defensive bulwark and sanctuary wherein children are prepared for eventual engagement with the world.

Parental interests aren’t the only ones at stake in the educational process, of course. A democracy depends upon the cultivation of informed citizens who can deliberate respectfully about the best ways to live together. And while most parents naturally believe that their efforts are dedicated to what’s best for their children, in reality this isn’t always the case; as the UNCRC asserts, children have their own educational interests at stake as well. But in the context of homeschooling—the ultimate in educational privatization—how to define and protect these various interests remains a complicated and contested question indeed.

http://www.beaconbroadside.com/broadside/2009/09/robert-kunzman-the-un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child-vs-the-parental-rights-movement.html?cid=6a00e54ed2b7aa88330120a5bff906970c#comment-6a00e54ed2b7aa88330120a5bff906970c

Conservative Christian homeschoolers are creating an unnatural “bubble” to raise their children in, shielded from the larger society, which conservatives have learned they cannot control. They do a great disservice to their children by handicapping them from ever living comfortably outside the bubble. They are outcast from normal society and cannot flourish once they leave their bubble. They develop backward attitudes that make them unpopular among their peers. Those that suffer the most are the ones that attend a college that is not specifically religious.

Child hatred is so common we never notice it It is not that some parents do not know how...

Rationalists make a grave error thinking logical arguments will sway believers

Richard Collins — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 23:05:50 +0000

In the context of discussing religion with believers, rationalists are making a grave error when they think they can simply present logical arguments to believers and have them accepted. The people who claim to “know” god are reacting to a visceral feeling which Dr R. A. Burton, MD says is an emotion we don’t control. The feeling we get that we know something for certain is a feature provided by evolution. Nonetheless, mystical experiences divorced from reality have utility, because for many people believing in God is like a placebo. In fact Burton draws this very analogy. The benefit of such a placebo should be recognized and respected, because for billions of people “knowing” their life has purpose is all that gets them through the day.

On the other hand rationalists can deal with the existential abyss of not knowing all the answers. Indeed science is comfortable with the concept that all knowledge is provisional, subject to constant challenge and revision when new facts warrant. Burton advises us to teach children there are no absolutes. He says our genes set us apart from one another, and certainty is biologically impossible to attain.

Burton writes: “The message at the heart of this book is that the feelings of knowing, correctness, conviction, and certainty aren’t deliberate conclusions and conscious choices. They are mental sensations that happen to us.” He says that somehow we must incorporate what neuroscience is telling us about the limits of knowing into our everyday lives. The book is On Being Certain Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not, St Martins Press

We all must learn to live within our biological constraints. No religious or scientific knowledge can be certain. But, getting people to go along with the cold hard facts is not easy. For scientists this maxim will be easier to accommodate than for believers.

Some research by The Cultural Cognition Project scientists reveals that arguing with people who are culturally disposed to disbelieve your point of view is actually counter productive and only serves to harden the resistance of believers to examine evidence objectively. This is an involuntary reaction and it happens instantly, the moment a threat against their world view is detected.

Cognition scientists are learning that once a belief is accepted as truth the belief is indelibly wired into the neural network of the brain. Certainty is a common state of mind and difficult to shake but there are ways to bypass resistance.

To be smart about engaging believers we need the help of the scientists at Frameworks Institute. There is more than one way to tell a story—making research understandable to the public is the expertise at Frame Analysis.

About Strategic Frame Analysis™

Since 1999, a rare collaboration between communications scholars and practitioners at FrameWorks Institute has worked to develop a new approach to explaining social issues to the public.

Strategic Frame Analysis™ is a proprietary approach to communications research and practice that pays attention to the public’s deeply held worldviews and widely held assumptions. This approach was developed at the FrameWorks Institute using a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluate the effects of various frame elements on support for social policies. Recognizing that there is more than one way to tell a story, Strategic Frame Analysis™ taps into decades of research on how people think and communicate. The result is an empirically-driven communications process that makes academic research understandable, interesting, and usable to help people solve social problems.

Quite simply, framing refers to the subtle selection of certain aspects of an issue in order to cue a specific response; as researchers have shown, the way an issue is framed explains who is responsible, and suggests potential solutions conveyed by images, stereotypes, messengers, and metaphors. The advantage of strategic frame analysis™ is that it allows the research to document and deconstruct the frames currently in the public consciousness and to understand their impact on public policy preferences. Additionally, it allows us to test and validate, through different disciplines, both the negative frames and the potential positive reframes that can further an issue’s salience. Finally, the effectiveness of the recommendations we make can be demonstrated; while we hope we are “creative” in our approach to communications, our findings are rooted in the social and cognitive sciences. We can explain what works and why it works, and demonstrate this across the research.

For more about framing and FrameWorks’ approach, read our Frequently Asked Questions.

How can you learn more about strategic frame analysis™? Click on the links below to read more about strategic frame analysis™ and how it can be applied to non-profit communications and advocacy.

* Strategic Frame Analysis E-Workshop
* The FrameWorks Perspective
* Seven Stages
* Research Methods
* Resources on Strategic Frame Analysis
See our Products and Tools section to review descriptions of our various research efforts and acquaint yourself with the variety of products produced by FrameWorks.

Read More here:
http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/sfa.html

Groups like Project Reason, FFRF, and the Richard Dawkins foundation have the financial resources to hire Frameworks to design a scientifically sound way to approach communication of the atheist perspective. It should be painfully obvious to every atheist who ever tried to reason with a believer how frustrating and fruitless the effort can be. Even the brilliant (and often witty) efforts of Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and our best debaters fail to get through. We need a better plan to engage in dialogue with believers—one that takes advantage of all we have learned about human communication. Plus one that does not simply harden their views.

[ Edited: 22 October 2011 07:35 AM by Librehombre ]

Bridging the science-religion gap is possible – some stunning new insights (endhereditaryreligion.com)

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End Hereditary Religion

Director of Strategy and Policy for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason

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Startling new evidence is revealing the powerful neuroplasticity capability of our brains.

RELATED ITEMS (on the same web address)

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Another Journalist Revels in Ignorance about Dominionism

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Kidnapped for Christ trailer

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What if Islam is true? Sam Harris has some ideas to share.

Childhood religious grooming is unethical and can be emotionally abusive.

Brad Pitt walked away from religion of his childhood

Brad Pitt Turns His Back On Religion:

‘Didn’t Work For Me’

The Hitting Stops Here! A campaign for teaching kindness and respect in schools everywhere.

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Robert Kunzman: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child vs. the Parental Rights Movement

Rationalists make a grave error thinking logical arguments will sway believers

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