Talk:Blasphemy Day

This article was nominated for deletion on 7 October 2013 (UTC). The result of the discussion was keep.

A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on September 30, 2012, September 30, 2013, September 30, 2014, September 30, 2015, September 30, 2016, September 30, 2017, and September 30, 2018.

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State atheism needs a reassessment of its Importance level, as it has little to do with atheism and is instead an article about anti-theist/anti-religious actions of governments.
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No pages on Wikiquote or Commons[edit]

The article has boxes saying that Commons and Wikiquotes have related media/quotes, but following the links show that they haven’t. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Leafcat (talk • contribs) 03:03, 16 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Where?[edit]

"Worldwide" the article says. Well I've never heard of this "holiday" before, so let's have some references. 86.29.100.182 (talk) 19:28, 30 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No kidding. The text box says it is observed it the US and Canada. Some individuals may do so, but isn't some level of observance required before you can claim it is observed in a country? A couple hundred individuals doesn't strike me as sufficient. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.95.126.178 (talk) 19:09, 30 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

How prevalent is Blasphemy day? A Google news search on September 30, 2013 found only two article about blasphemy Day and those were two minor web sites. Most articles I found were from the original declaration Blasphemy Day in 2009 or mentions on social media. Sounds to me like this "day" was really a one and done PR event. Should the article be modified to reflect the paucity of observation or even removed from Wikipedia per WP:EVENTCRIT?Wkharrisjr (talk) 00:52, 1 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Wkharrisjr (talk) wrote "How prevalent is Blasphemy day? A Google news search on September 30, 2013 found only two article about blasphemy Day..." Doing a Google News search on one specific day is hardly the only barometer of a subject's continuing relevance. I just did a Google advanced search using "blasphemy day" and the timeframe of the past year as the two parameters. There were 181 hits (excluding duplicates), including multiple mentions of 2013's Blasphemy Day celebration on the website of the Center for Inquiry (the group that sponsors Blasphemy Day), the official Facebook page's notice of this year's celebration (17,000 "likes"), mentions on the popular RichardDawkins.net, on Fark.com, on NationalDayCalendar.com, on PolicyMic.com and a variety of other sites, blogs, fora, etc. In short, Blasphemy Day is not a "one and done PR event"; it has been celebrated -- and documented -- every year for the past five years. Bricology (talk) 07:21, 10 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Wkharrisjr. Blasphemy day is quite prevalent and has been celebrated by the secular groups worldwide. It should not be removed from wiki. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Humanist bd (talk • contribs) 18:39, 21 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Quite prevalent? Hardly. I can get 17,000 likes on Facebook for a picture of a hedgehog sitting on a pillow. And 181 hits - including multiples on the site that created this "holiday" is ridiculous. If this is considered noteworthy enough to be included on the front page of Wikipedia, I want Oct 18th recognized here as "No Beard Day" - it has over 45,000 hits on Google alone. CU L8R AV8R ... J-P (talk) 11:52, 30 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Concerns about last paragraph of "Background" section[edit]

After reading the last paragraph of the Background section, I was a little concerned a possible point of view problem. The paragraph initially sticks to verifiable facts, but then strays off topic and into opinions. The segment on the alleged Fourth Amendment violations has nothing to do with Blasphemy Day. 72.73.38.60 (talk) 21:55, 30 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Background info., some redundant[edit]

Blasphemy Rights Day International encourages individuals and groups to openly express their criticism of, or even disdain for, religion. It was founded in 2009 by the Center for Inquiry.^[1] A student contacted the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York to present the idea, which CFI then supported. Ronald Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry said regarding Blasphemy Day, "We think religious beliefs should be subject to examination and criticism just as political beliefs are, but we have a taboo on religion", in an interview with CNN.^[2] It takes place every September 30 to coincide with the anniversary of the publications of the controversial Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons.

Blasphemy Day started (in CFI's own words) "a firestorm of controversy"^[3] and has been a topic of debate within the Humanist movement ^[4] ^[5] and cited as an example of the a wider move towards new atheism and away from the more conciliatory approach historically associated with Humanism.^[6]^[7] CFI's related Blasphemy Contests^[3]

^ "Penn Jillette Celebrates Blasphemy Day in "Penn Says"". Center for Inquiry. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
^ Basu, Moni (September 30, 2009). "Taking aim at God on 'Blasphemy Day'". CNN.com.
^ ^a ^b "CFI Announces Blasphemy Contest Winners". Center for Inquiry. 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
^ Moni Basu CNN (2009-09-30). "Taking aim at God on 'Blasphemy Day'". CNN.com. Retrieved 2014-07-23. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^ Mark Oppenheimer (October 1, 2010). "Closer Look at Rift Between Humanists Reveals Deeper Divisions". New York Times.
^ "A Bitter Rift Divides Atheists". NPR. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
^ St. Louis, Missouri (2009-10-19). "Quick Thoughts on the NPR "Bitter Rift" Story". Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 2014-07-23.

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Is this still observed?[edit]

The Facebook page hasn't had any new posts since October 2018 and the Twitter account has been similarly dead since December 2018. —howcheng {chat} 16:19, 27 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed, they have not been updated. Yet neither of these are reliable sources.

Zezen (talk) 08:39, 10 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Well one could consider them primary sources. They are certainly useful in helping us determine if this thing is actually active or not, and it appears the answer is "not". —howcheng {chat} 07:51, 28 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

[1] "Penn Jillette Celebrates Blasphemy Day in "Penn Says"". Center for Inquiry. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2013-09-30.

[2] Basu, Moni (September 30, 2009). "Taking aim at God on 'Blasphemy Day'". CNN.com.

[winners-3] "CFI Announces Blasphemy Contest Winners". Center for Inquiry. 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2014-07-23.

[4] Moni Basu CNN (2009-09-30). "Taking aim at God on 'Blasphemy Day'". CNN.com. Retrieved 2014-07-23. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)

[5] Mark Oppenheimer (October 1, 2010). "Closer Look at Rift Between Humanists Reveals Deeper Divisions". New York Times.

[6] "A Bitter Rift Divides Atheists". NPR. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2014-07-23.

[7] St. Louis, Missouri (2009-10-19). "Quick Thoughts on the NPR "Bitter Rift" Story". Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 2014-07-23.

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