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 A group of black atheists meets in Atlanta.
December 8th, 2011
01:56 PM ET
Black, atheist and living in the SouthBy Kim Chakanetsa, CNN Editor's note: Listen to the CNN Radio broadcast about black atheists in the South: (CNN) - Benjamin Burchall first realized how different his experience in the South was going to be while looking for something to watch on television on a Sunday night. "I couldn't find anything on television but religious programming,” says Burchall, 38, a former Christian minister and agricultural consultant who moved from Long Beach, California, to Atlanta for work in 2010, “And I thought, 'Oh my God, where am I? Is this all that is on television here?'" And he quickly found other differences from West Coast living. "I was not used to meeting someone for the first time and having their first question be ‘what church do you go to?’" Burchall’s proud response to such queries was, “None.” He is part of an increasingly visible minority – black atheists living in the Bible Belt.  Vocal Point performs on NBC's the Sing Off with host Nick Lachey.
December 8th, 2011
01:33 PM ET
The Mormon group – whether they like it or notBy Dan Merica, CNN (CNN) – When Shane Wright met with members of Vocal Point, a Brigham Young University a cappella group that was considering competing on NBC's singing show "The Sing Off," the main question he had for the nine male students had nothing to do with their singing talent. Wright, the artist manager at BYU, wanted to know if the team was prepared to not only represent themselves and their school but to be viewed through the audience's understanding of Mormonism. "I went around the room and asked the guys, how would you handle this or that type of question or situation," Wright said. "In our meeting we discussed several scenarios. I wanted to get them thinking about various situations before they were put in the fire."
December 8th, 2011
04:45 AM ET
Belief Blog's Morning Speed Read for Thursday, December 8
By Dan Merica, CNN Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories. From the Blog: CNN: GOP candidates court Jewish Republicans  Rick Perry has made religion a focal point of his campaign. CNN: Perry hits Obama for war on faith, despite a ghost of ‘holiday season’ past |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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