“We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all.”This was just part of a collaborative response by French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo to then-French President Jacques Chirac back in 2006. Quick question, and answer with your gut, which political party in this country is the party of liberty? The Republicans, or the Democrats? Which is the party of freedom? The party of equality? Which is the party of compassion, or common sense? Now hold those answers in head, and let me ask a few more and see if by the time you read all of this, you still feel the same: What have On Tuesday Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on what has become to be known as "The Hobby Lobby" case. I may be accused of being too hyperbolic, but I believe this case has the potential to redefine the concept of religious freedom for years to come. 'Fat Tuesday' is the English translation of the French term 'Mardi Gras'. And there are two ways people participate in this annual tradition. One is with religious ritual and observance. The other, one big ol' party. Governor Jan Brewer vetoed Arizona's "religious liberty" bill last evening, putting the brakes on what could have been one of the most discriminatory laws in the country had she given it her approval. Growing up believing Santa Claus was real and then finding out around 5 years old that he was actually pure fiction taught me a valuable lesson about religion, even if that lesson laid dormant in the deep recesses of my subconscious until years later.Remember the children's books when you were a kid? They were thin and had gold trim on the sides.
Debunking Lies & Misinformation About ReligionWith little to no oversight, the Louisiana Voucher School program has been taken over by predominantly Christian schools that are teaching questionable things to the children. The books that these children are reading include lessons teaching that man and dinosaur walked the earth together; that dragons are real; that the majority of slave owners were nice guys; and best, but definitely not least, that Hippies were dirty people that followed Satan worshiping Rock Bands. Jindal wrote that he was part of an exorcism in 1994. He never used the word exorcism but describes as scene where he was a part of a group that was chanting,"Satan, I command you to leave this woman." Then described the woman as being purified. He wrote down this experience for the New Oxford Review. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has spearheaded a measure that has drained tens of millions of dollars of Government money away from public schools and to Religious Private Schools. Opponents of the measure have argued that this is a clear violation of the separation of church and state clause of the 1st Amendment. Government cannot endorse a specific religion. Harris says: “So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, ‘Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,’ you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed….Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male.” Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a bill into law that would allow pharmacists to refuse to provide drugs they believe might cause an abortion. Called the Heath Care Rights of Conscience Act, the new law would bar anyone from being required to prescribe or administer a drug they "reasonably believe" might result in the termination of a pregnancy.
Religion News & Opinion Articles |  | Tue Nov 03, 2015 | reuters.com
Americans are becoming less religious, judging by such markers as church attendance, prayer and belief in God, and the trend is more pronounced among young adults,... |
|  | Mon Sep 28, 2015 | theatlantic.com
There’s something macabre about hosting a photo-op inside of a prison. Waiting for the pope to arrive at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia on... |
|  | Thu Aug 13, 2015 | bigstory.ap.org
A clerk's office turned away gay couples who sought marriage licenses on Thursday, defying a federal judge's order that said deeply held Christian beliefs don't excuse... |
|  | Tue Jul 07, 2015 | huffingtonpost.com
Faith is important to former President Jimmy Carter, and he writes about it extensively in his new memoir A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety. But his religious beliefs... |
|  | Sat Jul 04, 2015 | theatlantic.com
In May 1988, a 13-year-old girl named Ashley King was admitted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital by court order. She had a tumor on her leg—an osteogenic sarcoma—that, writes... |
|  | Tue Jun 30, 2015 | huffingtonpost.com
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Ten Commandments monument placed on State Capitol grounds must be removed because the Oklahoma Constitution bans the use... |
|  | Tue Jun 23, 2015 | alternet.org
Over the weekend, the New England Conference of United Methodist Churches, which represents 600 congregations, voted for a resolution that calls for a complete end to the... |
|  | Wed Jun 10, 2015 | politico.com
Before the rise of the religious right in the 1980s, most politicians kept their faith to themselves. In 1945, for example, President Harry Truman wrote: “I’m not very much... |
|  | Sun Mar 15, 2015 | theatlantic.com
The French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, the son of Holocaust survivors, is an accomplished, even gifted, pessimist. To his disciples, he is a Jewish Zola, accusing... |
|  | Sun Mar 01, 2015 | rawstory.com
Possible Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson suggested over the weekend that religion was necessary for testing scientific theories because the science could be... |
God's word is true. I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution, embryology, Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell. It's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior. There's a lot of scientific data that I found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I believe that the Earth is about 9,000 years old. I believe that it was created in six days as we know them. That's what the Bible says.
I would think [a man being gay] is somehow related to demonic possession. I don’t know what was driving him — the lust of the flesh, whatever you call it — but he needs to be set free. … And if you want to be free of whatever has got you in bondage, don’t try to justify it, don’t tough it through and tell everybody it’s OK. It’s not OK.
"To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes me want to throw up."
"I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state are absolute. The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country"
One of the things I will talk about that no President has talked about before is I think the dangers of contraception in this country, the whole sexual libertine idea. Many in the Christian faith have said, 'Well, that’s okay. Contraception’s okay.' It’s not okay because it’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.
Religion Videos |  | Sat Sep 27, 2014
"Televangelist Pat Robertson on Monday accused a viewer of having a “liberal mentality” because she suggested that... |
|  | Fri Aug 29, 2014
A detailed look at Pascal's Wager as originally presented and in its modern, colloquial forms. |
|  | Mon Jul 21, 2014
Sarah Palin claims that God wants Obama to be impeached. |
|  | Sat May 17, 2014
Creationist Ken Ham is fighting with Pat Robertson over the Earth's age. |
|  | Wed May 07, 2014
Iraq may legalize marriage for girls as young as nine years old. A bill that would allow the practice was approved... |
|  | Mon May 05, 2014
The Supreme Court gave limited approval to prayers at a New York town's board meetings. CNN's Carol Costello has more. |
|  | Mon May 05, 2014
The Supreme Court ruled that city councils and other public boards are free to open their meetings with an... |
|  | Thu Apr 03, 2014
--Neil deGrasse Tyson trolls creationists on Cosmos |
|  | Tue Mar 25, 2014
"On March 20, 2014, Danny Faulkner of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum made an appearance on the Janet... |
|  | Wed Mar 12, 2014
*A creationist has reviewed the new "Cosmos" reboot, featuring astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and it may come... |
|  | Wed Feb 05, 2014
Bill Nye "The Science Guy" engaged in a debate over creationism and evolution with Creation Museum founder Ken Ham.... |
|  | Tue Feb 04, 2014
Is creation a viable model of origins in today's modern, scientific era? Leading creation apologist and bestselling... |
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