Humanist Charity Funds Disaster Relief Effort

Humanist Charities, an adjunct of the American Humanist Association, is funding a relief effort to provide food, water, medical supplies and rescue tools to the people of Jacmel, a Haitian city that has been devastated by the earthquake that struck the country last Tuesday but which has received little media attention.

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Non-Believers Giving Aid: A Religion-Free Way To Help Disaster Victims

Spurred by the horrific suffering in Haiti, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS) has joined forces with 13 other freethought groups or associates, to collect donations to non-religious relief organizations. Those participating are Atheist Alliance International, Atheists Helping the Homeless, Atheists United, The British Humanist Association, James Randi Educational Foundation, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, New Humanist magazine, Pharyngula, Rationalist Association, Reasonable New York, The Reason Project, The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, The Skeptics Society and Unreasonable Faith.

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Atheist Richard Dawkins aids Haiti, touts God-free giving

Secular help for Haiti

Bowling for Atheists: Haiti Proves that Nonbelievers Care Too

Natural, not supernatural, disasters

Many Haitians' Religious Faith Unshaken By Earthquake

Perhaps few personified that deep belief better than 11-year-old Anaika Saint Louis, who was pulled from the rubble Thursday night and later died. Her leg had been crushed, and doctors thought they might have to amputate her feet. She said she didn't care.

"Thank you, God, because he saved my life," she said. "If I lose my feet, I always had my life."

She was rescued too late. She died.

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Religious Haitians see hand of God in earthquake

Religious Lunacy: Haitian Rev. Eric Toussaint, "Give Thanks To God"

Voodoo faith 'could hinder Haiti's recovery from quake'

Haiti: After The Warmists, Christians And Occultists, The Scientologists Arrive

Earthquake Survivors Get Solar-Powered Bibles

As international aid agencies rush food, water and medicine to Haiti's earthquake victims, a US faith-based group is sending Bibles to Haitians in their hour of need.

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Kenneth Copeland Accused of Humanitarian Aid Fraud

Why God Hates Haiti

Prop. 8 Challengers Highlight Religion's Role In Campaign

San Francisco - Challengers of California's ban on same-sex marriage tried to show Wednesday that religion has promoted discrimination against gays.

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Action Alert: Protest Mother Teresa Stamp

The U.S. Postal Service announced with great fanfare in January that among the 2010 stamps it is releasing will be one honoring Mother Teresa. What's wrong with honoring this nun with a U.S. postage stamp? Plenty. Only about 25 new commemorative stamps a year are selected using 12 criteria. It is against these postal regulations to "honor religious institutions or individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings or beliefs."

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Humanists Applaud President Obama For Including Nontheists In Religious Freedom Day

The American Humanist Association today commended President Obama for his continued acknowledgement and inclusion of nonbelievers when speaking about the role of religion in American life. "...It was the genius of America's forefathers to protect our freedom of religion, including the freedom to practice none at all," President Obama said while delivering a speech declaring Saturday Religious Freedom Day.

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Group Advocates Church And State Separation With Billboard

A state group has sponsored a temporary downtown billboard emphasizing the importance of separation of church and state.

The billboard at Third and Cass streets through February is part of the Wisconsin chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State's two-month advertising push. The campaign, which also involved similar signage at Milwaukee bus stops, advocates the constitutional separation of religion and government.

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'God Is' Ad Campaign To Hit 1,000 NYC Subways

Pro-God ads will hit some 1,000 subway cars throughout New York City beginning Friday, announced the New York church sponsoring the campaign.

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President Of AHA On Alan Colmes Radio Show

David Niose, President of the AHA (American Humanist Association), was a guest on the Alan Colmes radio show with the Executive Director of the Traditional Values Coalition. David did a wonderful job representing and defending those of us who proudly call ourselves nontheists.

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Video: Bertrand Russell on God

CBS Approves Focus On The Family's Super Bowl Ad, Despite Its Policy Against Advocacy Spots

Last week, conservative organization Focus on the Family announced that it planned to air a 30-second "life- and family-affirming" television ad during the Super Bowl on Feb. 7. The ad will feature 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam, who will "share one of their many positive personal stories." Specific details about the ad haven't been released, but the AP notes that it is "likely to be an anti-abortion message chronicling Pam Tebow's 1987 pregnancy."

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No More Jesus Rifles

Trijicon, the gunsight maker that has imprinted Bible verse numbers on its scopes, has announced that it will no longer imprint the verses on the sides of scopes intended for the U.S. military, and will also provide clients with the kits to remove the Bible verse numbers from existing scopes.

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Jesus Rifles Stopped!

Earlier...

Wixom company defends Biblical rifle sights

Pentagon: Bible-verse gunsights don't violate rules

Freedom From Religion Foundation Objects to 'Jesus Rifles'

Propaganda fear as our troops in Afghanistan are given U.S. guns carrying secret Bible codes

Muslim anger over military 'Jesus' scopes

Stephen Colbert on Jesus rifles and Bible Grenades

'Survival of the Cutest' Proves Darwin Right

ScienceDaily -- Domestic dogs have followed their own evolutionary path, twisting Darwin's directive 'survival of the fittest' to their own needs -- and have proved him right in the process, according to a new study by biologists Chris Klingenberg, of The University of Manchester and Abby Drake, of the College of the Holy Cross in the US.

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Chimp and Human Y Chromosomes Evolving Faster Than Expected

New Theory on the Origin of Primates

Monkeys Go Out On A Limb To Show Gratitude

Evolutionary biologists Filippo Aureli of Liverpool John Moores University in Liverpool, UK, and Gabriele Schino of the Italian National Research Council's Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC-CNR) in Rome, have now combed through dozens of previous studies to quantify how often primates groomed relatives and non-relatives, and how often the favour was returned. They found that, contrary to the prevailing view, primates were more likely to groom others that had groomed them, regardless of their relatedness. Publishing their analysis in Ecology Letters1, the researchers report that reciprocity alone explained about 20% of the variability in grooming behaviour in 14 different species of primates, whereas kinship alone explained only 3%.

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Americans' Bias Against Jews, Muslims Linked, Poll Says

A poll about Americans' views on Islam concludes that the strongest predictor of prejudice against Muslims is whether a person holds similar feelings about Jews.

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ADF Sponges Off FFRF'S Lawsuit

The Alliance Defense Fund, an extremely wealthy Christian right legal group, sent out a four-page fundraising letter this month to its supporters begging for money to fight Freedom From Religion Foundation's important federal lawsuit challenging the National Day of Prayer.

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Questions Raised About Anti-Abortion Groups Getting Va. License Plate Fee

When a Virginia driver purchases a specialty "Choose Life" anti-abortion license plate, $15 of the $25 processing fee goes to Heartbeat International, a Christian group that distributes the money to pregnancy resource centers located across the state.

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Oregon City Faith-Healing Trial Opens With Starkly Different Views Of Boy's Death

OREGON CITY -- As Neil Beagley lay dying on his grandmother's bed, his parents did not take him to a hospital or call 9-1-1 or make any lifesaving efforts, a Clackamas County prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.

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Church members thought Neil could die

Kansas Judge In Abortion Case Comes Under Scrutiny

WICHITA, Kan. -- The judge overseeing the trial of the man accused of gunning down a Kansas abortion doctor is a practicing Roman Catholic who once courted the endorsement of an anti-abortion group - but who has insisted the case won't be about abortion.

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Ex-Pastor Who Killed Wife Gets 65-Year Prison Term

WACO, Texas (AP) -- Jurors on Thursday sentenced a former Texas minister to 65 years in prison for murdering his wife and trying to cover it up as a suicide.

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Mistress testifies that Baker told her how he killed his wife

Speakers Blast Tampa City Council Over Opening Prayers

TAMPA -- People who oppose starting government meetings with invocations pleaded with City Council members Thursday to end the practice.

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Should Prayer Before City Council Meetings Be Allowed?

Independence, MO --

"...that Independence will be a light that shines for you, and we'll give you all the glory and praise as we ask in your son's name, Amen."

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Lake Local Students On A Mission For God

Since August, Lake Local school officials have wrestled with the phrase "belief in God," which has been in the district's value statement for years.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation contends that using the phrase violates the First Amendment of the Constitution. Saying they represent Lake Local residents, the foundation has told the district to remove the phrase or face a court battle.

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No Supreme Court Hearing For Mom Who Asked To Read Bible To Son's Class

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear the appeal of a Pennsylvania mom who sought to read five verses of Psalms from the Bible as part of her son's 'All About Me' classroom assignment.

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Teacher With Bible Divides Ohio Town

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Most people in this quiet all-American town describe themselves as devoutly Christian, but even here they are deeply divided over what should happen to John Freshwater.

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Liars For Jesus

The religious right's attempt to rewrite U.S. history.

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Church Leaders Struggle To Protect Kids From Sex Abuse

The Rev. Kay Doyle, dismayed by the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the U.S. Catholic Church eight years ago, felt some comfort in distance. A pastor of a small Carmichael church, she didn't worry about such problems in her congregation. And then the distance closed.

Her church organist was accused of sexually molesting a minor and arrested in October. Doyle, pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church for 13 years, was unprepared. James Charles Jordan, 53, was charged with six counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14.

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The Silent Screams of the Victims of Sexual Abuse by Catholic Priests

Priest Made Schoolgirl Say 10 Hail Marys After Assault, Court Told

A priest in the Republic of Ireland gave a girl penance after abusing her in a confessional room, a jury has heard.

Father Maeliosa O Hauallachain (72), of Seafield Road, Killiney, Co Dublin, pleaded not guilty to three charges of indecent assault on dates between July 31, 1981, and August 2, 1982, when the complainant was between 13 and 14 years old.

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Gabriel Byrne Tells Of Childhood Sexual Abuse

The Irish actor Gabriel Byrne has revealed that he was sexually abused by Christian Brothers as a child.

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David Baddiel's New Film Courts Controversy

David Baddiel, the comedian, is courting controversy with his first feature length film, about a British Muslim who discovers he was born a Jew.

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Muslim Critic Geert Wilders Goes On Trial In Netherlands

Amsterdam - Did Islam critic Geert Wilders violate Dutch law by calling the Koran a "fascist book" and Islam a "backward culture?" This is the question an Amsterdam court will have to answer when the leader of the Freedom Party PVV goes on trial Wednesday.

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Geert Wilders: 'I want Muslim fanatic to speak in my defence'

A Dark Day for the Enlightenment

West Turns Africa Into Gay Battlefield

Western evangelists and gay rights groups are stoking Africa's bitter rows over homosexuality.

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Hairdos Now In Indonesia Muslim Clerics' Crosshairs

JAKARTA (Reuters Life!) -- To straighten or not to straighten? Women's hair styles have become a hot topic for Indonesia's Muslims after calls from some Islamic clerics to have the procedure banned on the grounds it invites moral danger.

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Security Increased At Christian Churches As Allah Row Divides Malaysia

Malaysian Christians will attend services in guarded churches alongside plain-clothes detectives tomorrow after another week of unsolved attacks on religious institutions provoked by a controversy over the use of the word Allah.

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Religious Riots Spread Despite Nigerian Troops

Almost 500 believed dead after clashes between Muslims and Christians.

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Scores die in Nigeria religious violence

Fighting In Somalia Displaces 63,000 People

(CNN) -- In just the past 19 days, an estimated 63,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Somalia by fighting involving government forces and militias, combined with "general insecurity," the United Nations' refugee agency said Tuesday.

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Pakistan: Targeted Politician Injured In Explosion

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A bomb detonated, injuring a provincial lawmaker and three others in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, police said.

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Al-Qaeda trying to spark India-Pakistan war, says Robert Gates

Afghanistan's Holy Violence

The Taliban attacks on Kabul show that in Afghanistan's cycle of violence, murderers and victims become religious 'martyrs' alike.

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Militant attack kills 5 in heart of Kabul

Militants, troops killed in Afghan fighting

Triple Bombing Kills At Least 25 In Iraq

(CNN) -- At least 25 people were killed and 72 were wounded in a triple bombing at a crowded market Thursday in Najaf, one of Iraq's holiest cities, an Interior Ministry official said.

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Gunmen kill aid workers in Baghdad

Godless Billboard Appears North Of Downtown Seattle

"Don't believe in God? You are not alone."

These words are part of prominent, 14' x 48' billboard that has just gone up on Lake City Way NE near 78th Street. It can be seen by motorists traveling southwest to I-5 and Seattle on the commuter route from the Lake Washington area. Sponsored by the Northwest Freethought Coalition with funding from the United Coalition of Reason, the billboard carries its message superimposed over an image of blue sky and puffy white clouds. It cost $6,700.

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New billboard pops up on Lake City Way

Atheists May Have No Faith in God, But They Have Great Faith in Advertising

North Seattle billboard preaches to the faithless

"Godless" billboard at Lake City Way

Humanism On The Move

Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, a new book about humanism that was written by Harvard Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein, made this week's New York Times Best Sellers List in the nonfiction category. The book, which debuted in October 2009, is about to go into its fourth printing.

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Pat Robertson's Comments Unconscionable, American Humanist Association Says

Washington, DC--The American Humanist Association today condemned Pat Robertson for gross insensitivity after the TV preacher claimed the calamitous earthquake that recently struck Haiti was brought on by curse. The comments were made on the "700 Club," a show on Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, on Wednesday.
"Pat Robertson's comments were unconscionable," said Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. "Tens of thousands of people are dead or dying, thousands more displaced from their homes, and Robertson is blaming this horrible act of nature on an alleged deal with the devil. This situation calls for the application of compassion, reason and science, and superstition only distracts the victims and the responders from recovery efforts."

Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday. The Red Cross projects between 45,000 and 50,000 are dead and 3 million hurt or homeless. The public infrastructure has been decimated by the quake; in most areas there is still no electricity or sanitation, and little food and water.

Humanists were gratified amidst reports that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and senior White House advisor Valerie Jarrett have rebuked Robertson's comments. Gibbs said Robertson's statement was "stupid" and Jarrett said it was "a pretty stunning comment to make," and left her speechless. Speckhardt responded that "public officials are right to and should use their office properly to dispel such myths and rally behind people in need."

"The correct response to this situation is to mobilize a relief effort to assist the victims, not blame them for their tragedy," Speckhardt added. "That's why the American Humanist Association is mustering humanists and other freethinkers to support relief efforts through our charitable arm, Humanist Charities."

See: http://www.humanistcharities.org/ for more on this secular response to the earthquake in Haiti.

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See also:

Pat Robertson links Haitian earthquake with "pact with the devil"

Pat Robertson Cites Haiti's Earthquake As What Happens When You 'Swear A Pact To The Devil'

Pastor Robertson blames Haitians for calamity

Americans United Condemns TV Preacher's Callous Statement on Haitian Earthquake

Haiti legend cited by Pat Robertson a 'fabrication,' scholar says

The Televangelist Misuse of Haiti's History

Pat Robertson Haiti Comments Continue to Draw Ire

Report: Haiti Deaths Estimated at 200,000

Cartoon draws Robertson as devil

FFRF Donates to Doctors Without Borders

Camp Quest Camp Sessions In Summer 2010 - US Dates

Camp Quest sessions in summer 2010 in the US. Here is a list of their dates, locations and websites for more information.

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Why Not Ask God For Moral Guidance?

In my previous blogessay I claimed that we can make moral judgments on which religions are really better or worse, and that the source of this moral judgment is transcendent but not supernatural. How can this be? Before I disclose my answer (if you've read my book The Science of Good and Evil you already know the answer), what's wrong with the supernatural answer? That is, why can't we just ask God? Virtually every believer you know believes that "without God anything goes." There are three problems with this source of moral judgment: (1) Euthyphro's dilemma, (2) Silence, (3) No longer applicable.

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Across The Multiverse: Physicist Considers The Big Picture

ScienceDaily -- Is there anybody out there? In Alejandro Jenkins' case, the question refers not to whether life exists elsewhere in the universe, but whether it exists in other universes outside of our own.

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Adam's Family Jewels

A professor of Semitic languages at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles Zevit posits that the Hebrew word tsela (literally "side," but traditionally translated as "rib") employed in Genesis refers in fact to Adam's member.

Zevit, author of the forthcoming What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden?, argues that, etiologically, "rib" doesn't make much sense in a story pregnant with sexual innuendo; nor is there precedent in ancient Near Eastern mythology for it to feature as an instrument of creation. Instead, tsela was likely a euphemism for the baculum, or "penis bone," found in the males of most mammals. The Bible uses various euphemisms for male genitalia but never a specific word: two of them, "bone" and "flesh," in the pertinent verse may be double entendres when Adam welcomes Eve as "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Gen. 2:23).

Despite macho boasts of having a "boner," there's of course no bone in the human male's reproductive organ. According to John Kaltner, Steven L. McKenzie and Joel Kilpatrick's recently published compendium of titillating biblical tidbits, The Uncensored Bible, where Zevit's suggestion receives prominent treatment, the authors of Genesis believed that the human male lacked this specific part of his anatomy precisely because the first man's had been removed to create Eve.

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There's An App For That

If you ever argue with creationists, you know that the Index to Creationist Claims is an incredibly useful site, as is the book version, The Counter Creationism Handbook. Life just got a little sweeter: it is now available as a smartphone app for the blackberry and iPhone (just get into the App Store and search for 'creationist'). Well, sweeter for us; creationists will find themselves a little more readily refuted now.

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Atheist Students Silenced

The college denied the formation of the student organization Concordia Atheists-Secular Students at Concordia College on the basis that atheism is not in compliance with "college standards," despite the support it received from the Campus Ministry Office.

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No Atheists Need Apply

High School Blues Or The Hassles Of Starting A Student Atheist Group

High school student Skyler Curtis wanted to start a Fellowship of Atheist Athletes group at Rising Sun High School in North East, Maryland. That shouldn't have been a problem since there's already a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group at the school.

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Student, Community Groups Bring Together Non-Believers, Free Thinkers

Tony Kiegel works on aviation radar and communications systems for the Federal Aviation Administration in Evansville. He is, he says, a product of an evangelical Christian education and upbringing.

And he is an atheist.

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Everybody's A Blasphemer

I'm certainly no fan of that old time religion, but I do prefer that old time blasphemy to the new version that purports to be more tolerant. The old kind criminalized critiques of the one True religion, with a capital T. The new Irish kind criminalizes critiques of any religion.

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Diverse Groups Reach 'First-Ever Consensus' On Religion And US Law

When you hear about members of groups like the conservative American Center for Law and Justice or the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission meeting with the ACLU or the First Freedom Center, you're unlikely to think it's because they agree on anything... but that's what just happened. On January 12, representatives of these groups and others held a press conference at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC to announce the signing of a document entitled RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN AMERICAN PUBLIC LIFE: A Joint Statement of Current Law.

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Christianity's Role In History Of U.S. At Issue

When the State Board of Education meets this week to tackle revisions to the social studies curriculum in Texas public schools, some of the most contentious public debate is likely to center on recommendations by two men who want more emphasis on the role of Christianity in how the nation was formed.

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Another trip down biblical lane thanks to State Board of Education

State Board of Education gets an earful about social studies in school

The Rehabilitation Of Joseph McCarthy? Texas Textbooks Process Grinds On

Appeals Court Reverses Grayson Ten Commandments Decision

Posting a copy of the Ten Commandments in the Grayson County Courthouse did not violate the U.S. Constitution, federal appeals judges ruled Thursday.

The decision clears the way for the county to return a copy of the commandments to the courthouse wall, where it once hung in a display with other documents such as the Declaration of Independence and a picture of Lady Justice.

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Pa. Welfare Wins Case Over Religious Child Care

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A state appeals court has sided with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare in a dispute over its authority to regulate religious child-care facilities, a battle with roots in the 1960s.

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Court Dismisses Atheist's Lawsuit Regarding Fort Riley

TOPEKA -- A federal judge in Kansas dismissed a lawsuit Thursday by an atheist soldier who claimed his rights were violated because he had to attend events where prayers were said while stationed at Fort Riley.

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Mayor Reimal Stands Up For Public Prayer

Independence, MO -- Mayor Don Reimal said Thursday he is prepared to go to court for his belief that prayer should continue prior to Independence City Council meetings.

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2nd Group Asks Tampa City Council To Halt Invocations

TAMPA - Another group is calling on the Tampa City Council to abolish its decades-old tradition of opening public meetings with prayer.

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Prayer at council meetings challenged

Atheist Group Wants Lawmakers To Stop Praying Before Session

DES MOINES, Iowa - Monday's legislative session began like most sessions; with a prayer. But the group "Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers" wants to put an end to the practice by sending lawmakers an e-mail demanding the prayers stop.

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Lawmaker Wants Religious Element Required In Oath

Iowa lawmakers would be constitutionally required to say "so help me God" when being sworn into office under a proposal by a Mount Auburn Republican.

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Concerns Raised About Lodi Sidewalk Mosaic Containing Religious Symbols

Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce is raising questions about a public art project that will contain religious symbols, saying she is concerned about blending faith and government.

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Holy Lawsuit! Communion-Wafer Flap Lands In Court

A holy war of sorts has broken out in the communion-wafer-dispensing space.

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Former Minister In Texas On Trial For Wife's Death

WACO, Texas (AP) -- A minister's wife told her therapist a few days before she died that she thought her husband was going to kill her and was having an affair, her therapist testified Wednesday at his murder trial.

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Reynolds, Harper Both Heading To Prison

Four days after Reynolds was murdered, Floyd County police arrested his wife Michelle Reynolds and the Hollywood Baptist Church's youth minister Richard Scott Harper, charging them with the murder and also alleging they had an affair.

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Judge: Roeder Can Seek Manslaughter Defense

WICHITA -- A Sedgwick County district judge today refused to prevent Scott Roeder from pursuing a defense of voluntary manslaughter.

--snip--

Roeder is charged with killing Wichita abortion provider George Tiller on May 31 at the doctor's church. Roeder has admitted to the shooting but said he killed to protect the unborn.

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See also:

Jury selection ongoing in abortion slaying trial

Expert wary of private juror questioning in Scott Roeder trial

Judge Rejects Personhood Petition; Ruling To Be Appealed

CARSON CITY -- An initiative petition that could ultimately prevent abortion is so vague in its true intentions that it cannot be circulated among voters, a judge decided today.

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Oregon City Trial Raises New Questions In Faith-Healing Debate

When an Oregon City couple go on trial this week in the faith-healing death of their son, the case will raise a new wrinkle in Oregon's debate over religious freedom:

Can a juvenile's right to obtain medical treatment absolve parents of responsibility for providing health care to a sick child?

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Little Rock Pastor Resigns Amid Sex Charges

A Little Rock pastor steps down after police say he had inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old boy. Members of The River Church, which recently ran "bar church" this past Easter Sunday, say they're saddened by the news. Police are investigating 42-year-old Shane Montgomery.

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Judge Orders $500K For Each Of Preacher's Victims

TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) -- Five young women who testified last year that evangelist Tony Alamo took them as ''wives'' and sexually assaulted them when they were minors are entitled to $500,000 each from his multi-million-dollar ministry, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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"Ministerial Exception" In Maryland Court

A jury ruled in favor of Linklater and awarded her over a million dollars in damages after she proved that she was unlawfully terminated by the church as its music director after complaining about the pastor's repeated sexual harassment of her.

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Church Liability At Issue In Abuse Suit

A national debate over the extent to which a religious group can be held liable for sexual misconduct by its clergy or its volunteers has made its way to the doorstep of the Nevada Supreme Court.

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Delaware Catholic Diocese Must Face Bankruptcy Trial

Delaware's Roman Catholic churches may be forced to share $76 million with victims of sexual abuse, depending on a ruling by the judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.

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Ex-Priest Convicted Of Rape Denied New Trial

BOSTON - A key figure in the Boston Roman Catholic clergy sex-abuse scandal who claims his rape conviction was based on "junk science" lost his bid for a new trial Friday when Massachusetts' highest court validated his victim's claim of recovering repressed memories.

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Priest Attempts Suicide After Abuse Claim

(AP) -- CHICAGO - A Roman Catholic priest who was removed from his suburban Chicago post because of an abuse allegation was in intensive care Thursday after apparently trying to commit suicide by jumping from a church balcony, officials said.

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Accused Joliet priest remains in ICU

New Spokane Priest Abuse Trial To Start Soon

A new era of clergy sex abuse cases is about to begin in Spokane. Preliminary hearings are underway in a case of a man who claims he was molested at a Catholic group home for boys.

It's the first of what could be as many as 20 trials to be held during the next two years.

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Former Milwaukee Bishop: I Did My Best

In his e-mail Weakland apologizes for any sexual abuse. He says he did his best with the cases with the knowledge and experience he had. He says God will be his judge.

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Former Milwaukee bishop: I did my best

Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian [Humor]

LOUISVILLE, KY -- At first glance, high school senior Lucas Faber, 18, seems like any ordinary gay teen. He's a member of his school's swing choir, enjoys shopping at the mall, and has sex with other males his age. But lately, a growing worry has begun to plague this young gay man. A gnawing feeling that, deep down, he may be a fundamentalist, right-wing Christian.

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Bradley Byrne Says 'Every Word' Of Bible Is True

HUNTSVILLE, AL - "I believe the Bible is true," Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne said here Wednesday. "Every word of it."

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See also:

Only Biblical Literalists May Be Alabama Governor

And...

Farouk Shami says he felt God's call to run for Texas governor

Palin Believed Candidacy 'God's Plan'

Mormon Faithful Most Conservative Religious Group In U.S., Poll Finds

SALT LAKE CITY -- Using data compiled from its 2009 surveys, the Gallup Poll has confirmed what some have long seen as an honor and others as a criticism -- members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comprise the most conservative of the major religious groups in the United States.

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Restoration Of Lost Scientology Materials Complete

Clearwater, USA - More than 1,000 unreleased recordings of lectures by L. Ron Hubbard and reams of corresponding writings have been unveiled in the culmination of a 25-year project to locate, restore and transcribe lost pieces of the Scientology founder's work.

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In Hasan Case, Superiors Ignored Their Worries

WASHINGTON -- A Defense Department review of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, has found the doctors overseeing Maj. Nidal Hasan's medical training repeatedly voiced concerns over his strident views on Islam and his inappropriate behavior, yet continued to give him positive performance evaluations that kept him moving through the ranks.

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Atheism Is Killing Creation, Says Pope

Pope Benedict XVI this week intensified his efforts to convince the world that protection of the environment is necessarily connected to protection of human dignity and must be seen in the light of a universe created and governed by God.

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Killing Freedom And Cartoonists

A 28-year-old Somali Islamist allegedly tried to murder the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard with an axe on New Year's night. It was Mr Westergaard who drew the most controversial of the 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad commissioned by the Arhus-based daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005. His was the one showing a bearded man in a turban shaped like a bomb. Publication of the cartoons led, months later, to riots across the Muslim world. Danish embassies were burned in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. More than 200 people died.

The threats against Mr Westergaard, who is 74, have not abated since.

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Iris Robinson: Mrs. Robinson's Affair With Teen Rocks Northern Ireland

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- A political scandal riveting Northern Ireland has a certain cinematic feel: an affair by 58-year-old woman named Mrs. Robinson with a 19-year-old male lover.

--snip--

But there is a serious side to the story of Iris Robinson, who also happens to be a member of Parliament and the wife of Peter Robinson - Northern Ireland's government leader.

The BBC reported that Iris Robinson allegedly solicited 50,000 pounds ($80,000) from businessmen so her young lover could open a restaurant - without disclosing the fact to lawmakers.

--snip--

Even before the scandal, Iris Robinson had caused her husband political problems when she condemned homosexuals as revolting and called on them to seek help from psychiatrists and Christianity.

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Rabbi Suspected Of Making 1,200 Obscene Calls To Children

A Modi'in Ilit rabbi was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of making 1,200 obscene phone calls to children, Channel 10 news reported.

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Jihadists Groom Children In The UK Under 10

Police have identified children as young as seven being groomed for terrorism, with some expressing a wish to become suicide bombers.

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Human Sacrifices 'On The Rise In Uganda' As Witch Doctors Admit To Rituals

One man said he had clients who had captured children and taken their blood and body parts to his shrine, while another confessed to killing at least 70 people including his own son.

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Uganda rows back on draconian anti-gay law after western outrage

Solar Eclipse Over India, Africa

(CBS) Thousands of people in Africa and Asia viewed an eclipse Friday as the moon crossed the sun's path blocking everything but a narrow, blazing rim of light.

--snip--

But others in India were gripped by fear and refused to come outdoors. Hindu mythology states an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun, while another myth says the sun's rays during an eclipse can harm unborn children.

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Indians Brave Cold Ganges To Celebrate Festival

HARIDWAR, India - Hundreds of thousands of devotees bathed in the icy waters of the Ganges river Thursday as a monthslong Hindu festival expected to attract more than 10 million people kicked off in one of northern India's holiest cities.

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Seven killed in Hindu festival stampede

British Woman 'Arrested In Dubai After Being Raped'

A 23-year-old British woman on holiday in Dubai told police she had been raped, only to be arrested herself for having illegal sexual intercourse.

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Malaysian Churches Attacked

Four Christian churches in Malaysia have been attacked amid tensions over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims in the country.

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Attacks after Malaysian court rules Christians can worship Allah

MALAYSIA: Religious Intolerance Threatens Secular Foundation

'Religious War' Fears After Seven Are Shot Dead At Midnight Mass

Clashes erupted between Coptic Christians and Muslims in several southern Egyptian towns yesterday after an attack that left seven Copts dead.

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Christian-Muslim fighting resumes in Egypt

And...

Piety, skill key to making team, Egypt coach says

Al Qaeda Threatens To Kill French Hostage In Mali

(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's north African wing has threatened to kill a French hostage unless four of its members are released within 20 days.

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Triple Bombing Kills At Least 25 In Iraq

(CNN) -- At least 25 people were killed and 72 were wounded in a triple bombing at a crowded market Thursday in Najaf, one of Iraq's holiest cities, an Interior Ministry official said.

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At least 7 people killed in two Iraq attacks

Taliban 'Killing Thousands Of Civilians'

More Afghans are dying in their country's bloody insurgency than at any time since 2001, a new UN report says, thanks largely to the Taliban's use of indiscriminate roadside bombs and suicide attackers. The findings released yesterday came as at least six civilians were shot dead in Helmand and a series of bomb attacks around the country killed or wounded bystanders.

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Suicide bomber hits Afghanistan market

15 dead in Afghanistan market bombing

Quran desecration claims cause anger in Afghanistan

3 U.S. troops among 6 killed in Afghanistan

British journalist killed in Afghanistan

The Godless States Of America

The polling organization recently released rankings on the religiosity of the states, based on 2007 survey responses to four questions: the importance of religion in people's lives, frequency of attendance at worship services, frequency of prayer and absolute certainty of belief in God.

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29% of Americans say religion 'out of date'

The New Atheism: Taking A Stand For Science And Reason

In this new book, Victor J. Stenger, whose God: The Failed Hypothesis was on the New York Times bestseller list in 2007, reviews and expands upon the principles of New Atheism and answers many of its critics. He demonstrates in detail that naturalism--the view that all of reality is reducible to matter and nothing else--is sufficient to explain everything we observe in the universe, from the most distant galaxies to the inner workings of the brain that result in the phenomenon of mind.

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Secular Coalition For America 2009 Briefing

2009 has been a banner legislative year for the Secular Coalition for America.

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Kepler Planet-Hunting Mission Finds 5 New Lightweight Worlds

WASHINGTON -- The list of known exoplanets in the galaxy just got bigger, thanks to the first observations of NASA's Kepler space telescope, which found five new lightweight worlds orbiting distant stars.

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In All the Universe, Just 10 Percent of Solar Systems Are Like Ours

Hubble Reaches 'Undiscovered Country' of Most Distant Primeval Galaxies

Hubble peers back 13.2 billion years, finds 'primordial' galaxies

Wired Science News for Your Neurons Top Scientific Breakthroughs of 2009

Burial Cloth Found In Jerusalem Cave Casts Doubt On Authenticity Of Turin Shroud

Archaeologists have discovered the first known burial shroud in Jerusalem from the time of Christ's crucifixion - and say it casts serious doubt on the claimed authenticity of the Turin Shroud.

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Sumerians Look On In Confusion As God Creates World (Humor)

Members of the earth's earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, looked on in shock and confusion some 6,000 years ago as God, the Lord Almighty, created Heaven and Earth.

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Biblical Scholar's Date For Rapture: May 21, 2011

Camping, 88, has scrutinized the Bible for almost 70 years and says he has developed a mathematical system to interpret prophecies hidden within the Good Book. One night a few years ago, Camping, a civil engineer by trade, crunched the numbers and was stunned at what he'd found: The world will end May 21, 2011.

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'Jesus Christ' Reports For Jury Duty In Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Jesus Christ was called for jury duty this week in Jefferson County, but was sent home for being disruptive.

--snip--

Efforts to reach Christ were unsuccessful.

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Spiritual Spud? Crosses In Potatoes Appear To Online Sellers

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Move over, Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese. Step aside, Fish Stick Jesus.

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Woman sees Jesus Her Bruise

Scientology Sees Historic Growth

In a tumultuous year in which most religious groups scraped by or tried to hold their own, the Church of Scientology reported its biggest expansion in history in 2009.

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Lawsuit Calls Yoga Chain A Cult

Lee, a South Korean businessman, is the founder of a national chain of yoga and wellness centers called Dahn Yoga. The company teaches that its physical exercises "can restore the vibrations of the body and brain to their original, healthy frequencies," according to a video introduction on its Web site.

But Dahn Yoga is now defending itself from allegations by former employees that it is "a totalistic, high-demand cult group" that demands large sums of money from its followers and enshrines Lee as an "absolute spiritual and temporal leader."

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Americans United Warns Louisiana Education Board Not To Adopt Review Policy That Favors Creationism

A new policy under consideration by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is slanted to favor creationism and should be revised, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

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Louisiana Activist Barbara Forrest Counters Religious Right Attacks On Public School Science Classes

South Windsor, Under Pressure, Moves Graduation Out Of Cathedral

SOUTH WINDSOR -- The board of education has sidestepped a legal fight over the separation of church and state by changing the location of South Windsor High School's 2010 graduation.

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Faith-Based Victory: Florida Court Greenlights Case Challenging Religion Subsidies

A Florida appellate court ruled yesterday that public funding of a "faith-based" prison program may violate the state's constitution.

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Baptist Agency To Take Funding Case To Supreme Court

A Kentucky Baptist children's home says it will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging a lower court affirmed ruling giving a green light to a taxpayer challenge of state funding to the faith-based agency.

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Americans United Urges Army Officials To Alter 'Church Retreat' Program At Missouri Base

U.S. military officials should make further changes at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to ensure that soldiers are not subjected to unwanted religious proselytism, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

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In Defense Of Foxhole Atheists

It's no secret that conservative Christians dominate the U.S. military, but when higher-ups start talking about conversion missions, it's time to worry. The author meets a group of soldiers who aren't having it.

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Professors, Students Bring Lawsuit Against Religious Proselytism By Southern California Community College Officials

Mathematics professor Karla Westphal has seen enough.

After years of protesting invocations at numerous events at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, Calif., this fall the faculty member witnessed the school's most offensive behavior yet.

At the August 2009 Chancellor's Opening Session, officials included a presentation of slides accompanied by the song "God Bless the USA." The last two slides concluded the presentation with images of uniformed service members carrying a flag-draped coffin.

The superimposed text read: "Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American G.I. One died for your soul, the other died for your freedom."

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Delaware Government: Critic Questions Official Prayers

Wilmington man challenges long tradition at public meetings.

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FFRF Asks Tampa Council To Stop Sectarian Prayers

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to the mayor and City Council in Tampa, Fla., to object to the long-term practice of opening council meetings with prayers, and particularly prayers that are geared to Christians only.

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Nonprofit group protests religious invocations at Tampa City Council

Court: FFRF Can Sue Over S.C. School Religious Education

A U.S. District Court in South Carolina has ruled that a Freedom From Religion Foundation lawsuit against the Spartanburg County School District may proceed to the discovery process and to trial.

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Judge: Michigan County Can Ban Median Manger

Charleston Brouhaha Over FFRF's Lighted Cross, Nativity Complaint

Federal Court Hears Oral Arguments In Newdow v. Roberts

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments today in Newdow v. Roberts, a case that challenges the infusion of religion into presidential inaugural ceremonies. With the support of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center, the legal arm of the American Humanist Association, lead plaintiff Michael Newdow argued today that the United States District Court for the District of Columbia erred by failing to follow Supreme Court precedent when it previously dismissed Newdow v. Roberts.

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Brit Hume To Tiger Woods: Convert To Christianity To Recover From Scandal (VIDEO)

Fox News' Brit Hume gave Tiger Woods some personal advice Sunday morning, telling the scandal-plagued (and Buddhist) golfer to 'turn to Christianity' to make a full recovery.

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Argentine Ex-Archbishop Gets 8 Years In Sex-Abuse Case, Court Reports

(CNN) -- A former Catholic archbishop in Argentina has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexual abuse of a seminary student in 1992, a court report said Wednesday.

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Paedophile Monk Allowed To Strike Again At Abbey School

A Benedictine monk who abused children at an independent abbey school in west London was allowed to strike again despite senior officials in the Catholic church and regulators being warned about his record as a paedophile, an official inquiry has revealed.

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Church Accused Of Disregarding Complaints Of Priest's Child Abuse

THE CATHOLIC Church in Germany has been accused of ignoring abuse complaints against a priest who reportedly shared beds, saunas and showers with boys and young men.

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Irish Bishop Donal Murray Resigns Over Cover-Up Of Child Sex Abuse

A bishop accused of covering up the serial sex abuse of children by priests resigned yesterday and a second said he was ready to stand down as the Roman Catholic Church sought to clean up its tarnished image.

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2nd Irish bishop resigns in sex-abuse scandal

Catholic abuse scandals

Irish Atheists Use Bjork, Mark Twain To Challenge Blasphemy Law

(CNN) -- An Irish atheist group has published a series of quotations on religion in an attempt to challenge a blasphemy law that went into effect on New Year's Day.

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Irish Befuddled By New Blasphemy Law

The Atheist Bus Campaign Has Kicked Off In NZ

Atheism is a positive statement about the limits of knowledge. Rather than taking a religious-like leap of faith and saying that there definitely is a god or definitely isn't a god, atheists just say that there's as much evidence for the Christian God as there is for Zeus or any other supernatural thing. That is, zilch.

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Latin America Sees Its First Same-Sex Marriage

Buenos Aires, Argentina (CNN) -- Less than one month after a Buenos Aires court derailed the marriage of Alex Freyre and Jose Maria di Bello, the couple wed Monday at the southern tip of Argentina, making it the first same-sex marriage in Latin America.

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Mexico City legalizes same-sex marriage, adoptions

Americans' Role Seen In Uganda Anti-Gay Push

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Last March, three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about "curing" homosexuals have been widely discredited in the United States, arrived here in Uganda's capital to give a series of talks.

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Spiritual Awakening

Globalisation has been good for gods in the Indian subcontinent. As the region has remade itself, it has grown more devout, and its religions are becoming ever more entangled with politics

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Bangladesh bans religion in politics

Malaysian Court Rules Non-Muslims May Call God Allah

A court in Malaysia has ruled that Christians have a constitutional right to use the word Allah to refer to God.

The High Court said a government ban on non-Muslims using the word was unconstitutional.

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Assassin Shot In Cartoonist's Home Has Links To Al-Qaida, Say Police

Danish police admitted yesterday that a Somalian caught breaking into the home of a cartoonist whose work sparked riots across the Muslim world five years ago was a would-be assassin with links to al-Qaida.

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Religious Hatred Simmers In Terror Suspect's Homeland

AbdulMutallab is the 23-year-old Nigerian being held for allegedly trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. While much attention has focused on his privileged background, less has been said about the religious conflict in his homeland.

Christians and Muslims have been killing each other in Nigeria for much of AbdulMutallab's lifetime. At least 10,000 Nigerians have died during Christian-Muslim riots and ethnic violence during the past decade.

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List of Islamic Terror Attacks For the Past 2 Months

Reports: Islamists Spark Deadly Fighting In Central Somalia Town

(CNN)-- Al-Shabaab rebels attacked a town in central Somalia early Saturday, sparking an intense firefight between rival Islamic groups, according to eyewitnesses and local journalists.

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West warns that Somalia is becoming a haven for international terrorists

Clashes Kill 73 Saudi Security Force Members, Official Says

(CNN) -- Fighting that has spilled from Yemen into Saudi Arabia has killed 73 members of the Saudi security forces since November 3, a Saudi spokesman said Tuesday.

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34 killed in Yemen terror raids

Taliban Blow Up School In NW Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Taliban militants blew up a girls' school in Pakistan's Khyber district Monday, officials said, as two soldiers and seven insurgents were killed in clashes in the northwest tribal belt.

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Suicide car bomb attack in market kills 33 people in Pakistan

Pakistan: Taliban brainwashes kids with visions of virgins

Blast in Pakistani Kashmir kills three

Death toll rises in Pakistan game blast

Death toll rises in Karachi suicide attack

Blast kills Pakistan official, 5 of his children

Suicide bomber strikes in Pakistan

14 Terror Suspects Mistakenly Kill Themselves

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Fourteen suspected terrorists died Tuesday night when the bus they rigged with explosives blew up prematurely, police said.

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Attacks kill 8 purported CIA employees, 5 Canadians in Afghanistan

Pilgrims Killed In Baghdad Bombing

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Two Shiite pilgrims were killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad on Saturday afternoon, the latest strike targeting people marking Ashura, one of the most important annual holy periods for Shiite Muslims across the globe.

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Car bombs kill four in Baghdad

Al Qaeda in Iraq 'shifting its tactics'

Tale Of Two Cities Illustrates Battle For Israel's Soul

While the rest of the world focuses on the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a divide is growing within Israel. Religious and secular Jews are increasingly at odds, and nowhere is the split more obvious than in Israel's two main cities: Tel Aviv, known as "Sin City," and the holy city of Jerusalem.

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Factions clash over Israel's buses

Defying U.S. urging, Israel to build homes in Arab East Jerusalem

Israeli troops kill 6 Palestinians