College students divided on God, spirituality

About a third, 32%, are true believers. Another 32% are spiritual but not religious. And 28% consider themselves secular.

MORE: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/26/college-students-god-religion/2875627/

Jessica Ahlquist's High School Now Has a New (Secular) Mural

Nearly two years after Jessica Ahlquist fought -- and won -- a legal battle against her high school over a religious mural, Cranston High School West has finally found a suitable replacement.

MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/22/jessica-ahlquists-high-school-now-has-a-new-secular-mural/

See also...

Banner Battle, Final Chapter: R.I. School Erects Secular Principles
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/banner-battle-final-chapter-ri-school-erects-secular-principles

Jon Stewart's Extended Interview with Richard Dawkins

In case you missed it, here's the extended interview with Richard Dawkins...

MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/25/jon-stewarts-extended-interview-with-richard-dawkins/

See also...

Rediscovering Richard Dawkins: An Interview
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/23/rediscovering-richard-dawkins-an-interview.html

Dawkins: Religion no moral compass
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/27/dawkins-religion-no-moral-compass/?hpt=hp_bn2

After a Crisis of Faith, a Former Minister Finds a New, Secular Mission

Now, 18 months into a new life, Ms. MacBain is bringing much of her old one to the task of building congregations of nonbelievers. She has been hired as the director of the Humanist Community Project at Harvard  with the mandate to travel the country helping atomized groups of atheists, agnostics, humanists and freethinkers replicate the communal structure and support that organized religion provides to its faithful.

MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/us/after-a-crisis-of-faith-finding-a-new-secular-mission.html?_r=1&

See also...

The Godless Congregation: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=fi&page=croft_epstein_33_6

Southern California Atheist Group Helps to Clean Up a Riverbed

Atheists should not be embarrassed to make sure that they are publicly seen doing good things. This is because misguided or misinformed theists constantly spread the lie that atheists are selfish nihilists who don't care about anybody or any thing. That belief harms good, decent people, not just atheists, but also their families and friends.

MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/23/southern-california-atheist-group-helps-to-clean-up-a-riverbed/

Where Do We Draw the Line on Religious Abuse?

Is the right of a parent to practice their religious beliefs and guide their child's religious upbringing more important than the health rights of the child? Can this be considered religious abuse if the child becomes sick or even dies because they didn't receive a vaccination due to this religious exemption? And if it is to be considered religious abuse, how can the government reconcile the religious rights of the parents with the state's duty to protect all of its citizens regardless of their age? There has yet to be a serious dialogue within our society about what constitutes religious abuse and the role of the state in preventing such religious abuse.

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roy-speckhardt/where-do-we-draw-the-line_b_3861584.html

NY Deacon Removed From Church Following Abuse Allegations

Albert Mazza was removed from the Holy Name of Mary Parish in Croton-on-Hudson, NY., after an investigation by police revealed that there was evidence he had allegedly abused minors, according to a statement from church officials.

MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/ny-deacon-removed-church-abuse-allegations/story?id=20413434

Why is religious pandering so prevalent?

Politicians from Obama to Bush just can't resist the "God strategy." Can we ever evolve toward secular government?

MORE: http://www.salon.com/2013/08/23/ruled_by_a_bipartisan_god_religious_pandering_dominates_america/singleton/

See also...

Atheists In Parliament And Congress Highlight Disparate Political Cultures Across Atlantic (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/09/19/atheism-in-parliament-congress_n_3958954.html?utm_hp_ref=uk&just_reloaded=1

Atheist PAC Launches To Promote Equality For Nonbelievers

The PAC will back humanist, atheist and agnostic candidates at all levels of government. Freethought's coordinator, Bishop McNeill, told The Huffington Post that it would also be open to supporting candidates who identify with a religion if they are committed to protecting the separation of church and state and defending the civil liberties of secular Americans.

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/18/atheist-pac_n_3943223.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

See also...

Facing Stigma, Atheists Seek Political Clout
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/09/23/facing_stigma_atheists_seek_political_clout_120012.html

Several Atheist Groups File Joint Amicus Brief for Supreme Court Prayer Case

Yesterday, a joint brief was filed by a number of groups, including the Center for Inquiry, Americans for Religious Liberty, and the various members of the Secular Coalition for America (including American Atheists, American Ethical Union, American Humanist Association, the Institute for Humanist Studies, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, Secular Student Alliance, and the Society for Humanistic Judaism).

MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/25/several-atheist-groups-file-joint-amicus-brief-for-supreme-court-prayer-case/

See also...

U.S. to argue in N.Y. town's prayer at meetings case
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/17/supreme-court-prayer-town-meetings/2827009/

DOJ Disappointment: Obama Administration Wants To Help Religious Right In Supreme Court Prayer Case
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/doj-disappointment-obama-administration-wants-to-help-religious-right-in

Reason To The Rescue: Members of Congress, Scholars and Faith Leaders Voice Opposition To Coercive Sectarian Prayer Before Local Board Meetings
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/reason-to-the-rescue-members-of-congress-scholars-and-faith-leaders-voice

Friday Night Liturgy: Many High School Football Coaches Push Prayer On Players

In a poll conducted by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, all 32 coaches at public schools in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia who responded to the survey identify as Christian and said they support team prayer in some form.

That's not necessarily a First Amendment problem, but after reading Times Free Press reporter Stephen Hargis' story on faith and football, it's pretty hard to argue that the game isn't being used as an excuse to allow coercive prayer in many public schools. 

MORE: https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/friday-night-liturgy-many-high-school-football-coaches-push-prayer-on

See also...

Greater Chattanooga area coaches mount defense of faith's role in football, molding moral men
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/sep/20/god-and-the-gridiron-coaches-mount-a-passionate/

What's OK And What's Not OK: A School Prayer Primer
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/what-s-ok-and-what-s-not-ok-a-school-prayer-primer

A Christian Constitution?: Scholars Argue U.S. Law Is Divinely Inspired

Their argument, published in a recent edition of The Journal of Christian Legal Thought, provides an academic sheen to the Religious Right's favorite talking points.

MORE: https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/a-christian-constitution-scholars-argue-us-law-is-divinely-inspired

Same-sex marriages must be allowed in New Jersey, judge rules

The ruling cites the U.S. Supreme Court's June rejection of part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a move that ensured same-sex spouses legally married in a state may receive federal benefits.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/us/new-jersey-same-sex-marriage/index.html?hpt=us_c2

Lawsuit filed in Kansas to block science standard

An anti-evolution group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to block Kansas from using new, multistate science standards in its public schools, arguing the guidelines promote atheism and violate students' and parents' religious freedom.

MORE: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/26/4510571/lawsuit-filed-in-kansas-to-block.html

See also...

Evolution Questioned: Creationist Group Challenges Kansas Science Curriculum
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/evolution-questioned-creationist-group-challenges-kansas-science-curriculum

Biblical Biology?: Texas State Board Of Education Continues Descent Into Scientific Illiteracy

At a public hearing held earlier this week, the former chair of the State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, delivered a speech better suited to his local church.

MORE: https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/biblical-biology-texas-state-board-of-education-continues-descent-into

Scientists Discover Cosmic Factory for Making Building Blocks of Life

The team from Imperial College London, the University of Kent and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory discovered that when icy comets collide into a planet, amino acids can be produced. These essential building blocks are also produced if a rocky meteorite crashes into a planet with an icy surface.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130915134341.htm

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Finds Water in First Sample of Planet Surface

The first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA's Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130926143143.htm

Seeing Light in a New Light: Scientists Create Never-Before-Seen Form of Matter

Working with colleagues at the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms, a group led by Harvard Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and MIT Professor of Physics Vladan Vuletic have managed to coax photons into binding together to form molecules -- a state of matter that, until recently, had been purely theoretical.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130925132323.htm

As UN meets, apply pressure against blasphemy laws

Blasphemy and other religious-defamation laws in Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and even Russia put people behind bars and on death row. As the UN General Assembly begins, these countries must be put under intense pressure to conform to global human rights standards.

MORE: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0920/As-UN-meets-apply-pressure-against-blasphemy-laws

Taking You Inside the Humanist Mission Trip to Uganda

The Pathfinders Project is a secular service trip sponsored by the Foundation Beyond Belief.

MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/23/taking-you-inside-the-humanist-mission-trip-to-uganda/

For Accused Witches, A Last Resort

When Leo Igwe was a child living in Nigeria, he saw his father beaten after being accused of witchcraft. Accusations of witch craft run rampant in many parts of western Africa, and Igwe has made it his life's work to bring attention to the problem. Many of those accused of witchcraft find refuge in "Witch Camps," which offer safety after an accused individual has been ousted from a community.

MORE: http://www.thestory.org/stories/2013-09/accused-witches-last-resort

Nairobi Westgate mall terrorist attack is part of Kenya's sharp rise in religious hostilities

The Somalia-based Islamic group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the Nairobi shopping mall attack that began Saturday and has left at least 62 dead, saying that the assault is in retaliation for Kenyan military operations in Somalia.

MORE: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/24/nairobi-mall-terrorist-attack-is-part-of-kenyas-sharp-rise-in-religious-hostilities/

See also...

Gunmen Kill Dozens in Terror Attack at Kenyan Mall
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/world/africa/nairobi-mall-shooting.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Nigeria: Militants Kill Students in College Attack

Suspected Islamic extremists attacked an agricultural college in the dead of night, gunning down dozens of students as they slept in dormitories and torching classrooms, the school's provost said -- the latest violence in northeastern Nigeria's ongoing Islamic uprising.

MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nigeria-militants-kill-students-college-attack-20409911

Top Saudi cleric says women who drive risk damaging their ovaries

RIYADH - One of Saudi Arabia's top conservative clerics has said women who drive risk damaging their ovaries and bearing children with clinical problems, countering activists who are trying to end the Islamic kingdom's male-only driving rules.

MORE: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/29/20740267-top-saudi-cleric-says-women-who-drive-risk-damaging-their-ovaries?

See also...

Saudi women's new campaign to end driving ban
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/26/world/meast/saudi-arabia-women-drivers/index.html?hpt=wo_t5

Threats to Syrian Christians Heighten Concerns in Congress About Aiding Rebels

Members of Congress know that Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad is the bad guy, but they're increasingly worried about toppling him from power, after Christian organizations have galvanized America's religious base.

MORE: http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/threats-to-syrian-christians-heighten-concerns-in-congress-about-aiding-rebels-20130922

No faith in the system

Atheists in Indonesia, who have gained little acceptance in a deeply religious society, often find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

MORE: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/no-faith-in-the-system/article5172031.ece

See also...

Religious fury alters Miss World in Indonesia
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/world/asia/miss-world-pageant/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Scores Are Killed by Suicide Bomb Attack at Historic Church in Pakistan

The attacks are mostly orchestrated by Sunni extremist militant groups, although some have also been claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/world/asia/pakistan-church-bombing.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=2&

See also...

Suicide bombers kill 81 at church in Peshawar, Pakistan
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/asia/pakistan-attack/index.html

Bus blast in Pakistan kills at least 17
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/world/asia/pakistan-violence/index.html

Taliban bomb kills top Pakistani general, officers
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/asia/pakistan-swat-taliban-attack/index.html

Militants attack military, police installations, kill 26 in south Yemen

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but officials at the Defense Ministry and in Shabwa said think al Qaeda was behind the violence.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/20/world/meast/yemen-police-killed/index.html

Suicide bomber kills 30 at funeral in Iraq

Iraq has seen a sharp increase in tension between its Shiite and Sunni populations since April, when security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/29/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

See also...

Attacks kill 30 in Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Mosul
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/26/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

Attack in Iraq leaves 10 dead
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/25/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

Wave of attacks in Iraq leave at least 35 dead; more than 100 hurt
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

Iraq suicide blast kills 36 at funeral in ethnic minority Shabak town
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/14/world/meast/iraq-suicide-blast/index.html

Is the Internet Destroying Religion?

Atheist billboards posted around Bryan-College Station area

The billboards coincide with the launch of the Brazos Valley Coalition of Reason, which consists of four local non-religious groups: the Agnostic and Atheist Student Group of Texas A&M, the Brazos Valley Atheist Vuvuzela Marching Band, the Bryan-College Station Atheists and Freethinkers and the Secular Humanist Network of Texas A&M.

MORE: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_a32cc953-84b7-5e93-9dd0-de60a194a28e.html?mode=jqm

See also...

D.C. group buys billboards to organize atheists near A&M
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/D-C-group-buys-billboards-to-organize-atheists-4806393.php

Atheist Billboards Go Up in Bryan and College Station, Texas
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/10/atheist-billboards-go-up-in-bryan-and-college-station-texas/

Non-Theistic Billboards Go Up Around B/CS

Lawsuit: Pledge of Allegiance's under God discriminatory

A lawyer for an atheist family has asked Massachusetts' highest court to ban the practice of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in state public schools.

MORE: http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro-west/Lawsuit-Pledge-of-Allegiance-s-under-God-discriminatory/-/11983044/21775018/-/122hwh1/-/index.html

See also...

SJC hears atheists’ challenge to ‘under God’ in Pledge of Allegiance
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/09/sjc_hears_atheists_challenge_to_under_god_in_pledge_of

Mass. justices review Pledge of Allegiance
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/04/massachusetts-pledge-of-allegiance/2768071/

Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District
http://www2.suffolk.edu/sjc/archive/2013/SJC_11317.html

Watch the Oral Arguments from the Massachusetts Pledge of Allegiance Case
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/06/watch-the-oral-arguments-from-the-massachusetts-pledge-of-allegiance-case/

5 facts about the Pledge of Allegiance
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/04/5-facts-about-the-pledge-of-allegiance/

Attorney: 'Start from scratch' on pledge
http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_24021313/attorney-start-from-scratch-pledge

Fox News host: Atheists 'don't have to live here'
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/09/fox-news-host-atheists-dont-have-to-live-here/?hpt=us_bn3

Earlier...

Massachusetts Supreme Court to hear Pledge of Allegiance in schools case
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/03/massachusetts-supreme-court-to-hear-pledge-allegiance-in-schools-case/

Nothing says 'divisible' like 'under God'

On Sept. 4, instead of employing the Establishment Clause, Attorney David Niose argued in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that compulsory recitation of the pledge violates the Equal Rights Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution, and is an issue of discrimination. This court had previously ruled on similar grounds that same-sex couples have the right to marry in Massachusetts.

MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/09/12/nothing-says-divisible-like-under-god/

Atheists Have Stronger Family Values Than Evangelical Christians

Atheists have the lowest divorce rate when compared to religious groups (except Catholics and Lutherans, with whom they are tied). This is according to a Christian polling company (which confusingly refers to evangelicals as "non-denominational").

MORE: http://www.care2.com/causes/atheists-have-stronger-family-values-than-evangelical-christians.html#ixzz2e7rdYz8F

See also...

Atheist Morality vs. Religious Morality: Which Is Superior?
http://americanhumanist.org/news/details/2013-09-atheist-morality-vs-religious-morality-which-is-supe

Steven Pinker Accepts the 2013 Richard Dawkins Award

At the Atheist Alliance of America 2013 National Convention this past weekend, Dr. Steven Pinker received the annual Richard Dawkins Award.

MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/03/steven-pinker-accepts-the-2013-richard-dawkins-award/

Inside the Military's Campaign to Make Its Soldiers Christian

Evangelism is firmly entrenched in American military culture. It pervades several aspects of military life, and each of these -- from the social exclusion of nonbelievers, to the influence of evangelism on access to military resources, to the toxic fusion of national security objectives with religious terminology -- warrants serious consideration. For all the honor and respect we give our soldiers, we certainly don't hold some of the ideas they defend -- namely, the separation of church and state -- in very high regard.

MORE: http://www.policymic.com/articles/61629/inside-the-military-s-campaign-to-make-its-soldiers-christian

Bullied for Not Believing in God

Despite secularism and atheism being on the rise, some areligious students feel discriminated against--at times violently. Now teachers across the U.S. are creating Secular Safe Zones to "curtail anti-atheist bullying, discrimination, and social isolation."

MORE: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/harboring-young-atheists/279095/

Group sues over SC public school event at chapel

The suit against the Greenville County School District also seeks to stop school-sponsored prayers at future events.

MORE: http://www.wbtv.com/story/23414259/group-sues-over-sc-public-school-event-at-chapel

See also...

Use of Christian University's Chapel for Public Elementary School Graduation Results in Lawsuit
http://americanhumanist.org/news/details/2013-09-use-of-christian-universitys-chapel-for-public-eleme

Mass. lawyer releases new list of names in alleged church sex abuse

BOSTON -- Six Roman Catholic clerics and a choir director were named publicly as alleged abusers for the first time by a prominent lawyer for clergy sex abuse victims.

MORE: http://www.telegram.com/article/20130904/NEWS/309049475/1116

Faith healing parents charged with manslaughter in daughter's death

Syble Rossiter, the daughter of Travis and Wenona Rossiter, died at the couple's home from complications related to type 1 diabetes, after her parents withheld treatment in favor of prayer.

MORE: http://www.religionnewsblog.com/27392/faith-healing-parents-charged-with-manslaughter-in-daughters-death

American Parents Convicted of Manslaughter in Death of Adopted Ethiopian Daughter

After Hana's death, The New York Times reported that the couple's abusive parenting tactics had mimicked instructions from Christian parenting book To Train Up a Child. According to the report, Carri Williams had recommended the book to a friend and beaten Hana with a plastic tube---a device recommended in the book.

MORE: http://www.christianpost.com/news/american-parents-convicted-of-manslaughter-in-death-of-adopted-ethiopian-daughter-104232/

Pat Robertson Marks 9/11 By Blaming Separation Of Church And State For Inviting Radical Muslim 'Fifth Column' Into America

Two days following 9/11 terrorist attacks, televangelists Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell blamed the attacks on "the pagans, the abortions, the feminists and the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way."

MORE: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-marks-911-blaming-separation-church-and-state-inviting-radical-muslim-fifth-co

Heart Of Darkness: Pat Robertson's African Adventures Are News Again

A new documentary confirms allegations that his charity, Operation Blessing, used supporter donations to mine diamonds in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

MORE: https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/heart-of-darkness-pat-robertson-s-african-adventures-are-news-again

We don't trust in god, or Hobby Lobby: How accurate was Hobby Lobby's July 4th Ad?

The Christian trinket-purveyor Hobby Lobby places religious holiday ads in national newspapers reaching in some cases more than 47 million readers. Hobby Lobby's July 4, 2013 ad features quotes from the founders scattered around huge font screaming, "In God We Trust." The quotes are meant to give the false impression that the U.S. is a Christian nation and that our nation "trusts in God." But, just like Hobby Lobby's god, the quotes aren't very trustworthy. They are wildly inaccurate in some cases.

The misrepresentations range from the mild, such as capitalizing "His" to refer to a Christian god when Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson actually wrote "his" to refer to a deistic god, to the outrageous, such as omitting entire sentences without notifying the reader, combining quotes from multiple sources into one quote, omitting thousands of words with an ellipsis, and completely mischaracterizing quotes, speakers and Supreme Court cases.

MORE: http://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/18729-we-don%E2%80%99t-trust-in-god-or-hobby-lobby-how-accurate-was-hobby-lobby%E2%80%99s-july-4th-ad

He's Baaaaaaack!: Disgraced 'Christian Nation' Advocate David Barton Sought By Politicians Looking To Court Religious Right

No matter how many actual historians or scholars debunk Barton and no matter how often it happens, he is beyond reproach in his own head.

MORE: https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/he-s-baaaaaaack-disgraced-christian-nation-advocate-david-barton-sought-by

US pastor Terry Jones held after threats to burn Korans

A controversial US pastor has been arrested in Florida after announcing plans to burn nearly 3,000 copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11.

MORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24059408

Barking Over A Seal: Fla. Residents Not Happy Over AU's DeLand Cross Protest

We all live under the same constitution in this country. A city in Florida is just as bound by that document as is one in Minnesota, Connecticut or Idaho.

MORE: https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/barking-over-a-seal-fla-residents-not-happy-over-aus-deland-cross-protest

Bible's End Times Prophecy Linked to Possible US Attack on Syria

With President Barack Obama working tirelessly to garner congressional approval for attacking Syria for its use of chemical weapons, some Christians are debating if it could lead toward the fulfillment of end-time prophecies in the Bible.

MORE: http://www.christianpost.com/news/possible-us-attack-on-syria-being-linked-to-bibles-end-times-prophecy-103509/

Messages in tongues down among Pentecostals

As the religion becomes more widely accepted, Walters said, there has been a tendency for large Pentecostal churches to downplay the differences between Pentecostalism and other well-known Christian denominations.

MORE: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/messages-tongues-down-among-pentecostals

Woman who escaped cult: 'I could no longer silence that voice'

In "The Witness Wore Red," Rebecca Musser tells the story of how she was able to break free of the oppressive Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, headed by Warren Jeffs. Musser told TODAY's Erica Hill she knew she had to escape, calling it a "do or die" situation.

MORE: http://www.today.com/video/today/53007839/#53007839

School Vouchers Come to North Carolina

For the first time in its history, North Carolina will allow taxpayer funds to go to largely unaccountable private schools, 70 percent of which are religious institutions, beginning in the 2014-15 school year.

MORE: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2013/09/04/school-vouchers-come-to-north-carolina/

Schools in voucher program oppose testing requirements

Private schools need to understand that if they decide to take public money under the voucher program, they will be treated more like public schools, said Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville.

MORE: http://www.thonline.com/news/iowa-illinois-wisconsin/article_07ab0875-1573-543e-8562-60a566653c5d.html

New laws relax oversight of home-schoolers

For home-school advocates, rollbacks on home-school regulation in Gov. Terry Branstad's 2013 education reform bill were a resounding victory that made Iowa a model for the nation. For those skeptical of the absence of government oversight of home-school curriculum, testing and teacher qualifications, the rollback smacked of hypocrisy, especially because the public education system is entering into a new era of accountability.

MORE: http://thegazette.com/2013/09/08/new-laws-relax-oversight-of-home-schoolers/

See also...

New homeschooling statistics: 1.77 million children, more minorities
http://www.examiner.com/article/new-homeschooling-statistics-1-77-million-children-more-minorities

Religious exemption inspires heated debate at ENDA panel

Currently, ENDA has a religious exemption that provides leeway for religious organizations, like churches or religious schools, to discriminate against LGBT employees. That same leeway isn't found under Title VII, which prohibits religious organizations from discriminating on the basis of race, gender or national origin.

MORE: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/09/12/enda-situation-room/

Humanist Society to Marry Gay and Lesbian Troops for Free

The Humanist Society has just announced that it will marry gay and lesbian military members for free throughout 2013.

MORE: http://www.gayapolis.com/news/artdisplay-issues.php?artid=25793

See also...

Free Wedding Services to Same-Sex Military Couples Being Offered by Humanists
http://americanhumanist.org/news/details/2013-09-free-wedding-services-to-same-sex-military-couples-b

Group files lawsuit challenging Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriage

FRANKFORT -- The Kentucky Equality Federation has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's 2004 constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage.

MORE: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/09/12/2817807/group-files-lawsuit-challenging.html

Pa. judge asked to halt the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses

"On one hand I have a statue to uphold. On the other I have the Constitution, and I chose to uphold the Constitution," Haines told abc27 in July.

MORE: http://www.abc27.com/story/23344039/p

Texas National Guard denies benefits for same-sex spouses

The Texas National Guard has said it will not provide benefits for same-sex couples, despite a Pentagon directive requiring the military to treat all marriages equally.

MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/09/04/texas-national-guard-denies-benefits-for-same-sex-spouses/?wprss=rss_politics

Texas Textbook Trouble: Lone Star State Faces Yet Another Creationist Push

The controversy began when Texas' State Board of Education appointed a number of creationists to review panels meant to ensure the quality of new biology textbooks.

MORE: https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/texas-textbook-trouble-lone-star-state-faces-yet-another-creationist-push

Young Students Against Bad Science

For his high school senior project, Zack Kopplin started a campaign to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act, a 2008 law passed in his home state that opens a "back door" to teaching creationism in public schools, he says. Currently taking a year off from Rice University to work and travel, Mr. Kopplin, 20, is widely recognized as the state's leading voice against science denial education. He has expanded his campaign to fight similar laws across the country, as well as the use of public vouchers to send students to religious schools. He argues regularly, if unsuccessfully, before the Louisiana Senate to strike down the law, and his April appearance on "Real Time With Bill Maher," in which he faced off against a conservative economist, Stephen Moore, went viral.

MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/science/young-and-against-bad-science.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1378220464-C3aom535V9dkqXAtMpSU+A&

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Bayou Battle: Zack Kopplin Fights To Access Public Records On Louisiana's 'Science Act,' Voucher Program
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bayou-battle-zack-kopplin-fights-to-access-public-records-on-louisiana-s

Dating of Beads Sets New Timeline for Early Humans

An international team of researchers led by Oxford University have new dating evidence indicating when the earliest fully modern humans arrived in the Near East, the region known as the Middle East today. They have obtained the radiocarbon dates of marine shell beads found at Ksar Akil, a key archaeological site in Lebanon, which allowed them to calculate that the oldest human fossil from the same sequence of archaeological layers is 42,400-41,700 years old. This is significant because the age of the earliest fossils, directly and indirectly dated, of modern humans found in Europe is roughly similar. This latest discovery throws up intriguing new possibilities about the routes taken by the earliest modern humans out of Africa, says the study published online by the journal PLOS ONE.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130913093314.htm

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Assumptions About Origins of Life Challenged
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130913185848.htm

Generosity Leads to Evolutionary Success, Biologists Show

"Our paper shows that no selfish strategies will succeed in evolution," Plotkin said. "The only strategies that are evolutionarily robust are generous ones."

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130902162716.htm

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Radical New View of Health: Stem Cells Are Wired for Cooperation, Down to the DNA
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130912143217.htm

NASA's Voyager 1 Spacecraft Embarks On Historic Journey Into Interstellar Space

The plasma wave science team reviewed its data and found an earlier, fainter set of oscillations in October and November 2012. Through extrapolation of measured plasma densities from both events, the team determined Voyager 1 first entered interstellar space in August 2012.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130912135507.htm

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The Inside of the Milky Way Galaxy in 3-D
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130912092720.htm

Hubble Bubble May Explain Different Measurements of Expansion Rate of the Universe
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130909092520.htm

Guinness Record: World’s Thinnest Glass Is Just Two Atoms Thick

Besides its sheer novelty, Muller said, the work answers an 80-year-old question about the fundamental structure of glass. Scientists, with no way to directly see it, had struggled to understand it: it behaves like a solid, but was thought to look more like a liquid. Now, the Cornell scientists have produced a picture of individual atoms of glass, and they found that it strikingly resembles a diagram drawn in 1932 by W.H. Zachariasen -- a longstanding theoretical representation of the arrangement of atoms in glass.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130912095241.htm

Listening to pop and rock music may make you smarter

Would you believe that Bon Jovi can make you more intelligent? Contrary to popular belief, listening to music while you study could actually make you smarter, according to new research.

MORE: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50155076n

High Court Indicates Support for Indian Teacher's Right Not to Pray

No person attending any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted in such institution or to attend any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution…

MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/09/high-court-indicates-support-for-indian-teachers-right-not-to-pray/

Bride Aged 8 Dies After Suffering Internal Sexual Injuries During Wedding Night With Man, 40

Al Bawaba reports over a quarter of young girls in Yemen are married before the age of 15.

It adds the country passed a law in February 2009 setting the minimum age of marriage at 17, but that it was repealed after conservative lawmakers declared it "un-Islamic".

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/09/09/bride-aged-8-dies-internal-sexual-injuries-wedding-night-_n_3892892.html?utm_hp_ref=tw&just_reloaded=1

Priest in Zanzibar attacked with acid in third such incident in two months

The attack against the two women came as Islamist extremism is rising in the area.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/14/world/tanzania-priest-acid-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Indonesian Muslim clerics: Cancel Miss World pageant

(RNS) Indonesian Muslim clerics are asking the government to cancel this month's Miss World pageant because Islam prohibits women from publicly "exposing their bodies in a contest."

MORE: http://www.religionnews.com/2013/09/03/indonesian-muslim-clerics-cancel-miss-world-pageant/

No truce: Army, Islamic militants fight on in Philippines

The crisis in Zamboanga City began when large numbers of rebels from the Muslim militant group came ashore at the start of the week.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/14/world/asia/philippines-muslim-rebels-standoff/index.html

Turkey's young people politicized by fears of Islamist influence

Young people in Turkey are more politicized following mass anti-government protests that rocked the country this summer. For many Turkish citizens in their late teens and early 20s, a long-standing belief that Islamist students have an upper hand in an important university entrance exam is provoking many to take to the streets.

MORE: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/14/20156833-turkeys-young-people-politicized-by-fears-of-islamist-influence

U.S. consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, attacked, 3 dead

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail to CNN.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/12/world/asia/us-consulate-afghanistan-attack/index.html

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Afghan militants target, kill female author, police say
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/05/world/asia/afghanistan-indian-author-killed/index.html

Afghan police deaths double as international troops exit
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/03/world/asia/afghanistan-police-deaths/index.html

Iraq suicide blast kills 25 at funeral in ethnic minority Shabak town

The attack was the latest violence in a country torn by sectarian conflict. On Friday, a bomb hidden in a mosque's air-conditioning ducts killed 30 Sunni worshipers and wounded 52 others near Baquba, Iraq, which is about 37 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/14/world/meast/iraq-suicide-blast/index.html

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Suicide bomber kills 30 at Baghdad mosque, police say
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/11/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

Gunmen kill 10 family members in Iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

27 slain in Baghdad bombs
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/03/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html

Iraq's grim August toll: 804 dead, more than 2,000 wounded
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/01/world/meast/iraq-august-death-toll/index.html

Deadly raid hits Iranian exile group's camp in Iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/01/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html