The Sunday Assembly, a group for unbelievers to connect with like-minded individuals, is expanding from the UK to US.
MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/02/atheists-sunday-assembly-coming-to-america
There are zero authentic accounts of Christian martyrdom in the Colosseum until over a century after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. In fact, not a single legitimate record exists of the Romans executing any Christians in the Colosseum. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/07/10/tales-of-roman-emperors-feeding-christians-to-the-lions-are-titillating-to-christians-and-wholly-made-up/
A full-page ad set to run July 4 celebrating 'our godless Constitution' by the national Freedom From Religion Foundation was censored by the Daily Oklahoman, apparently to avoid offending the Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby.
MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/07/08/did-the-daily-oklahoman-reject-a-full-page-ad-from-an-atheist-group/
The study found that church communities were least likely to report abuse and sometimes covered it up, urging victims to forgive their abusers instead of reporting them, Mr. Vieth said.
MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/us/south-carolina-is-faulted-on-child-services.html?_r=0
As many of the pre-Reagan era Religious Right leaders retire and/or die off, beware of the new breed. Lou Engle is one of the new breed. Although Engle has been kicking around for more than a decade, it is only in the past few years that he and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the charismatic evangelical political and religious movement that he has come to personify, has made such a splash that it threatens to drown out the more traditional voices of the Christian Right.
MORE: http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18074-spiritual-political-warfare-new-religious-right
The Catholic Church has demoted saints like Christopher from the universal calendar after learning that they never existed, but as far as I know they’ve never reversed sainthood after a horrendous scandal had been uncovered. Since Pope Francis seems to care about public relations, I would advise him to slow down. After all, with abundant evidence that Pope John Paul II shielded pedophile priests, what’s the rush? Sainthood is for an eternity, so a few more years shouldn’t make much difference.
MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/07/09/no-track-to-sainthood/
Many churchgoers, religious or not, are more interested in experiencing love and support within a community than in defining God or finding evidence for God's existence. They can feel joy in religious fellowship and tradition even if they believe their official church doctrine is silly. Fred Edwords, Executive Director of the United Coalition of Reason, phrased it succinctly: "How many put up with nonsense for the smell of incense?"
MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/07/01/on-religious-atheists/
In his book, Alexander claims that when he was in a coma caused by E. coli bacterial meningitis, he went to heaven. Of course, Dittrich's piece is not the first time that Alexander's text has come into question. In April, Michael Shermer at Scientific American explained how the author's "evidence is proof of hallucination, not heaven." But Dittrich calls into question not what Alexander experienced so much how he did.
MORE: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/07/proof-heaven-author-debunked/66772/
Over the weekend, the third annual Robert G. Ingersoll Oratory Contest was held in Washington, D.C. Competitors recite excerpts from the Great Agnostic's speeches and a panel of judges vote on the best speakers -- who receive hundreds of dollars in prizes.
MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/07/02/high-school-atheist-wins-ingersoll-oratory-contest/
Tax credit programs are among the growing number of ways that private Jewish day schools and yeshivas nationwide are corralling hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars annually. The money is helping to defray operating costs, provide teacher training, assist students with tuition bills and enhance educational offerings.
MORE: http://www.jta.org/2013/07/01/life-religion/thanks-to-advocacy-effort-jewish-schools-reap-hundreds-of-millions-in-govt-money#.UdMNPtwRorY.email
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. - Commissioners say they've been flooded with calls from concerned citizens since the word God was removed from an "In God We Trust" display.
The display is located at Fremont County War Memorial Park.
The letters were temporarily removed to be refurbished.
MORE: http://www.krdo.com/news/god-missing-from-fremont-county-park/-/417220/20908830/-/s82vaf/-/index.html?hpt=us_bn10
Even though the Wylands prayed over Alayna, anointed her with oil and used other spiritual rituals endorsed by their church, they failed to seek medical attention for their daughter's obvious ailment. From January to June of 2010 the couple did nothing while their daughter's condition deteriorated.
MORE: http://www.examiner.com/article/oregon-faith-healing-parents-get-90-days-jail-3-years-probation
Private schools (most of which are religious) are happy to take all of the taxpayer money they can get their hands on. But they don't want any accountability, oversight or regulation.
MORE: https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/false-choice-wisc-private-schools-are-happy-to-take-tax-money-but-don-t
Wrote Throckmorton, "As it stands, the Springboro School District is offering to the public a course in the Constitution developed by members of an organization who desire to promote the dominance of the Anglo-Celtic people, the secession of Southern states from the nation, and align themselves with the pro-slavery fire-eaters of the Confederate South."
MORE: https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/what-s-the-matter-with-springboro-ohio-city-grapples-with-religious-right
Today, the ACLU launched three new federal marriage cases -- in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia (this last as co-counsel with Lambda Legal). These cases are step two of our two-pronged, post-DOMA, post-Prop 8 plan for winning the freedom to marry nationwide.
--snip--
Our goal is at least 20 states with the freedom to marry by the end of 2016...
--snip--
In the second prong of our post-DOMA strategy, we will litigate federal court cases that will bring the marriage issue back to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has the power to create a federal solution by declaring that the entire country must have fair marriage laws.
MORE: http://www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/expanding-freedom-marry-heres-whats-next
The Supreme Court is a mysterious institution in contemporary American political society, as most Americans couldn't really tell you what it does or even what the names are of the people who serve as justices.
The large number of controversial rulings the court issued in June only added to the mystery that surrounds the court, as Americans are left wondering why the justices ruled the way they did and what the impact of these rulings will be on American society.
MORE: http://www.americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2013-07-supreme-court-rules-on-doma-prop-8-and-the-voting-ri
See also...
After Supreme Court ruling, Obama presses the world on gay rights
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/27/world/africa/africa-obama-visit/index.html
A Gay Pride March With Added Spring in Its Step
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/nyregion/a-gay-pride-march-with-added-spring-in-its-step.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=2&
There’s a revolution coming -- led by Christian Americans who are furious that the Supreme Court has redefined their marriages.
Or so says Mat Staver, the chairman of notoriously anti-gay Liberty Counsel.
MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/07/09/liberty-counsel-doma-repeal-will-lead-to-christian-revolution/
See also...
Conservatives brace for 'marriage revolution'
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/28/conservatives-brace-for-themarriage-revolution/
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