The other day, I mentioned how Illinois was considering adopting Scientology’s “Good Choices Program” into public schools. Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, was advocating for the program developed by her non-profit group Happy House. Illinois hasn’t accepted or rejected the program just yet, but I was pleased to see the Illinois Family Institute arguing against its adoption. Laurie Higgins and I are on the same page! (It threw me off for a second… I wasn’t sure I could… Read more
In case you missed The Office this week, Dwight is the interim regional manager. One of the things he does with his power trip is make all the employees say the Pledge of Allegiance. The camera then pans in on Oscar keeping his mouth shut while everyone else says “Under God” (sorry, non-Hulu people!): Later in the episode, as Gabe confesses his love for Erin, his lovely monologue includes a whole lot of backpedaling about God: Gabe: Erin, I am… Read more
Last night on Real Time, Bill Maher explained the hypocrisy of many Evangelical Christians: … If you’re a Christian who supports killing your enemies and torture, you have to come up with a new name for yourself. The bit begins at the 2:35 mark: I was really surprised that Maher used the word “Christian” as synonymous with “good.” That seems to go against most of his usually anti-religious rhetoric. Since when are Jesus and the Bible the epitome of moral… Read more
About a year ago, Eric Workman was graduating from Indiana’s Greenwood High School. The school had allowed students to vote on whether or not to pray at graduation. Eric contacted the Freedom From Religion Foundation and they put a stop to that illegal practice. As is always the case, student speakers were allowed to insert prayers into their own speeches. The administrators even let everybody know (*cough cough*) they wouldn’t screen the speeches beforehand… I’m getting a sense of déjà… Read more
I love those stories where sports and religion collide. I’m not used to seeing it in hockey, though. in case you haven’t heard, the New York Rangers’ trash-talking player Sean Avery recently issued a public service announcement in favor of marriage equality: It’s a great message and it’s nice to hear it from an athlete, especially given the sense of homophobia in major league sports. (Quick! Name an openly gay professional athlete!) Anyway, that led agent and vice president of… Read more
