In January of 2012, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sued Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in order to stop her from holding another Day of Prayer (PDF). The FFRF, along with several members from the state, sued on principle — saying that the Day of Prayer was unconstitutional — instead of arguing that it “harmed” any of the plaintiffs… but that may have been their undoing. Last August, a court in Arizona threw out their lawsuit saying the plaintiffs didn’t have “standing” to sue to government: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Ever since the Boy Scouts of America voted to partially rescind its discriminatory policy and allow gay youth into the organization, things have been rocky between scouting troops and the churches that often sponsor them. In the latest turn of events, the Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution Wednesday “expressing its disappointment” in the BSA’s new policy — and throwing their support behind churches that decide to drop their ties to the Boy Scouts as a result: [Click headline for more…] Read more
That’s slide one of the Creationist Zoo Keeper. You’ll want to read the rest of it here for the kicker 🙂 Read more
If I lived in Louisiana, I’d be clearing this day on my schedule: Former Pastor Jerry DeWitt will be hosting the state’s first-ever “Secular Service” with a theme of “Joie De Vivre: To Delight In Being Alive”: [Click headline for more…] Read more
If you’re gay, you can now join the Boy Scouts of America. … but only until you turn 18. If you’re a gay adult, you’re banned from the organization. Even if you were a proud scout growing up, you won’t be allowed to become a leader. And if you’re an atheist of any age, the Scouts don’t want anything to do with you. Sally Quinn of the Washington Post knows these policies make absolutely no sense and hammers it home in her latest column: [Click headline for more…] Read more
You may recall that, back in January, World Changers of Florida, Inc. held Bible distributions at a number of public high schools in Orange County. No student would be forced to take one, but there would be a table set up where interested students could take a copy if they wanted one: This alone could have been illegal, but the Orange County School Board agreed that non-Christian groups could also have a distribution if they wanted. The Central Florida Freethought Community called their bluff and planned their own giveaway. The only problem was that the atheist giveaways were heavily censored: [Click headline for more…] Read more
The number of secular people who support marriage equality is at an all-time high, but the number of religious people in favor of same-sex marriage is growing steadily, too, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Center. [Click headline for more…] Read more
On June 2nd, Peter Heck, a social studies teacher at Eastern High School in Greentown, Indiana, gave a controversial commencement speech at the school’s graduation ceremony. Among other things, he made several comments about female students’ future responsibilities regarding work and family: Ladies, I challenge you to a life of rebellion. To recognize that your body is a temple that is deserving of honor, not indiscretion. I challenge you to be women of virtue, finding beauty not in how many unprincipled men you can attract, but rather finding beauty in modesty and self-respect. I challenge you to devote yourself to family, to your children. If you choose to have a career, God’s blessings upon you, but I challenge you to recognize what the world scoffs at… that your greatest role of your life will be that of wife and mother. That the greatest impact you will ever contribute to our world is a loving and devoted investment into the lives of your precious children. To solve the problems plaguing our society, we don’t need more women as CEOs, we need more women as invested mothers. That excerpt comes from his website, which, if you visit, shows you this pop-up: The link leads to a portion of his speech. It’s interesting that he doesn’t offer the speech in its entirety on his own website. One would think that printing the whole speech, with full context, would be beneficial to Heck in refuting the “irresponsible reporting,” but I digress… [Click headline for more…] Read more
The fifth-graders at Mountain View Elementary School — a public school in Taylors, South Carolina — recently held their “graduation” ceremony inside of a church. But that wasn’t the worst part. The church was on the campus of North Greenville University, a school so Christian, it puts Christ right in its logo: But that wasn’t the worst part either. [Click headline for more…] Read more
