We know Bob Jones University used to ban interracial dating. We know Bob Jones University has a “Don’t Ever Badmouth Us in Public” policy. I did not know Bob Jones University wrote letters to students when they violated their God-given gender roles: Read more
In December, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) posted on its website an encouraging call for the decriminalization of atheism in countries where nonbelievers suffer persecution, and I blogged about it here. Happily, the commission has one-upped itself. Read more
The New York Times has a devastating article about how Catholic Church leaders in Los Angeles covered up abuse and protected priests from punishment: Read more
If you want to join the Air Cadet Organisation (in the UK), you will have to say this oath at your graduation ceremony: I, Cadet [Full Name], hereby solemnly promise on my honour to serve my Unit loyally and to be faithful to my obligations as a member of the Air Training Corps. I further promise to be a good citizen and to do my duty to God and the Queen, my Country and my Flag. However. thanks to a campaign from the British Humanist Association and the United Kingdom Armed Forces Humanist Association, there will soon be another option: Read more
From earlier today, Mark Driscoll remains as classy as ever, pretending the President isn’t a Christian. Praying for our president, who today will place his hand on a Bible he does not believe to take an oath to a God he likely does not know.— Mark Driscoll (@PastorMark) January 21, 2013 I can’t tell if that’s more or less demeaning than flat-out calling him a Muslim… Read more
A Plethora of Problems Dear Richard, I am a senior in high school, and, unknown to nearly everyone, I’m an atheist. My parents don’t know, most of my closest friends don’t know, and no one at Church knows. I was not very diligent about covering my ideas early on in my atheism, and this makes it difficult to keep up my theistic façade. I am considering “coming out.” I want to stop living a lie, but I don’t want to… Read more
This weekend, the New York Times uncovered a popular, if ethically questionable, tax credit program gaining traction in Georgia. The program transforms state money into scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools — including many heavily religious schools where strict policies keep out LGBT students. The program supposedly seeks to limit conflicts of church and state because the scholarship money is “collected and distributed” by nonprofit organizations rather than being directly funneled from the state to the schools. The Southern Education Foundation counts that at least 115 religious schools in Georgia have “severe antigay policies,” with the actual number likely being much higher; public information about the scholarship program is limited by law, and oversight is minimal. Read more
Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham is on a mission to make sure children never get brainwashed. (I know, I know… stay with me here.) Instead of shutting his organization down — something that would actually help his cause — he’s going after 19-year-old Zack Kopplin, the student who’s a thorn in the side of Louisiana Creationists: Read more
A Catholic priest from the Netherlands (with the most appropriate first name *ever*) has figured out a way to shame the people who leave his Church: Put up their pictures so everyone knows who they are. Read more
