The NCAA men’s basketball tournament gets under way today, but the nation’s Catholic hierarchy is launching a full-court press of another sort.
Top leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) met in a closed-door session in Washington, D. C., this week. When they emerged, they issued a declaration of political war. Read more
Official, state-sponsored prayers before government bodies are often problematic, but many legislators simply refuse to give them up.
The state of Hawaii has just learned the hard way that it’s best not to overreact when citizens protest government-endorsed religion. Read more
When Dunkerton, Iowa, school officials invited a band known as “Junkyard Prophet” to play at a special student assembly, they got much more than they bargained for – or so they say.
Junkyard Prophet is a Minnesota-based musical group affiliated with “You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International,” a fundamentalist Christian youth ministry whose founder, Bradlee Dean, has made homophobic and misogynistic statements. Dean also serves as the band’s drummer. Read more
I was doing some grocery shopping this weekend, and as I left the store I was persuaded to make one last purchase. Outside were several Girl Scouts sitting at a table surrounded by boxes of cookies. I immediately reached for my wallet.
Girl Scout cookies rock. I’m partial to Thin Mints, Trefoils and Samoas. Plus, my daughter was a member of the Scouts when she was younger, so I’ve always had a soft spot for the organization.
But now there’s an added bonus to buying the cookies: You get to annoy the Religious Right. Read more
Americans United and the ACLU recently won a court case barring the Forsyth County, N.C., Board of Commissioners from opening its meeting with sectarian prayers. Now other local governments in North Carolina are complying with the ruling, and some people are (literally) up in arms about it. Read more
Another bad bill bites the dust! Lawmakers in Georgia tabled a measure yesterday that would have used taxpayer money to expand school vouchers for religious and other private schools.
SB 87 was a casualty of “crossover day,” which occurs on the 30th day of Georgia’s legislative session. For a bill to move forward, it must pass at least one legislative house by crossover day, otherwise it cannot be taken up until the next session at the earliest. Read more
This morning I met with 15 mostly Muslim scholars from Middle Eastern and African nations. The U.S. Department of State often brings these visitors to America to see the nation up close and promote understanding. If the guests express an interest in learning about the relationship between religion and state, Americans United is added to the agenda. Read more
“Personhood” bills are like a game of Whac-A-Mole: every time you smack one down, another pops up somewhere else. Read more
It’s still hard for me to believe that in light of the sluggish economic recovery, ongoing worries over jobs and mounting home foreclosures that most Americans are interested in a protracted discussion over access to contraceptives.
Yet here we are. The issue simply will not go away, chiefly because some misguided clergy won’t let it die. Read more