Religion

[cbc_video id=”39668″ volume=”30″ width=”640″ aspect_ratio=”16×9″ autoplay=”0″ controls=”1″]   By News2Share The Secular Coalition for America is a nonprofit advocacy organization whose mission is to protect and strengthen the secular character of government. On Tuesday, September 9, they staged a march at the Supreme Court protesting the recent Hobby Lobby decision. This refers to the ruling …

By Michael Sherlock God of the Gaps Intelligent design theory, and I use the word theory in its strictest colloquial sense, is one giant appeal to ignorance.  It rests entirely upon the unknown and seeks to present such negative evidence as a positive scientific basis for the theory that an intelligent designer created the universe.  …

By Stephen Losey An atheist airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada was denied reenlistment last month for refusing to take an oath containing “so help me God,” the American Humanist Association said Thursday. And in a Sept. 2 letter to the inspectors general for the Air Force and Creech, Monica Miller, an attorney …

By Chris Mooney Are science and religion doomed to eternal “warfare,” or can they just get along? Philosophers, theologians, scientists, and atheists debate this subject endlessly (and often, angrily). We hear a lot less from economists on the matter, however. But in a recent paper, Princeton economist Roland Bénabou and two colleagues unveiled a surprising finding …

By JoAnne Viviano A study commissioned by the American Humanist Association indicates that 34 percent of U.S. adults would support removing the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. The May survey by the Seidewitz Group is meant to counter a 2013 poll by the evangelical LifeWay Research firm that had a very different result. …

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Robyn Blumner As Congress gets ready to reconvene, there’s a renewed sense of urgency in the Middle East. The Islamic State is wreaking havoc across Iraq and Syria with a frightening mission to wipe out religious minorities. This sectarian violence highlights why international envoys focused on religious freedom must …

By Herb Silverman   A recent OnFaith piece by an anonymous pastor at a mainstream evangelical church asked, “Who’s Afraid of a (Partly) Fictional Bible?” I understand why the pastor might have wanted anonymity. See, for instance, Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind, where clergy reveal in confidential interviews how their lives of service are overshadowed by …

By Michael Hiltzik   With minimal fanfare, California state officials have nixed an underhanded effort by two Catholic-affiliated universities and their insurers to deprive the universities’ employees of insurance coverage for abortions. The move by the Department of Managed Health Care is one of the strongest statements in favor of women’s reproductive health rights you’re …

By Sarah Jones A Minnesota town is being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for denying a zoning permit to a mosque. Members of the Abu Huraira Islamic Center claim they were unconstitutionally denied the permit by the city of St. Anthony in 2012. On Wednesday, the DOJ agreed. Speaking at a press …

By Donald A Collins   Moving but far too slowly past the religious bugaboos of anti abortion stories and gay rights bashers, it is refreshing to read in the August 17th Washington Post, a splendid article entitled “Stop calling abortion a ‘difficult decision’”. Since over 40 million abortions occur globally every year, abortions are not …

By Stewart Bell   Before he left Canada last year, John Maguire, a recent convert to Islam, told a student he knew from the University of Ottawa’s multi-faith prayer room that he would be going away, but he was uncertain about whether he was coming back. “We’ll see,” he said. Although there were rumours, nobody …

By Herb Silverman   Each of the books below changed my worldview and my way of thinking to varying degrees. They are listed in the order I read them — and all but the last I read before the age of 20, when most of us are probably more open to learning about and considering …