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The Religious “Right” to Denounce Homosexuality

…ree speech cases — for Christians, that is. In other words, whereas courts used to determine whether religious action (such as use of public school resources for a Bible club) would constitute government endorsement of religion, religious right legal advocacy has altered the jurisprudence to evaluate such questions based on whether the school’s exclusion of the Bible club constitutes “viewpoint discrimination” or otherwise infringes on the religio…

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The “Religious Freedom” President is Gutting the Rest of the 1st Amendment

…of the others. The new administration has launched aggressive attacks on a free and fair press, freedom of speech, and the right of the citizenry to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. One could even argue that he’s weakened the free expression of religion (or lack thereof), particularly as it refers to contraception, LGBT rights, and any non-Christian faith practices. Take the freedom of the press and the r…

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How “Gratitude” Underwrites Inequality, Power, and Exclusion

…n. Anytime you have a stratified society in which there is a strong divide between elites and masses or between rich and poor, those who find themselves in a disadvantaged position naturally feel resentment. That resentment can be a powerful tool of democratic social change, but it can also be a tool of oppression—depending on where the emotion is directed. Historically, resentment has been the emotion that elites feared the most—because it inspir…

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God Promises to Open our Graves: A Theology for the Age of AIDS

…t thin bodies, light or fair-skinned, long brown or blond hair, and a face free of scars and acne, with a small nose, full lips, and clear eyes. As one student put it, “that girl looks healthy… she is so hot!” As for the ideal media male, he is tall, muscular, usually white, blue eyes, short hair, clean-shaven, and free of blemishes—healthy-looking. With these ideals in mind, is it any wonder that my high school students made the choices they did?…

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The Lesser and the Greater Pilgrimage

…exuberance. Sorta like skydiving tandem before following up my lessons for free-fall skydiving. That way I can focus on the details I am trying to learn now and be better prepared. As far as umrah, the lesser pilgrimage, goes; it stands to reason that people can visit the ka’abah any time of the year. And so it is. There are still the same ihram prescriptions. There are still certain rites that should be performed. But unless a journey to Makkah c…

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The Contraceptive Mandate and Animal Suffering

…ther blogs has accused Singer of an “advocacy sleight of hand” in equating freedom of religion with “freedom to worship.” Smith and his crowd want not only an expanded definition of what is to be a religion, they want any activity a group or individual claims is “religious” to fall outside the scope of government control. He says “the exercise of one’s religion involves how the faithful live their lives outside of the church, synagogue, temple, or…

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Atheists Ignore Islamophobia at their Peril

…ing things like “go back to the Middle East, you pedophiles.” We should be free to criticize all religions, Islam included, but that doesn’t mean we should feel free to deride and scorn its adherents. It should go without saying that this isn’t a problem with atheism, but it is a problem among atheists and it’s one that is being largely ignored. 9/11 is frequently lifted up as the genesis of “New Atheism,” and it’s not uncommon to see people at at…

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Undercover Bosses as Minor Divinities: What Ever Happened to ‘Take this Job and Shove It’?

…t warriors everyday oppression was real and vicious. Perhaps for today’s abused American workers, there is a just-sufficient illusion of freedom to block any incipient struggle for self-respect from gathering force. So yes, it appears that our workplaces will continue to be marked by servility and deference and self-effacement (and treachery and backbiting) for the foreseeable future. And then perhaps something will finally snap and people will ge…

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Is the Satanist Behind 10 Commandments Challenge Sincere?

…legal team. Future plans involve legally ordaining ministers and using the free exercise clause to claim privileges for Satanists. Satanic ministers could, for example, illegally marry a gay couple and then, when the state refuses to recognize the marriage, claim that their free exercise rights have been violated. Other projects involve the Satanic ideal that one’s body is sacred and inviolable. Expressing disgust that corporal punishment is still…

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Impossible Possibilities: Obama and Power

…or the current economic crisis will fundamentally change the principles of free markets, free trade, or transnational corporate dominance that ultimately guarantee a permanent underclass at home and abroad. This is why, aside from skin color and charisma, Martin Luther King Jr. (the actual human rights activist, not the ephemeral color-blind dreamer of American folklore) and Barack Obama have little in common: King desired to revolutionize the wor…

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