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2012 Presidential Hopefuls: God Game is On

…ed into the “founding principles,” “Judeo-Christian” foundation, and other code, but they did more. They wept; they told stories about soldiers and family members; they evoked imagery of mountains climbed and enemies vanquished. Mitt Romney, though? Not so much. Speaking directly after Pence, who since the inaugural Values Voters Summit in 2006, has always invoked the language of the religious right base, Romney was at a disadvantage. He was borin…

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Sullivan v. Gallagher: Catholics Debate LGBT Rights At Georgetown

…ality to Nazism. There was, of course, no need to debate Catholics for Equality’s mission by mentioning Soros. The fact that NOM did speaks to an effort to deploy conservative tropes about who is or isn’t the “real” religious person, and to drop code that political adversaries betray God to support evil. But it was Gallagher who had the gall to call out Catholics for Equality in her prepared remarks. “There is still time to repent,” she said witho…

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What’s the Problem With a Good Placebo?

…zing the Signs and Symbols of Health Semiotics, of course, is the study of signs and symbols, but it really has nothing to do with the fictional “symbologist” character played by Tom Hanks in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Semiotics is mostly dense philosophy and linguistics with a dash of neuroscience thrown in. The deep semiotics of health is an attempt to recognize the signs and symbols of health and to take control over the largely unconscious…

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Glenn Beck Hijacks It’s a Wonderful Life

…nd active commitment to “social justice,” something that Beck has said are code words for Communism and Nazism. Look, Frank Capra wasn’t exactly known for his subtle messages. Yet, somehow, Beck manages to reinterpret the movie through an unregulated free-market ideological Ayn Rand prism and message of Christian conservatism. For real? Either Beck has never watched the movie, or he’s so conservatively deluded that he thinks Mr. Potter is the hero…

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Canadian Courts Consider Decriminalization of Polygamy

…to determine the constitutionality of section 293 of the Canadian Criminal Code, which criminalizes the practice of polygamy, in light of sections of the Canadian Charter of Freedom pertaining to religious and civil liberties. Polygamy-practicing Mormons began fleeing to Mexico and Canada in the 1880s, after US Supreme Court Justices upheld the conviction of George Reynolds on polygamy charges in 1879, declaring polygamy an “odious” “Asiatic” prac…

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Louisiana Citizens Horrified that there’s Evolution in Science Books

…chers and school districts to use “supplemental textbooks,” which are just code words for creationist and pro-intelligent design materials. Barbara Forrest, a philosophy professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, co-founder of Louisiana Citizens for Science and one of the creationist movement’s most damning critics, said she believes the complaints are merely a tactic to get disclaimers (Warning: These books teach evolution!) added to the tex…

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‘Soul of Yoga’ at Stake in Texas Regulation Push

…A broader evaluation of American society’s views on yoga also shows that a significant number attribute religious dimensions to it. Consider a 2009 study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which found that 39% of liberals believe yoga is a spiritual practice and 15% of conservatives believe it is a spiritual practice. Furthermore, popular evangelical Christian leaders have proclaimed that Christians should not practice yoga because it i…

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What’s Huntsman’s Game Plan?

…ion and, intriguingly, that he “adds to that diversity,” which is probably code for a less-than-orthodox approach to the faith. Huntsman is helped also by the fact that whereas Mormonism may be the most intriguing thing about candidate Romney, candidate Huntsman plays rock-and-roll and rides motorcycles. 3. He needs to show well in New Hampshire, but it’s South Carolina he is banking on. His campaign team is already heavy with recycled McCain pers…

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Final (Probably) Thoughts On The Aqua Buddha Ad

…views on everyone else, but make sure they’re free to mock that very moral code. Democrats fear that argument. That’s why their approach has been, especially since about 2006 or so, to try to make themselves out to be the “authentic” Christians who truly care about their neighbors and all that. The Aqua Buddha ad may have been a bad strategic move in Kentucky; we’ll never really know. But Conway — without, as far as I can tell, invoking treacly re…

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Mississippi’s Personhood Bill Makes God Look Bad

…And yet, even more serious problems loom involving God, the Intelligent Designer. If God designed a system where most conceived “persons” die, God becomes the supreme abortionist. This is worse than planned obsolescence; this is planned murder, and God will have to answer for it. A court trial of God will be called for, a legal event that will make the Scopes Trial pale into insignificance. Mississippians, like most Americans, are religious, and…

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