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Bachmann’s Law School Mentor Asserts Biblical Roots of American Political System

…cannot do within the guidelines of the IRS rules. He cited the part of the code that prohibits influencing legislation and labeled it “legalese,” before a lengthy parsing of what counts as legislation and then what counts as influencing— none of which substantially departed from everyday understanding of those terms. The talk sounded much like the “word study” sermon style found in many fundamentalist churches. He was careful to clarify that wheth…

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The Return of Government as “Idolatry” and the “Second Amendment Remedies”

…, New Hampshire, and Iowa) promoting a creationist film called The Genesis Code, and holding fundraising receptions. The moralistic film follows an unbelieving hockey player and a Christian journalism student who struggle with “reconciling their scientific studies and what’s taught in the Bible” as he falls for her and she uses their relationship to “guide” him “toward God.” You can read a “pro-family” review here that warns of sex (kissing) and n…

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Obama at Notre Dame: A Chance to Talk to Catholics

…d) will be free to focus on the crucial matter of the latest Dan “Da Vinci Code” Brown adaptation. As of this writing, we are still waiting for advance word on the subject of Obama’s graduation speech. As any professor can tell you, a college commencement address frequently falls into one of three genres. The first strives to inspire with insipid platitudes equal to the occasion. (“Your graduation is a change I can believe in.”) The second ignores…

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Religious and Political Silence on India’s LGBTQ Decision Speaks Volumes

…es. “Deviant,” “diseased,” and other descriptors of sexual minorities were code words for homophobia and transphobia. Moving the discussion of Section 377 away from systemic inequality and toward the putative best interest of Indian society was emblematic of the right-wing attempt to erase sexual diversity. Although right-wing Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained silent on Section 377 since his election campaign in 2014 (during hearings in Ju…

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It’s Preposterous That We Can’t Question Nominees on Religion

…e, especially if they come from a background with a strict religious/moral code and a bend toward evangelicalism, is not only reasonable but necessary and in no way suggests that a specific faith practice should be disqualifying. As Geoffrey Stone and Eric Segall noted in the New York Times: …asking a nominee about her strong faith, and whether she can put her religious views aside when deciding cases that implicate those views, is nowhere close t…

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An Unholy Holy Week: Is the All-Male Rule of the Roman Catholic Church Self-Destructing?

…to make sure this predator was not around children. No one challenged the code of deference to those higher up and obedience to the rule of secrecy. Now we have “the largest institutional crisis in centuries, possibly in Church history,” declares the National Catholic Reporter in an editorial. The New York Times, which broke the story of abuse at the deaf school in Wisconsin, quotes a priest in Berlin as saying the crisis is “the worst in 100 yea…

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The Democrats Got Religion, At Huge Cost

…s comments, I note that he didn’t use the phrase “Stupak amendment” and only made vague references to “strong feelings on both sides” and that the final House bill didn’t preserve the “status quo.” What Obama would be satisfied with as preserving the “status quo” (code for no federal funding for abortions) is unclear — and more to the point, what he would be willing to capitulate to is equally unclear. This morning, Rep. Stupak postured that there…

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How (Not) to Understand Romney’s Time as an LDS Bishop

…cigarette and a beer (both forbidden according to the LDS Church’s dietary code, “The Word of Wisdom”), more substantial coverage this week is focusing on Romney’s service as bishop of his LDS congregation in Belmont, Massachusetts in the 1980s.  On Monday, the Washington Post offered a revealing account of Bishop Romney’s interactions with Boston’s robust Mormon feminist community during tense years for the movement, when the LDS Church played a…

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Pat Robertson’s Women Warriors Leading Spiritual Warfare In Zimbabwe

…gious right’s jurisprudential arsenal before the Supreme Court, vetted and promoted George W. Bush’s Supreme Court nominees, and was an early endorser of and advisor to Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign. Sekulow is a media mogul as well; his daily radio program is heard on hundreds of stations, and he is a co-founder and board member of inspirational programming company Cross Bridge Media, whose parent, BN Media, recently purchased the reli…

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How to Make Nones and Lose Money: Study Shows Cost of Catholic Sex Abuse Scandals

…words, as Nones. The economists involved in this study focused on the zip code where a clergy sex scandal had occurred. They found a “large and statistically significant effect” on charitable contributions in those zip codes after a scandal, and not only to Catholic-based charitable organizations. The researchers theorize that perhaps once a person stops attending church, the social pressure to be charitable declines. Interestingly, however, thes…

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