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The Irony in the “Religious Liberty” Argument

…lowed suit, and both schools continue to reject federal money to this day. Free to run their organizations as they see fit, they are also free from government dependence. Even if you disagree on the particulars, you have to respect the consistency. These days, there is reason for skepticism whenever “religious liberty” clamors to the fore. Researchers have found, unsurprisingly, that frames touting liberties and rights serve as rhetorical veils, a…

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In Order to Move Forward We Must Believe the Unbelievable: Some Choose Death Over Democracy

…he said recently, “My people are happy, and they’re happy, because they’re free.” Our heritage is rife with heroes choosing death over tyranny. “Live free or die,” for instance. See also: “Don’t tread on me.” But nowhere is there a hero choosing death over democracy. We must reconsider the credit we give. In places like South Dakota, individual liberty is being perverted in the interest of the group, of the tribe, of the collective, so that indivi…

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Russia Expels Gay American Pastor, An Epidemic of Anti-LGBT Violence in Brazil, And More in the Global LGBT Recap

…hose reports often take an especially truculent, pro-Kremlin stance. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty posted a photo essay chronicling the “rollercoaster” of attitudes toward Russia’s gay community since the fall of the Soviet Union, including “a grim U-turn under Vladimir Putin.” Cayman Islands: Coalition of church leaders launching campaign for ‘Bible-based values’ The Cayman New Service reports that a coalition of church leaders, including Angli…

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Books Must be Hardbound, Quotes Whole, and Genitalia Scrubbed

…genitalia, they were told that any parody of religious art is offensive and cannot be displayed. The SBAS stall was then removed entirely from a student fair. Publically mocking religious truth claims probably isn’t very productive, and not all government institutions must be “religion-free zones.” But in a democratic society, the same rules must apply to everyone. These cases point to a pattern of de facto censorship of atheism. The good news is…

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Tony Perkins: Atheists Can’t Be Chaplains

…mplication is that explicitly nonreligious servicemen and servicewomen are free to consult with a religious chaplain. But for the same reason that a Christian may prefer a Christian chaplain over a Muslim or Jewish chaplain, nonreligious people should be free to seek out assistance from a member of their own community. As a Humanist chaplain, I frequently hear a version of Perkins’ argument (For more on what exactly I do as a chaplain, check out a…

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Booing Gay Soldiers and Expressing Faith in the Public Square

…s make against LGBT equality is that civil rights for LGBT people infringe on the religious freedom of Christians who believe homosexuality is sin. Therefore they insist the government shouldn’t give them, in Santorum’s words, “special privileges.” Conservatives frame this as a free exercise, or religious freedom issue, and, like Bachmann, skirt the church-state separation issue. Because these conservatives believe that the government should endor…

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‘Religious Freedom’ Rally Sets Stage for 1st Amendment Collision

…xactly what the Establishment Clause prohibits. The Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies emphasized the Free Exercise Clause and their own “religious freedom,” but they ignore, most certainly not by accident, the principle upon which Judge Stearns’ decision rests: “[t]o insist that the government respect the separation of church and state is not to discriminate against religion; indeed, it promotes a respect for religion by refusing to single ou…

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Missing the Forest for the Witches

…ry cannot, for example, access the Wikipedia page on Wicca, though they’re free to read the Catholic Encyclopedia’s page on Paganism. By banning the categories into which minority religions are classified, the library’s policy appears to violate the Constitution’s establishment clause. By extension, it would be unconstitutional for any government agency to use Netsweeper to censor public access to “occult” sites. However, Netsweeper is a global co…

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Mike Johnson’s Porn-Monitoring isn’t Just ‘Creepy’ — it’s a Window to the Fascist Desire Driving the White Evangelical Will to Power

…icking on the varied visages and scenarios lead to words of encouragement, free downloads of books like Your Brain on Porn and More Than Single, and free training sessions. Though their looks differ, each man appears confident and contemplative, with a sense of purpose. Many stare straight into the camera or are captured in chiseled or bearded profile. No one on the women’s site is as fleshed out. It has fewer images of actual women, and all of th…

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Secure Borders? Not a Chance, Senator

…own spiritual/cultural values. Liberals see porous borders as a symbol of freedom: free movement, free choice, and the free creativity generated by the intermingling of peoples.  To conservatives, the very presence of so many Illegal “aliens” proves that the borders they once imagined as the key to a safe, orderly life have long been crumbling around them. To give undocumented people legal status would be further proof that the nation’s walls and…

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