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Judge Halts “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Discharges

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…led Tuesday that the policy “infringes the fundamental rights” of military service members and prospective service members and violates their rights to due process and freedom of speech. Her ruling bars the Pentagon from enforcing or applying the policy and orders the military to immediately suspend and discontinue any investigations, discharges or other proceedings related to potential violations of the law. Alexander Nicholson, executive directo…

The “Religious Freedom” Issue That May Cost the Accused Boston Bomber His Life

By Anthony Santoro

…all recognized as cognizable groups. Religious organizations, such as the American Friends Service Committee, have filed amicus curiae briefs in capital appeals arguing that the Court should deem the death-scrupled a cognizable group on the basis of the specific attribute—religiously motivated opposition to the death penalty. This renders the group at once identifiable and discrete, represents an element of the community’s conscience that should…

Anachronistic Arrogance: How Scorning Our Intellectual Mothers and Fathers Makes Us Real Dumb Real Fast

By Peter Laarman

…s’ collapse, I called for the great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress,” to open the service. Much consternation and rebuke from some congregational insiders following the service: Did I not know that Martin Luther, author of “Ein Feste Burg,” was an anti-Semite? Another instance. When I came to California and to my current position, I was asked immediately by the ACLU to join in an effort to have a tiny, almost invisible, cross expunged from the seal of th…

How Religion Shapes Sex Discrimination at Wal-Mart

By Joanna Brooks

…recognition for the work of service performed by these women both a home and at Wal-Mart—is a perennially important concern for everyone who works. Many of the Dukes women who embraced the company’s Christian identity would also say that there is no contradiction between honoring service and paying and promoting service employees fairly. I assume that’s what many Christian Wal-Mart employees hope to achieve in this suit, alongside their non-evang…

Good Without God: The Ethics of Atheism

By Becky Garrison

…e in community service projects in many of the cities, as part of “Secular Service Day,” an idea designed “to unite secular groups across the country in the interest of public service, and to demonstrate our commitment to leading full and ethical lives.” I first connected with Epstein while conducting research for The New Atheist Crusaders and Their Unholy Grail. When I met him, I was pretty drained from sitting through one too many Dawkins vs. D’…

God is Not Interested in Religion

By Peter Laarman

…ffort to get a big chunk of the San Gabriel Mountains protected under Park Service rather than Forest Service jurisdiction. A mix of fairly traditional Christians and a somewhat larger number of nature people (let’s just call them “pagans”—a perfectly good word) gathered high up in a canyon grove next to a roaring wild river, whereupon I shouted out a short sermon about how Christians really need to relax about contaminating the Easter rite with n…

Anti-Gay, Anti Catholic Evangelical Sworn In As Mayor of Rio; More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…olic Group Offers Pastoral Support to Transgender People The Catholic News Service reports that a “pro-life” ministry in the state of Kerala “has formed a group of priests, nuns and laypeople to respond to the pastoral needs of transgender people.” Formed in Cochin under the aegis of Pro-Life Support, a global social service movement within the church, the ministry is significant as it is one of the few outreach programs for the transgender commun…

A Method to Obama’s Madness?

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…ng the wheels for the project in motion with calls and e-mails to national service organizations. The committee is reaching out to organizations of all sizes and ideologies, including faith-based groups, unions and businesses as well as political groups—from Moveon.org on the left to Focus on the Family on the right—to motivate their members to participate. I understand now. What Obama is doing is exactly what George W. Bush and others like him wo…

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

By Joanna Brooks

…athy for women’s issues. But Romney’s outlook did mature over his years of service, according to the Post, and he may have assisted Boston-area Mormon feminists by deflecting Church headquarters’ inquiries into their activities. On Tuesday, Salon.com’s Justin Elliot selected the most unflattering elements of Romney’s career as bishop to depict the GOP presidential candidate as “an enforcer of the most socially conservative policies of the LDS chur…

Yes, Virginia: There IS a War on Christmas: Its Revolutionary Meaning is Inverted in the Winner-Take-All Era

By Peter Laarman

…empty,” in the midst of ecclesiastical opulence, in places where mere lip service is paid to the cause of the lowly. It is painful to hear these words, especially in such settings, because where is the evidence that God has already done these things? Try telling that to the single mother with hungry kids and not enough money to pay for heat. Try telling it to the injured warehouse or delivery worker (or nurse, or culinary worker) who has to pop p…