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Pricking the Conscience of Churches: From AIDS Activism to Ending World Hunger

…eve it is possible to conquer hunger and end AIDS in our lifetime. An AIDS-free and hunger-free world are my mantra. What it will take is political will and compassion without borders. This is not simply a romantic vision, but one embraced by scientists, economists, politicians and other persons of goodwill around the world. These goals are not simply within our reach, but also our grasp. Achieving this future is not inevitable, but neither is it…

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Pussy Riot Members Sentenced to 2 Years for Offending Russian Orthodox Church

…is latest wonderful aphorism. If Medvedev gave his presidency the slogan: “Freedom is better than non-freedom”, then, thanks to Medvedev’s felicitous saying, Putin’s third term has a good chance of being known by a new aphorism: “Prison is better than stoning.” I would like you to think carefully about the following reflection by Montaigne from his Essays written in the 16th century. He wrote: “You are holding your opinions in too high a regard if…

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Circuit Court Rejects Priests for Life Contraception Challenge

…The court concluded that PFL’s rights are not violated under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and it is still free to hate on birth control: All Plaintiffs must do to opt out is express what they believe and seek what they want via a letter or two-page form. That bit of paperwork is more straightforward and minimal than many that are staples of nonprofit organizations’ compliance with law in the modern administrative state. Religious nonprofi…

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Christian Inmate Suing Indiana to Recognize Religion

…uled in Glenn’s favor on a preliminary motion, it’s notable for a prisoner free exercise case to get the court’s approval to go forward. Howard Friedman, who tracks prisoners’ free exercise lawsuits on his blog, Religion Clause, notes that since October there have been rulings in 31 of such cases, two-thirds of which were dismissed by the court. Most prisoner free exercise cases involve Muslim inmates, though neo-pagan groups, New Religious Moveme…

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God is Love: A Desert Prophet’s Message

…The state owns the land, but does not maintain it and people live here for free. There is no water, electricity or septic. Most of the people only come in the cooler winter months. But about 150 people, an incredibly hardy bunch, live here year round, braving temperatures that will climb to 130 degrees. It was 112 when I was there Saturday and Sunday. At the entrance to Slab City is Salvation Mountain, an adobe mountain covered in bright paint and…

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United Nations Affirms the Human Right to Blaspheme

…ecommendations is that controversies over blasphemy are not just conflicts between “free speech” and faith, but clashes between competing claims of conscience. This stance is defended by the International Humanist and Ethical Union and elaborated in my forthcoming book, The Future of Blasphemy: Speaking of the Sacred in an Age of Human Rights. The message of General Comment No. 34 is not only a clear condemnation of the blasphemy laws of countries…

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On the “Shunning” of Marriage Equality Opponent Ryan T. Anderson: A Reply to Damon Linker

…to be a free and open space where ideas may be exchanged and contested in free and open fashion. He may also be correct that proponents of same-sex marriage should meditate on their individual and collective responses to those opposed. But he is wrong to suggest that Ryan T. Anderson has been “shunned.” Anderson has been able to study at some of the nation’s top universities. He holds a position at a prominent conservative think tank. He is a reg…

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Paul Weyrich, “Godfather” of Modern Conservative Movement, Dead at 66

…l movement for liberty. That is how Paul Weyrich changed the world for the better.” Norquist added that Weyrich “brought leaders of various freedom impulses together. Most of the successes of the conservative movement since the 1970s flowed from structures, organizations, and coalitions he started, created, or nurtured.” The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition also noted that Weyrich was a “pioneer of the conservative movemen…

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False Saviors: Trump, Cruz, and the Gospel of the Quick Fix

…economy in free-fall. Or in the appeal of ISIS: people suffering economic free-fall and dictatorial suppression or, in the developed world, inadequate education and prejudice. Alienation is the equal opportunity killer, reaching even those who have productive futures, especially when they see prejudice or corruption run free. ISIS promises brotherhood, goals, status, and pay. Extreme duress, pushing people to promises of immediate, sweeping relie…

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Why Don’t White People Show Up For Juneteenth The Way They Showed Up For George Floyd?

…slaughtered sons, daughters (and vice versa). It’s Black folks celebrating freedom… or at least being “free-ish.” That, I believe, is at the root of the Juneteenth conundrum; the difficulty of seeing and accepting Black Joy, not Black Excellence, not Black Girl Magic, or any other formulation of Blackness that requires Black folks to exhibit superhuman levels of suffering or perseverance in the face of oppression. Simply the human emotion of joy….

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