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Book Burning and the Scapegoating of Islam

By Eric Reitan

…the West, book burning has come to symbolize the totalitarian rejection of free expression—a desire to enforce conformity of thought. While there is no doubt that something like this is going on with Terry Jones and his church (not to mention Phelps), there is another symbolic meaning that is more ancient and, I suspect, more instructive. I have in mind the symbolism of making burnt offerings to supernatural powers. Rene Girard is a philosopher wh…

The Non-Existent Tea Party-Religious Right God Gap

By Sarah Posner

…ek at the Values Voters Summit. Here, I heard a lot of talk about economic freedom, the supposedly free-spending, monstrous, socialist government, and about the wonders of free enterprise. Most people hear that, and they think, what happened to the God talk? These people must be trying to appeal to the largely secular tea parties. But it’s there. While many tea partiers might come to a rally with an entirely secular objection to what they call “bi…

Religious Right Reax to SCOTUS: “A Spiritual 9/11”

By Peter Montgomery

…ive side by side. It is now crucial that as a country we protect religious freedom and the right of conscience and also not discriminate. Scott Walker reaffirmed his call for a constitutional amendment. The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins declared that “the Supreme Court has set our government on a collision course with America’s cherished religious freedoms, explicitly guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Americans will n…

Muslim Beard Decision was a Boost for “Religious Liberty” Advocates

By Kara Loewentheil

…determining whether or not a regulation is actually a burden on someone’s free exercise rights. And because of the way the doctrine works, it’s harder for the government to satisfy the rest of the test once the burden has been established. Part of that low bar is due to the fact that the opinion continues the slippage between the concepts of sincere religious belief and substantial burden that were evident in Hobby Lobby as well. The Court notes…

It’s Not “Inappropriate” for Public School Teacher to Tell Class that Obama Isn’t Christian

By Joseph Laycock

…discuss important controversial topics and that schools must be “religion free zones.” Superintendent Ledbetter announced that he’s considering more diversity and sensitivity training for teachers. He also sent a certified letter to the parents explaining that the incident will not happen again and that Nancy Perry is retiring. A local NBC affiliate reported, “The superintendent believes it goes back to a basic lesson: don’t talk politics or reli…

Ringing in a Christian Nationalist 2019 With an Even Larger Legislative Playbook

By Frederick Clarkson

…Focus, “Enforcing Federal Law Mandating Compliance by Public Schools with Free Speech Guidelines,” also comes with a model bill, The “Preserving Religious Freedom in School Act,” which essentially seeks to fully enforce a guidance regarding school prayer issued in 2003 by the federal Department of Education. The manual explains that “Federal law requires certification of compliance with Department of Education guidance assuring the religious free…

Arrests Made in Murders of Atheist Bloggers in Bangladesh, But Int’l Response to Violence Remains Anemic

By Murali Balaji

…time warp and a time when vigilante violence was the means of suppressing free speech. To better understand these fears, it’s important to understand how Bangladesh has come to this point—and why many U.S. lawmakers continue to overlook its growing political and social turmoil. While Bangladesh eventually became its own country following a brief war between India and Pakistan, the remnants of those loyal to West Pakistan and opposed to a secular…

The Tea Party, the Blind Man, and the Elephant: Part 1

By Julie Ingersoll

…told a councilman that if he could find access to the shop he could have a free sub. Now the place hosts (and I mean hosts: free wings and sausage and their locally-famous sweet tea) a monthly tea party meeting. I’ll admit to being put off when a few weeks back the character of the sign changed: it said “a red-neck, Bible thumping (something or other) owns this joint,” making me feel generally unwelcome. Last night there were over 100 people there…

Back to Basics: Feminism 101

By Amina Wadud

…ce for me: Allah made me free and equal and anyone who dares to limit that freedom or curtail my equality has no right to do so. They also have no control over my choice to live that equality and justice, save for oppression. The Qur’an is pretty emphatic about that: oppression is human-made and must be human-eradicated. I reject anything and anyone who interferes with my choice and my right to live free and equal. I do so as an integral part of m…

Bipolar Faith, an Autobiography of Race and Mental Illness

By Monica A. Coleman

…mental health challenge as part of one’s life. I wanted to emphasize that freedom is often hard-won. The final chapter is now named “Free.” How do you feel about the cover? Initially, I resisted having my face on the cover of the book. When the publishers presented the idea to me, I gave them a list of all the memoirs without the author’s face on the cover. They gave me a comparable list of memoirs that have the author’s face on the cover. Betwee…