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The Big Lie Misrepresentation in Louisiana “Seal of Confessional” Case

By Jason Hines

The systematic abuse of the free exercise clause strikes again. In this latest episode, according to bloggers at Hot Air and the American Conservative, “[t]he Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that a priest must testify in a case about what he heard in a confessional,” and “Fr. Bayhi will have to go to jail to protect the seal of the confessional.” These pundits can, to some extent, be forgiven for these misleading statements since the Catholic C…

In a Time of Chaos and Misrule, Mardi Gras’ Subversive Message is Virtually Meaningless

By Ed Simon

…sidered equal during carnival. Here, in the town square, a special form of free and familiar contact reigned among people who were usually divided by the barriers of caste, property, profession, and age.” During carnival license was given to abolish the regular world; frequently the crowds would crown an “Abbot of Unreason” or a “Lord of Misrule,” a mocking pantomime of ecclesiastical and royal authority who was allowed to endure during that Tuesd…

A Public Monument to Atheism—In Florida

By Becky Garrison

…think they’ve found a clever way to bring the Commandments in through the back door by invoking a “free speech zone.” They have to understand what that means—free speech means free speech for everyone. Those courthouse plazas may get awfully crowded….

Jerusalem Honors Right-Wing Mogul Sheldon Adelson

By Diane Winston

…pointed out earlier this year, Israel HaYom’s competitive tactics—offering free papers and slashing ad costs—have undercut two of Israel’s moderate newspapers. Was it economics then or politics that shaped the Jerusalem Post’s coverage of the luncheon? Unlike the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, both of which highlighted Adelson’s inflammatory descriptions of Palestinians and his attacks on peacemaking efforts, the Jerusalem paper offered…

Eat, Pray, Trash: What the Critics Don’t See

By Ben Brazil

…kle with divinity. Of course, this has typically been understood as a male freedom. Gilbert flips the gender assumptions—she’s the one who leaves a spouse because she needs freedom—and some find the reaction against Eat Pray Love to be rooted in that sexist legacy. Romantic views of travel don’t stop with writers, of course. Quite the contrary: within certain circles, travel has come to be viewed as a marker of a generous, open-minded, cosmopolita…

As Hobby Lobby Heads to SCOTUS, Let’s Ditch Kosher Butcher Analogies

By Sarah Posner

…nfeld v. Brown (1961), Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. (1968), and United States v. Lee (1982) – the Court has overwhelmingly or unanimously rejected it. (Moreover, even apart from RFRA and the Free Exercise Clause, Congress has rarely, if ever, extended specifically religious exemptions to for-profit enterprises.) This unbroken history is hardly surprising, given that in virtually every such case – and even in cases where nonprofit comm…

White Nationalist Ideology Shines Through at Elite MAGA Conference: Inside NatCon Part II

By Ben Lorber

…roll back LGBTQ rights in what he calls “America’s citadel of freedom—the free state of Florida, proud to be a refuge of sanity in a world gone mad. We’re holding down the fort.” Indeed, in a national climate where solid majorities remain opposed to the Supreme Court’s gutting of Roe v. Wade, Hazony and others clearly perceive states like Florida to be a laboratory for battle-testing their Christian nationalist vision. “People say ‘look, we’re no…

“What’s the Relationship of Technology to God?”: A Q&A with Wired Co-Founder Kevin Kelly

By Shannon Trosper Schorey

…ion of nature, of life, with the added difference of coming via this other free will agent, humans. It’s a derivative form because it’s coming from the natural system of humans, but through their minds and through their free will as well. I don’t believe that technology is only present on this planet, either. I think in the galaxies there must be millions of planets with technological civilizations that have either preceded us or parallel us. Is t…

But ‘Natural’ is Better, No? ‘How Faith in Nature’s Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science’

By Andrew Aghapour

…so needs to make soy-free chickens for his customers who are demanding soy-free chickens. So he’s feeding them fish meal, which is manifestly unnatural. When I asked him about that he acknowledged that we all have to choose our compromises. In the book you explore a number of social domains—diet, birth control, parenting, economics, alternative medicine—where what’s “natural” is considered to be what’s best, and then you unspool them to show that…

Christians Should Give Up “Christianity”: An Interview with Peter Rollins

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…t has the full range of human emotions, that confronts us with our brokenness, but not so that we despair. That’s the good news of Christianity for me. It’s not that you can be happy and whole, but rather that life is crap and you don’t know the answers. It’s good news to be freed from the oppression that there’s something that’s going to make it all better. When you’re free from that and begin to work through your brokenness and suffering with a…