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Red Pop and Freedom: How (And How Not) to Celebrate Juneteenth, a New Federal Holiday

By A. E. Brooks-Key

…tution, as it is in many ways a quintessential slave state. In response to Texas legislation meant to whitewash any meaningful discussion of Texas’ racist past, historian Robert Greene II, writing in Jacobin, notes: “In Texas, Republican governor Greg Abbott and his allies are pushing the “1836 Project” — a reading of the state’s history that will likely leave out one of the critical reasons white Texans fought for independence in the 1830s: keepi…

We Went Through Amoris Laetitia Section by Section So You Wouldn’t Have To

By Anthony Adams

…ualism is bad. Also, he notes but offers no explanation for the decreasing number of marriages in many countries. I am glad to see that in Section 34 he understands this basic fact of contemporary western culture: The ideal of marriage, marked by a commitment to exclusivity and stability, is swept aside whenever it proves inconvenient or tiresome. The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fe…

Rick Perry, the Christocrat Favorite for President?

By Sarah Posner

…iples. (They share a generous funder, James Leininger, a key funder of the Texas culture wars.) In 2006, Perry, then campaigning for governor, prayed at John Hagee’s church, and then agreed with Hagee that non-Christians are doomed to hell. Perry appeared to be the beneficiary of the Texas Restoration Project, organized by religious right activists intent on getting pastors more involved in the electoral process. Or, as organizer David Lane told m…

Vaginal Ultrasound Required for Abortion in Texas

By Sarah Morice-Brubaker

…l problems with a pregnancy in the presence of certain symptoms. Except in Texas, where it’s also used to treat the malady of not being as opposed to abortion as some people wish you would be. Which is different from the way things typically work. Ordinarily, in this country, adults have the right to refuse a medical procedure without it thereby cutting off their access to other, basically unrelated, legal medical procedures. If you think that it…

How Intelligent Design Advocates Helped Shape the Christian Right’s Texas Curriculum Standards

By Lauri Lebo

…regarding the long-term goals for our education system, playing out now in Texas. As board member Cynthia Dunbar, who opposes public education, has said, “the philosophy of the classroom in one generation will become the philosophy of the government in the next.” But what I found most fascinating about the piece is the explanation behind the religious right’s recent interest in the Declaration of Independence. Christian activists like David Barton…

Wendy Davis in Texas: Just Like a Prayer

By Christine Wicker

…g to stop passage of a law that would have closed most abortion clinics in Texas. Her voice was so soft that I kept thinking, “That voice cannot last for 13 hours.” But it did. She seemed so alone standing there. Talking. Talking. Talking. Always holding aloft in her small hands that bulbous microphone that must have became so much heavier with each passing hour. Perhaps I felt so strongly because she had to speak for so long. Or maybe it was beca…

Texas Board of Education to Review Intelligent Design-Promoting Materials for Science Classes

By Lauri Lebo

…you!) at this bit of news to come out of Texas yesterday. Apparently, the Texas Board of Education will be reviewing instructional materials for the state’s biology classes that tout creationism. The reason why I’m so shocked, of course, is because board members have assured us that they had no intention of trying to sneak creationism into science class. In 2009, when the board approved its revamped science curriculum standards that critics feare…

Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

By Michael Schulson

…age. His 2012 book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar, has sold widely. Over the phone, I asked Rinzler why he and Burrows had chosen to establish the studio as a for-profit company. “We really wanted to make sure we had all the resources we need for supporting people who are trying meditation for the first time,” Rinzler explained. Because they’re a business, there’s more professionalism. The teachers they’ve hired show up on time, and, as Rinzler put…

Our Lady of Good Hope and Excellent Behavior: Why this Apparition and Why Now?

By Lisa Bitel

…ion by joining other denominations or leaving Christianity altogether. The number of priests and nuns was at an all-time low even before the recent sexual scandals, and the number of self-identified Catholics world-wide keeps declining. Many of those who remain in the Church ignore standard doctrines and believe what they want. How many Catholics disobey Church rules? About as many as the angels dancing on a pinhead. Believers know that Jesus prom…

‘Dog-Cat’ Incumbent Reelected to Texas Board of Education

By Lauri Lebo

…should have seen a dog-cat, was elected to serve another four years on the Texas Board of Education last week. Mercer, a San Antonio Republican, remains one of at least five far-right conservatives who will be reviewing new material over the next two years. Nonetheless, the election results spell cautiously good news. The far-right Christian voting bloc on the 15-member board has dwindled. Voters have rejected several of them, including Don McLero…