Category Archives: Separation of Church and State

FFRF’s ‘Quit the Catholic Church’ ad in today’s Washington Post

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Click on image to enlarge.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s full-page ad, “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church,” runs in today’s Washington Post (A-5 Main), urging liberal and nominal Roman Catholics to “quit” their church over its war against contraception.

The provocative ad asks: “Will it be reproductive freedom, or back to the Dark Ages? Do you choose women and their rights, or Bishops and their wrongs?”

The ad is similar to the full-page ad that appeared in The New York Times in March, which is still creating shockwaves among conservative religionists. The Washington Post, unlike the Times, accepted FFRF’s punchy headline, “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church.”

Additionally, FFRF has placed the full-page ad with a splash of color on the back of the Washington Express, handed out for free to Metro riders and D.C. residents. Express distributors will be wearing the ad on their vests.

“It’s a disgrace that U.S. health care reform is being held hostage to your church’s irrational opposition to medically prescribed contraception,” the ad states. “No political candidate should have to genuflect before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.”

Continue Reading . . .

Aphorism: On Christian Charity

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By Madison S. Hughes (05.01.2012)

Churches in general and the Catholic Church in particular, are nothing more than organized tribal cults. They give to their respective tribes, as would any primal tribe; however, these modern-day mendicants mooch off of their secular brethren through tax-exemptions and other Christian privileges purposefully to give back to their primal tribes. They give not out of a sense of compassion to their fellow human beings, but out of a sense of community to their fellow limited and literal-minded tribe members.

Recognizing Bigotry

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Consider the following statement for a moment:

“I would not vote for a man who was Black.”

Aside from a handful of teabaggers, I suspect that most people would recognize this statement as bigotry. Why? The statement implies that all people who belong to the specified category (i.e., Black) are unfit to hold office simply because of their membership in this category. Since the category is irrelevant to this judgment, we have both a falsehood and an unwarranted generalization. This is bigotry, and most people correctly identify it as such.

Now let’s examine the actual quote from the Rev. Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz:

“I would not vote for a man who was atheist.”

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Rob Boston: Is There A War On Religion? No…. But There Is A Religious Right/Catholic Hierarchy Attack On Individual Freedom

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The average American would be hard-pressed to see evidence of this “war.” Millions of people meet regularly in houses of worship. What’s more, those institutions are tax exempt. Many denominations participate in taxpayer-funded social service programs. Their clergy regularly speak out on the issues of the day. In the political arena, religious leaders are treated with great respect.

Furthermore, religious organizations often get special breaks that aren’t accorded to their secular counterparts. Houses of worship aren’t required to report their income to the Internal Revenue Service. They don’t have to apply for tax-exempt status; they receive it automatically as soon as they form. Religious entities are routinely exempted from employment laws, anti-discrimination measures and even routine health and safety inspections.

Unlike secular lobbies, religious groups that work with legislators on Capitol Hill don’t have to register with the federal government and are free from the stringent reporting requirements imposed on any group that seeks to influence legislation.

Religion in America would seem to be thriving in this “hands-off” atmosphere, as evidenced by church attendance rates, which in the United States tend to be higher than any other Western nation. So where springs this “war on religion” talk?

[…]

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Sunday Shows use Easter to Promote Fictitious ‘War On Religion’

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Easter morning is arguably a fair time for the Sunday morning political shows to host conversations about religion, but every single network offered only one perspective: there is a “war on religion.” CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX limited their religious guests to Catholic and evangelical Christian leaders, all of whom parroted conservative talking points about the role of faith in society and how liberal policies somehow infringe on “religious liberty.” Absent from the discussions were any progressive people of faith, non-Christians, or non-believers. 

Richard Dawkins / MSNBC’s “Up with Chris Hayes” / Atheism in America / Sunday at 8am EDT

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As the line between religious beliefs and political views becomes more and more blurred in the Republican presidential campaign season, MSNBC’s groundbreaking weekend program “Up w/Chris Hayes” will take an in-depth look into atheism in America on Sunday, March 25. The two-hour program (8-10am ET) will talk to several prominent figures in the field, examining how religious views intersect with our political views on both the left and the right, and will discuss the marginalization of those who do not believe in God. The special program comes one day after Saturday’s Reason Rally for atheism on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Guests of the program will include: Richard Dawkins, author of “The God Delusion”; Steven Pinker, author of “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined”; Susan Jacoby, author of “Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism”; Robert Wright, author of “The Evolution of God”; and Journalist Jamila Bey.

As part of the discussion about atheism in America, “Up” will speak with a working Christian member of the clergy who will reveal publicly, for the first time, that he is an atheist.

Read more . . .