Tag Archives: Topic: Atheism

Globe and Mail: While the Christian faith continues to dominate Canada’s immigrant profile, its proportion has been steadily fading. Where more than 78 per cent of immigrants to Canada prior to 1971 identified themselves as Christians, that proportion has dropped to 47.5 per cent among those who arrived over the past five years, the survey found.

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart:The Obama-Hagel Pentagon is trying to minimize Breitbart News’blockbuster story last week of top brass meeting with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein, whom we reported calls Christians “monsters” imposing a “rapacious reign of theocratic terror” and says sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military an act of “sedition and treason” that must be punished.

Joe LaRue went on radio to discuss the situation: Pentagon backtracks on evangelization comments, investigation launched. | The Vicki McKenna Show —– MP3 audio 14:20 mins | WAVA Radio with Don Kroah —– MP3 audio 13:25 mins | The Zeb Bell Show —– MP3 audio 13:04 mins

Sally Quinn at the Washington Post: Weinstein told me after the Pentagon meeting that military leaders need to understand that “there is systematic misogyny, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the military.” He said it is all part of the same culture. “This is a national security threat. What is happening [aside from sexual assault] is spiritual rape. And what the Pentagon needs to understand is that it is sedition and treason. It should be punished.”

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has posted the letters here.

Religion Clause Blog: The Freedom From Religion Foundation announced yesterday that the Central Florida Freethought Community will be making materials on Atheism available to students in eleven Orange County, Florida high schools tomorrow.

he Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, an organization of chaplain endorsers representing more than 2,000 current chaplains actively serving the armed forces, expressed both gratitude and concern Tuesday over the Air Force and a new “religious tolerance” policy.

Breitbart: “Today, we face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation’s armed forces.”

Christian News Network: A city council in Pennsylvania plans to defy demands from an atheist activist organization to end invocations at their monthly meetings, reports state. Brian Shipley, the president of Greenville City Council, recently received a letter from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) . . .

Charisma News: “Public officials should be able to recognize public prayer activities just as America’s founders did,” said Senior Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “The mayor need not give in to the demands of activist groups that twist the true meaning of the First Amendment. He and the town of Hattiesburg are free to continue to participate in this long-revered American tradition.”

Barna Group: The rise of the so-called “Nones”—the increasing percentage of adults who claim no religious affiliation—has been a much-discussed trend in American religion. Is the nation moving away from Christianity and other forms of conventional faith? To provide insight on this topic, Barna Group analyzed 42,855 interviews conducted in recent years, looking at 15 different measures of non-religiosity. In other words, the research explores the emerging post-Christian landscape of the nation.

Digital Journal: Police in Bangladesh say they have arrested four atheist bloggers for “defaming” Islam and the Prophet Mohammad. The police action follows calls from Islamic fundamentalist groups for a crackdown on secular bloggers.

Herb Silverman of the Secular Coaltion at Washington Post: The most obvious and effective lesson atheists are learning from gays (including all LGBTs) is to come out of the closet. Attitudes toward gays changed rapidly when people learned that their friends, neighbors, and even family members were gay. Attitudes about atheists are slowly changing as atheists are slowly coming out.

KOB.com: A group representing atheists and agnostics has objected to the city Alamogordo displaying the words “In God We Trust” at City Hall.

Sentinel and Enterprise: The state’s highest court has opened the floodgate of opinion by seeking outside briefs in a religious discrimination case against the Acton-Boxboro Regional School District by an atheist family that is challenging the use of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance . . . Listed in the court docket as filing briefs so far are: the Acton School System, John Doe (the atheist family that filed the lawsuit and wished to remain anonymous), the American Humanist Association, Daniel and Ingrid Joyce, the Knights of Columbus, the Alliance Defending Freedom, and the Massachusetts Family Institute.

Lowell Sun: Listed in the court docket as having filed briefs so far are: the Acton School System, John Doe (the atheist family that filed the lawsuit and wishes to remain anonymous), American Humanist Association, Daniel and Ingrid Joyce, the Knights of Columbus, the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Massachusetts Family Institute.

CNN: Todd Stiefel is far from a household name, and the odds he gets recognized on a street corner, even in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, are small . . . “What I am trying to accomplish is multifold, he told CNN. “I consider myself working on the next civil equality movement, just like women’s rights, LGBT rights and African-American Civil Rights. We are still in the early stages of eliminating discrimination against atheists and humanists. That is something I really want to accomplish.”

LifeSiteNews: [Bishop Jean Laffitte, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family] . . . affirmed what many in the pro-family movment have long believed, that the push for “gay marriage” is not coming exclusively from homosexual lobbyists, but from a more sinister international cadre of highly placed secularist social engineers seeking a radical alteration of the foundational ideas of Western Civilization.

“The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), along with 19 other plaintiffs is suing the U.S. treasury for stamping “In God We Trust” on currency. Honorary FFRF board member, Mike Newdow, is acting as legal counsel in the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on February 1, 2013.”

London Evening Standard: The Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister has also described himself as not an “active believer” in God, although he has said he is committed to bringing up his children in the Catholic faith. His wife is a Catholic.

Annie Laurie Gaylor at NY Times: If I had my druthers, Christmas would not be a federal holiday. It’s a no-brainer. The First Amendment categorically states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Clearly, designating the date upon which Christians observe the birth of their messiah as a federal holiday is making a law respecting an establishment of religion, and placing governmental weight behind Christianity.

Religion Clause Blog: As previously reported, last December a West Point cadet, Blake Page, who had been disqualified on medical grounds from receiving a Second Lieutenant commission, resigned from West Point 5 months short of graduation in protest of the school’s promotion of religion.

Rory Gray at Speak Up Movement: Churches have always served a key role in American society, not only as centers of worship but also as polling places, food pantries, concert venues, and general meeting places. So it is hardly surprising that when the Elmbrook Community School District in Wisconsin lacked an adequate venue for its high school graduation ceremonies, it rented a local church. Graduation moved back on campus once a building was completed that could comfortably accommodate every student’s guests. But the District’s secular use of a church building upset the atheists who so often view religion as a kind of communicable disease that must be quarantined from public life. And they filed a federal lawsuit to prohibit the District from renting a church, in the future, for any purpose.

Religion Clause Blog: Following up on a right-to-sue letter it obtained from the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights (see prior related posting), the Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a state court lawsuit against a florist who refused to deliver flowers ordered by FFRF for a successful plaintiff in an Establishment Clause case.

Salt Lake Tribune: With the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing abortion, are there abortion opponents who don’t believe in God? Apparently so — and not just a few.

Christian Concern: The Air Cadet Organisation has announced its intention to provide an alternative ‘non-religious’ oath for new members that excludes any references to God.

Patheos: This is a guest post by Daniel Koster. Daniel is the President of the Wekiva Atheist and Secular Alliance at Wekiva High School in Florida. . . . We found out late Monday night that the School Board had given a group permission to hand out Bibles at our schools. The news reported it and David Williamson, leader of the Central Florida Freethought Community, alerted several local leaders in a message headed “URGENT.”

Matt Sharp appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Atheists Still Not Gleeful About Christmas. | MP3 audio 17:41 mins

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is William Kilpatrick, the author of several books, including Psychological Seduction and Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right from Wrong. His articles about Islam have appeared in FrontPage Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, Catholic World Report, and other publications. His most recent book, Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West explores the threat that Islam poses to Christianity and Western civilization. The book also examines the role played by militant secularists in facilitating the expansion of Islam.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys sent a letter Tuesday to the Chambersburg Area School District after an atheist group complained about the selection of songs included in an annual Christmas performance by the Chambersburg Area Senior High School’s Glee Club.

Matt Sharp appeared on the Vicki McKenna Show to discuss this: Montana school accused of bullying for including Christmas carols in school performance. | MP3 audio 11:42 mins

Prescott News: The FFRF complained that the religious overtones of the Courthouse Lighting ceremony were a violation of the separation of Church and State, and even went so far as to dictate what songs they felt were more appropriate. But not so fast. According to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the ceremony is protected under the First Amendment as it was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and was not a government-organized event. The ADF even offered free legal assistance in the event of a legal challenge by the FFRF.

World Magazine: Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom said, “Courts have responded in favor of schools playing Christmas music, as long as it serves an overall educational purpose.” Candi Cushman, an education analyst with CitizenLink, which is associated with Focus on the Family, said, “From what we’ve seen, the school appears to have chosen a perfectly reasonable, balanced mix of songs like ‘Up on a House Top’ and ‘Joy to the World’ and has correctly emphasized that the musical program serves an educational purpose, reflecting long-standing, nationwide traditions.” I can respect the fact that Christmas songs might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if this is bullying, then no public expression of Christianity, no matter how banal and innocuous, is safe from censure.

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Jeremy Tedesco has sent a letter [PDF] to assure those officials that their actions were not illegal. “Of course it’s legal to celebrate national holidays like Christmas in the public square,” he insists. “Public officials should not fear attacks from atheist groups, because their freedom to participate in these events is protected under the First Amendment. “The attacks on Christmas are part of a larger campaign to snuff out all references to our Christian heritage and are best ignored by government officials.”

Daily Caller: If the threatened lawsuit by the unnamed parents materializes, it would face substantial legal hurdles according to David Cortman, an attorney who specializes in the First Amendment at Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative-leaning nonprofit. “It doesn’t create a constitutional crisis to sing Christmas songs at Christmastime,” Cortman told the Daily Mail. “If every time there was a piece of art or classical musical with a religious theme, we censored it, we would be eliminating much from the students’ education.”

KPHO.com: “It is legal to celebrate national holidays like Christmas in the public square,” said Jeremy Tedesco, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which is an alliance-building legal ministry advocating for the right of people to freely live out their faith. “Public officials should not fear attacks from atheists because their freedom to participate in community celebrations is protected under the First Amendment,” Tedesco said in his own letter to the Arizona secretary of state and various city and school officials in Prescott. [Click here to read the full letter (PDF)]

Jordan Lorence at Townhall: Each year, misguided government officials and fearful corporate executives try to censor expressions of Christmas, and, each year, after people object, others deny such censorship exists. But it does. This year’s examples include . . .

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys sent a letter Wednesday to Missoula County Public Schools after the district faced complaints that certain religious songs should not be included in a Christmas performance by children at Chief Charlo Elementary school.

Examiner.com: Today, Dec. 19, 2012 it was announced by Alliance Defending Freedom that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) officially complained to the Arizona Secretary of State that their participation in a privately sponsored Christmas lighting ceremony in front of the county courthouse violates the Constitution. A false claim to be sure, but they will try anything to stifle the traditions that they do not agree with.

Todd Starnes at Fox News: “For them to include traditional religious Christmas carols is perfectly constitutional,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. “The courts have clearly held that it’s constitutional for schools to include traditional religious carols as part of a secular educational music program.” The ADF said they sent a letter to the Missoula, Mont. School district advising them of their rights under the law and offered to give them legal support in the event of a lawsuit.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys sent a letter Wednesday to the Arizona Secretary of State, and Prescott city and school officials after the Freedom From Religion Foundation officially complained that their participation in a privately sponsored Christmas lighting ceremony in front of the county courthouse violates the Constitution.

AP: An Egyptian atheist convicted then released from prison on bail this week told The Associated Press Wednesday that the new Islamist government is no better than the dictatorial regime it replaced.

Andy Norman at Bell Towers: Most scholars, jurists, and those who love God recognize that preserving our religious freedoms in the United States today is inseparably linked with promoting religious diversity. When the new, the small, the controversial, and the unpopular are able to express their beliefs freely, we all benefit. That freedom, however, comes under attack every Christmastime. . . . In support of an accurate reading of the Establishment Clause numerous groups have joined the battle in recent years. These include the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian Legal Society, TMLC, Liberty Council and many others. Thanks to these organizations and the private law firms and attorneys willing to take these cases, the tide may be turning.

Deseret News: New crosses honoring 15 fallen Utah Highway Patrol troopers now overlook I-15 just north of exit 273, taking the place of memorials that were removed from public land following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year.

The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty expresses disappointment over the Navy’s decision to inhibit the religious liberty of military personnel at a U.S. military facility in Bahrain.

Religion Clause Blog: The FBI today released its 2011 Hate Crime Statistics. The report shows that there were 6,216 single-bias motivated incidents reported, of which 1,233 (19.8%) involved religious bias.

Lamar W. Hankins at San Marcos Mercury: An on-line review of agendas from 30 Austin-area communities reveals that almost half of area city councils use their elected positions to promote religion. Of those 30 towns and cities, 14 begin their meetings with invocations (usually prayers) according to their agendas. While nearly 47% of area municipalities promote this religious practice, the rest do not. Austin is the largest city in the area to do so.

Religion Clause Blog: In a Huffington Post essay on Monday, West Point cadet Blake Page announced that he is resigning from West Point 5 months short of graduation in protest of the school’s promotion of religion . . .

CNSNews: In what one Republican calls an “unprecedented” move, an atheist group is advising all newcomers to the U.S. House of Representatives to stay away from the Congressional Prayer Caucus.

William McGurn at the Wall Street Journal: And the American people were again reminded of the apparent inability of so many of our bluest bloods to distinguish between upholding religious pluralism and enforcing anti-religion.

AP: Atheists could be allowed into Britain’s boy and girl scouts after more than a century.

Freedom from Religion Foundation: The Freedom From Religion Foundation helped one of its Pennsylvania members obtain a favorable ruling for nonbelievers from the state Human Relations Commission. After John Wolff of Lancaster was unable to get the owners of Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen in Columbia to stop discriminating against atheists and agnostics, he enlisted FFRF’s help. The restaurant was offering an illegal 10 percent discount for customers who brought in a church bulletin.

Religion Clause Blog: In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Weber, (D MT, Nov. 27, 2012), a Montana federal district court held that an advocacy organization has standing to bring an Establishment Clause challenge to the decision by the U.S. Forest Service to allow the continued presence of a statue of Jesus on National Forest Service land within Whitefish Mountain Resort.

CBS: KARK-TV reports that some parents were upset that Terry Elementary School in Little Rock wanted to take children to go see a play of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at a local church. “The parents that we know in this situation are reluctant to speak up because they are concerned about their kids being singled out and bullied,” Anne Orsi, a lawyer and member of the Arkansas Society of Free Thinkers, told KARK.

Marietta Daily Journal: “In recent years, the tactic of many in the atheist community has been, if you can’t beat them, join them,” said Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center and director of the Newseum’s Religious Freedom Education Project in Washington. “If these church groups insist that these public spaces are going to be dominated by a Christian message, we’ll just get in the game — and that changes everything.” . . . “If they want to hold an opposing viewpoint about the celebration of Christmas, they’re free to do that — but they can’t interfere with our right to engage in religious speech in a traditional public forum,” said William Becker, attorney for the committee. “Our goal is to preserve the tradition in Santa Monica and to keep Christmas alive.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to President Obama asking him to reject the way this country politicizes religion.

Religion Clause Blog: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week granted an application for direct appellate review of a trial court’s decision in Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, a case brought by an atheist-humanist family challenging the constitutionality of the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in Massachusetts school

LIberty Institute: Liberty Institute is responding to misinformation being disseminated by atheist groups to public school districts throughout the country. In legal information letters mailed this month, Liberty Institute encourages and reminds school administrators that the Constitution still protects the rights of students to engage in free speech and religious expression at various events.

KLTV.com: An East Texas county is denying an atheist organization’s request to display an anti-religious banner on the courthouse lawn this Christmas.

CBC News (includes video): Winnipeg’s incoming police chief says he is surprised by the strong public reaction to statements he made about prayer to a Christian publication.

The Call: The Freedom From Religion Foundation stopped short of promising a lawsuit over the cross, but it says it is in the process of seeking an attorney from the area to represent the organization.

Detroit Free Press (includes video): Rebecca Cardone, 21, who grew up Methodist in Texas, is president of the student body at California Lutheran University. But don’t call her Protestant or even Christian. Cardone is one of the new “Nones” — atheists, agnostics and folks like her who believe “nothing in particular.”

CBS: The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a fast pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.

FFRF: As Sheriff, your overt promotion of religion using your official title, badge, and seal gives the unfortunate impression that the County supports and endorses particular religious rituals . . . pparently, the OSCO believes that this prayer will lower crime: “According to Chaplain Willie James Barnes, praying for safer streets is something that works. He was part of a similar project with Orlando police in 2008. ‘It worked. We did it all over the city of Orlando, and I’ll tell you the crime rate went down,’ said Barnes.” The members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation believe that nothing fails like prayer. Prayer is the ultimate cop-out, the ultimate admission that the invoker is giving up, is transferring personal responsibility to an imaginary being. It is particularly vexing to see people congratulate themselves for praying or holding a prayer rally, instead of taking meaningful action, such as working for rational regulation assault rifles and those who purchase them.

KMaryn at the Daily Nexus: My first thought is to say that yes, atheism does benefit women. The rejection of a god or gods along with the misogynistic traditions and beliefs that are present in many religions should be beneficial to women. However, misogynistic themes that are perpetuated by religion have so thoroughly soaked into American culture that atheists are not immune to being raging sexists.

Christian Post: Why would anyone not want every resource available to help our military personnel? This press release is one more example of intolerance toward faith that runs counter to everything we hold dear in this nation,” Chaplain (Col.) USAR retired Ron Crews, executive director for the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, told The Christian Post on Tuesday. “I sincerely hope that military leaders will not bow toward this intolerance.”

Huffington Post: After a 45-minute talk on how to cope with stress, the officer in charge turned the stage over to a chaplain for the sometimes controversial “spiritual fitness” part of the session.

Benjamin Bull at Townhall: As the effects of Christianity have steadily eroded, the tentacles of secularization (its proponents would call it an “enlightened” secularization) has taken hold. It is marked by egalitarianism and utopian fantasies, but especially tolerance. Tolerance for …

FFRF: The Kountze High School Lions will no longer run through banners inscribed with religious messages before the start of football games in Kountze, Texas. On Sept. 17, Stephanie Schmitt, Freedom From Religion Foundation staff attorney wrote Superintendent Kevin Weldon of the Kountze Independent School District: “It is our information and understanding that Kountze High School cheerleaders regularly display religious banners that the football team runs through before athletic competitions.

CNYCentral.com: Amid the tears and solemn remembrances, a national group called American Atheists is sparking controversy by trying to block a museum exhibit. The group wants to prevent a large cross made of one of the Twin Tower’s T-beams from being displayed at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum

The Hill (includes video): Democrats on Wednesday reinstated language in their party platform recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but only after an unclear vote in which as many delegates appeared to oppose the change as support it.

The Republic: A Chicago-area atheist is using his last legal recourse in challenging the use of state funds to renovate a towering southern Illinois cross, but he acknowledges the odds are “pretty slim” that the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear the case.

NorthEscambia.com: The Escambia County (Ala.) School District has banned prayers at events like football games, but that did not stop a group of Flomaton High students from taking a stand on the football field last Friday. The students stood hand-in-hand along the sidelines before the game in prayer. No faculty or staff took part in the student led, student initiated prayer.

LifeNews reports and carries video of the vote

Jay Sekulow at the Church Report: It’s a troubling pattern that we see often. An atheist group is “offended” by a statue or memorial that they consider to be offensive. They file a federal lawsuit to try to get it removed. This time, it’s happened in Montana . . .