Browsing the archives for the Church and State category

Doesn’t Louisiana have enough on its plate?

in Christianity, Church and State, Design arguments, Education, Evolution, Faith versus Reason, Religion Blog, Science

I’m not sure this school board in Louisiana has thought this through. Benton said that under provisions of the Science Education Act enacted last year by the Louisiana Legislature, schools can present what she termed “critical thinking and creationism” in science classes. Board Member David Tate quickly responded: “We let them teach evolution to our [...]

0 Comments

A discussion of Christianist militia groups

in Church and State, Politics, Religion Blog, Violence

I’m not up on my contemporary American eschatology, but some of the comments here pinpointed some rather nuanced, for me, distinctions. The most startling comment was by Prof. Butler from Univ. of Pennsylvania when she made the distinction between merely “believing” in x and the believing that makes x come to pass. Here’s a video [...]

0 Comments

Air Force adds paganism to the list

in Christianity, Church and State, Paganism, Religion Blog

Well, I’d rather have them do this than be guilty of the intense Christian proselytizing they were doing. Share/Bookmark

0 Comments

What’s in a name?

in Christianity, Church and State, Islam, Religion Blog

I want to say this is “stunning” news, but given the state of things in the world, sadly, it was to be expected. There were protests in Malaysia yesterday and four arson attacks on Christian churches, apparently provoked by a court decision to allow Christians to use the word Allah. [Photo from afp] Police at [...]

0 Comments

Religious accomodations in employment

in Church and State, Religion Blog

It must be getting late because I first thought they were talking about “tribal” issues. Nope. It’s triable, i.e., appropriate issues for a court to decide. A retailer that required a female employee to wear clothing similar to its own brand was not entitled to summary judgment on the EEOC’s claim that it violated Title [...]

0 Comments

Not just for the Taliban

in Church and State, Politics, Religion Blog

This news item from the Guardian: Secular campaigners in the Irish Republic defied a strict new blasphemy law which came into force today by publishing a series of anti-religious quotations online and promising to fight the legislation in court. The fine for blasphemy? About $31,500. Share/Bookmark

0 Comments

Minarets of Marseille

in Church and State, Islam, PHIL 525, Politics, Religion Blog, Religious Pluarlism

This in contrast to the recent Swiss ban on building any new minarets: The minaret of the new Grand Mosque of Marseille, whose cornerstone will be laid here in April, will be silent — no muezzin, live or recorded, will disturb the neighborhood with the call to prayer. Instead, the minaret will flash a beam [...]

0 Comments

Prisons and religious freedom

in Church and State, Religion Blog

Huh? The warden allegedly turned inmates away from church services for punitive reasons, such as their hair being too long. The warden at Virginia’s largest women’s prison is retiring amid allegations the prison discriminated against gay inmates and denied others access to religious services. Share/Bookmark

0 Comments

Prayer on college campuses

in Church and State, Religion Blog

What were they thinking? No, seriously. I wonder what they were thinking to allow this. The suit alleges that one campus, Saddleback College, routinely opened events with prayers and showed a faculty-training video, called God Bless the U.S.A., that included religious imagery and compared American soldiers to Jesus Christ. Share/Bookmark

0 Comments