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House Will Take Up-or-Down Vote on Stupak Amendment, Threatening Women's Rights

The House leadership bows to anti-choice congressmen, allowing them a vote on an anti-choice amendment to the health-care bill.

Christians to Get Their Own Exclusive Prison? Loopholes for Religious People Keep Growing

by PZ Myers, Pharyngula

"I may just have to convert to Catholicism so I can charge the US and my insurance provider to cover my near-sightedness treatments at Lourdes."

Religious Right Columnist: Halloween Candy a Demonic Threat -- Ridicule Prompts CBN.com to Remove Column

by Adele Stan, AlterNet

In a column on the Christian Broadcasting Network Web site, Kimberly Daniels warned of the demons lurking in a Milky Way bar.

Karen Armstrong Weaves Bizarre Defense of Religion

by PZ Myers, Pharyngula

She takes a series of statements about god that she says need rethinking, but her thinking is a complete mess.

Playing God? Texas Jury Consulted Bible Before Sentencing Man to Death

by Liliana Segura, AlterNet

Khristian Oliver is set to be executed next month, after jurors used Old Testament passages to determine whether he should live or die.

Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License in Louisiana

by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress

"My main concern is for the children," explained the justice of the peace.

Supposed Progressive Obama Religious Leader Uses Health Care Debate for Anti-Abortion Views

by Adele Stan, AlterNet

Rev. Jim Wallis says he's progressive. That got him a seat on a White House council despite his opposition to abortion -- which he's using to monkey-wrench health-care reform.

It Ain't Easy Being an Atheist in Alabama

by PZ Myers, Pharyngula

But it's not as hard as you might think to find like-minded people.

Fear Not Libs, the Religious Right is Prayin' for Your Soul!

by Joshua Holland, AlterNet

"Pray earnestly and intensely for them!"

Catholic Church Delivers Astonishing Pedophilia Rationalization in Geneva

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

The statement claimed that only 1.5 to 5 percent of Catholic Clergy were involved in child sex abuse. Reality check: that's still 22,500 sex predators.

U.S. Troops in Afghanistan Are Burning Copies of the Koran? Are We Really That Stupid?

Abdullah Obaidi, Asia Times. November 4, 2009.
According to villagers, several U.S. soldiers burned Korans when they couldn't locate insurgents they believed had blown up part of their convoy.

Are the "New Atheists" As Bad as Christian Fundamentalists?

Frank Schaeffer, AlterNet. November 3, 2009.
The most aggressive members of the "New Atheism" movement have quite a bit in common with religious extremists like Pat Robertson and Ted Haggard.

Oscar-Winning Hollywood Big Shot: Why I'm Leaving Scientology

Guy Adams, Independent UK. October 31, 2009.
Paul Haggis, who wrote hits like Crash and Million Dollar Baby, fires parting shot at "hate-filled and bigoted" church.

An Atheist's Review of the Book of Genesis Illustrated by a Legendary Comics Artist

Greta Christina, Greta Christina's Blog. October 24, 2009.
This isn't Beatrix Potter here. It's more like "Dangerous Liaisons" by way of Quentin Tarantino. With tents, sand, and sheep.

How Mormonism Created Glenn Beck

Joanna Brooks, Religion Dispatches. October 22, 2009.
With Glenn Beck now a mainstay in the national debate, the public is getting exposure to a peculiar strain of religious political conservatism rooted in Mormon culture.

The Untouchables: Right-Wingers Put Themselves in an Uncompromising 'World Apart'

Isaiah J. Poole, Blog for Our Future. October 21, 2009.
A report issued Friday by Democracy Corps shows that the most conservative Republicans consider themselves part of an underdog minority.

The Rise of the Religious Left -- Why Christianity Isn't Just for Conservatives

Anna Hartnell, Comment Is Free. October 17, 2009.
It's easy to paint American Christians as right wing free-marketeers -– but the truth is far more complex.

Anti-Immigrant Hardliners Declare War on the Clergy

Wendy Feliz Sefsaf, Immigration Impact. October 15, 2009.
Nativist groups are pulling an old strategy out of their play book as they attack members of the clergy.

Why I Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Body Better Than Jennifer's

W. Scott Poole, Religion Dispatches. October 13, 2009.
Has a new horror film about a murderous cheerleader subverted the mythos of woman as the source of evil or just the opposite?

$214 Billion in Obama's Stimulus Money Is Still Out There: 10 Ways You Can Benefit from It

Aaron Glantz, New America Media. October 13, 2009.
There are countless government programs that give citizens access to money earmarked to boosting the economy. Here's where the money is being spent.

Why Republicans Are in the Grip of an Apocalyptic Rapture Cult Centered on Revenge and Vindication

Frank Schaeffer, Da Capo Press. October 13, 2009.
An excerpt from Schaeffer's soon-to-be released book, "Patience with God," gets to the root of why millions are praying for End Times.

Republican Senate Sex Scandals Point Back to Secretive Conservative Christian "Family"

Bill Berkowitz, Religion Dispatches. October 12, 2009.
It was a hot summer full of sex scandals for GOP members of "The Family," the exclusive conservative Christian group with designs on DC power.

Why Conservatives Are Really Afraid of a Black President

Jonathan L. Walton, Religion Dispatches. October 10, 2009.
The president reminds Glenn Beck, and those who identify with his white neo-nationalism, of the lie of their own professed superiority.

Barbara Ehrenreich: The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America

Emily Wilson, AlterNet. October 10, 2009.
The author talks about how a plague of positive thinking is permeating our society, from medicine to business, and is even contributing to our financial crisis.

On the Eve of Big D.C. March, Leaders Argue California Should Be Patient About Same-Sex Marriage

Hans Johnson, AlterNet. October 9, 2009.
The founder of the nation's largest LGBT church and a noted activist say when it comes to restoring same-sex marriage to California, patience is a virtue.

Tea Party Movement Returns Christian Right to Its Racist Past

Michelle Goldberg, The American Prospect. October 2, 2009.
For years, the religious right tried to lose its racist image, reverting to homophobia as its hatred of choice. As it joins the Tea Party fray, it may once again have to own both.

At the Values Voter Summit, Wing-Nut Christian Right Plots Its Comeback

Rob Boston, Church and State. September 28, 2009.
Religious conservatives, safely out of the public eye, let loose a string of shocking diatribes at the Values Voter Summit.

Readers Weigh In: How Do I Help My Son Become a Free Thinker?

Danny Postel, New Humanist. September 25, 2009.
A recent article about how to raise children as humanists received hundreds of responses. Here its author, Danny Postel, chooses his favorites.

Apocalyptic Preacher John Hagee's Son Ready to Continue in Father's Footsteps

Bill Berkowitz, Talk To Action. September 25, 2009.
As a number of older Religious Right leaders pass on or retire, their sons are stepping in to take their place.

Overshadowed by Tea Party Movement, the Christian Right Scrambles to Claim It Isn't Racist

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet. September 22, 2009.
The Tea Party movement has the juice as the religious right is on the wane. Survival may mean joining up, but that presents an image problem for Christians.

Right-Wing Hatemongering Fueled by Christianity?

Frank Schaeffer, AlterNet. September 21, 2009.
The ugly side of Evangelical Christianity is very much to blame for the anti-Obama hyperventilating.

Mythmaking 101: Why Millions Have Bought into 'Death Panel' Propaganda

Kenny Smith, Religion Dispatches. September 17, 2009.
The death panel rumor is the real deal: values masquerading as truth, all in service of one heckuva group fantasy.

Religious Right Has-Beens Try for a Resurrection

Rob Boston, Church & State Magazine. September 16, 2009.
Will financial and sex scandals sink the hopes of middle-age culture warriors Ralph Reed and Randall Terry? Don't count them out just yet.

Evangelicals Divorce More Often Than "Godless" Europeans? Exploring America's Strange Relationship With Marriage

Amy DePaul, Bookslut. September 14, 2009.
Why do Americans have such contradictory impulses when it comes to wedlock?

The Nightmare of Christianity: How Religious Indoctrination Led to Murder

Max Blumenthal, The Nation. September 14, 2009.
The authoritarian culture of the Christian right pushed a deeply disturbed young man named Matthew Murray over the edge.

When Words Kill: A Health Care Glossary

Ann Neumann, Religion Dispatches. September 8, 2009.
Euthanasia, end-of-life, death with dignity, assisted suicide: The meaning depends on whom you ask. In a high-stakes health care debate, we can’t even agree on the terms.

How an Eccentric Right-Wing Pizza Billionaire's Attempt to Build Catholic Law School Ended in Disaster

Mariah Blake, Washington Monthly. September 8, 2009.
Tom Monaghan, Domino's Pizza founder, took advice from God and Antonin Scalia on the creation of of a Catholic Law school in Florida. It hasn't gone very well.

Is the Constitution Suited to Today's Church/State Issues?

Nathan Schneider, The Immanent Frame. September 8, 2009.
A religion scholar discusses the failure of the courts to grapple with lived religion, the prison crisis and why we are all religious now.

An Army of Home-Schooled "Christian Soldiers" On a Mission to "Take Back America for God"

Robert Kunzman, Beacon Press. September 7, 2009.
Take a glimpse into the little-known world of conservative Christian homeschooling.

President Obama: You Promised Healthcare, Not Futile Wooing of GOP Obstructionists

Anne Lamott, Los Angeles Times. September 3, 2009.
An open letter reminds the president of the major campaign vow that got him into the White House.

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