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Conservative Bishop Denies Kennedy His Holy Cracker*

by Joshua Holland

Is God cool with us picking and choosing Her teachings?

Christians Rap About Not Having Sex: 'Gimme That Christian Side Hug!'

by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet

Christian side hugs for everyone!

What Sarah Palin's "Jewish people will be flocking to Israel" prediction really means

by Bruce Wilson, AlterNet

Palin's associated with a religious tendency whose leaders promote anti-Jewish conspiracy theory

News Flash: Christians Still Not Victimized by Hate Crimes Legislation

by Steven D., Booman Tribune

Nor, obviously, hate crimes themselves.

Palin's Prayer Leader Hinted Terrorist Attack Could Make Her President

by Bruce Wilson

Sarah Palin's Two-Decade Prayer Group Leader Mary Glazier Suggests Terrorism Could be Palin Career Boost

Christian Bootcamp Seeks to Arm Home-Schooled Youths for "Spiritual Warfare"

by Eleanor Bader, RH Reality Check

"Life is not a playground," says Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas in The Kingdom Leadership Institute Manual. "It is a war zone."

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

by RH Reality Check, RH Reality Check

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.

What if People Actually Treated Religion as Just a Metaphor (Like Trekkies and Secular Jews)?

Greta Christina, AlterNet. November 20, 2009.
It's possible to keep the good parts of religion -- like the music, rituals and pageantry -- and get rid of the sex-hating dogma, the belief in god and other troublesome aspects.

Anti-Abortion Group to Protest Palin

Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones Online. November 18, 2009.
To liberals, she epitomizes the anti-choice far right of the GOP. But to American Right to Life, Sarah Palin is not pure enough.

What Makes a Young Person Embrace Death and Murder? Former Jihadists Speak Out

Johann Hari, Independent UK. November 17, 2009.
Former radical Islamists share their tales of why they turned to extremism, and why they repented.

Why the Catholic Bishops Who Pushed Through the Stupak Amendment Are Hypocrites

Jon O'Brien and Nancy Keenan, AlterNet. November 13, 2009.
The same language the bishops thought too weak to truly ban public funding for abortion maintains their charities' own access to public money.

The Top One Reason Religion Is Harmful

Greta Christina, AlterNet. November 13, 2009.
Religion is uniquely armored against anything that might stop it from spinning into extreme absurdity, extreme denial of reality and extreme, grotesque immorality.

Introducing ChristianChirp, the Evangelical Right's Alternative to Twitter

Allison Kilkenny, AlterNet. November 12, 2009.
ChristianChirp.com, which promises to be a "family friendly" site, was founded by a man who claims to have been banned from Twitter for defending Rush Limbaugh.

How Catholic Bishops Threw the Health Care Debate into Turmoil with Anti-Abortion Maneuver

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet. November 12, 2009.
It took a virulently anti-choice measure to pass the House's health care reform legislation. Progressives are strategizing how to keep it from the final bill.

Is Blind Faith in God and the Bible a Modern Invention?

Devilstower, Daily Kos. November 10, 2009.
A new book points out that the ancient Christians -- and even early Americans -- did not share the blind faith of today's fundamentalists.

Nobel Laureate Slams the Bible, Calls It "A Catalogue of Cruelties"

Mario de Queiroz, IPS News. November 9, 2009.
The holy book is a "manual of bad morals," according to José Saramago.

Atheists, It's Time to Stand Up to Jesus

Russell Blackford, Udo Schuklenk, Comment Is Free. November 9, 2009.
Civility has its uses, but atheists should not be afraid to mock faith to undermine religious power.

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.

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