Two months ago, I wrote a post about religious tolerance being on the upswing at the Air Force Academy. The Associated Press had reported that when Pagan cadets sought a place to worship, Academy officials worked with them to create an outdoor stone circle.
Some people are having a difficult time dealing with that.
Someone recently left […] Read More
The one-year anniversary today of the unveiling of President Barack Obama’s version of the “faith-based” initiative has pushed the issue back into the spotlight. Unfortunately, the news is not good.
Speaking at yesterday’s National Prayer Breakfast, Obama boasted that he had “turned the faith-based initiative around.”
I was surprised to read that statement, because everything I see indicates that we’re […] Read More
Mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster, Calif., is laboring under the delusion that his city is an officially “Christian community.” Americans United is trying to set him straight.
Parris sparked controversy a few days ago when, during a state of the city address, he remarked, “We’re growing a Christian community, and don’t let anybody shy away from that.”
Parris went […] Read More
Yesterday I wrote about a controversy that has erupted over the revelation that a Michigan-based company has engraved references to biblical passages on rifle scopes that were ordered by the U.S. military.
A reporter with the Detroit News saw that post and called me near the end of the day to get some of my thoughts about the matter. […] Read More
The situation regarding the role of religion in the U.S. military just got a whole lot stranger.
ABC News is reporting that a major manufacturer of rifle scopes has been engraving citations from the New Testament on the sights. The company, Trijicon, freely admits what it has done and defends its action.
“One of the citations on the gun sights, […] Read More
Note: Today is the federal observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. This blog post is a re-publication on an item that originally appeared on Jan. 13, 2006.
Today marks the federal observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. Since his tragic assassination on April 4, 1968, King’s memory has been pressed into service in highly unusual ways that King […] Read More
TV preacher Pat Robertson’s recent callous comments about Haiti have attracted quite a bit of attention.
Once again, Robertson has stuck his foot firmly into his mouth. Americans United and many other groups have issued statements denouncing him. Progressive commentators like Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann have blasted him. I expect the editorial cartoonists will have a field day. […] Read More
Religiously tinged oaths are a pretty common feature of American life. Anyone who has watched a courtroom drama on television has probably seen witnesses being sworn in on a Bible, vowing to tell the truth “so help me, God.”
Elected officials are often sworn in with similar oaths. Interestingly, nothing in the Constitution requires this. Article II, Sect. 1 of […] Read More
Told ya so!
Back in April, when Religious Right bigwig James Dobson announced his “retirement” from Focus on the Family, Americans United was skeptical. We pointed out that while Dobson was giving up some managerial duties, he still planned to broadcast over the radio, issue monthly letters to supporters and hand out political endorsements. It didn’t look like much was […] Read More
Jan. 16 is Religious Freedom Day. As American holidays go, this one tends to be overlooked. It’s not even listed on my desk calendar.
That’s a shame, because Religious Freedom Day commemorates an important event: passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. This landmark legislation, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and maneuvered through the Virginia legislature by James Madison, became […] Read More