Some years ago, I attended a press conference held by notorious anti-abortion zealot Randall Terry. There weren’t many people at the event, and afterward Terry asked me where I was from.
When I told him I worked at Americans United, he replied, “You and Barry Lynn had better watch it – you’re going to hell!”
I rolled my eyes and […] Read More
Some members of the clergy in Washington, D.C., are angry because the city council will no longer automatically do what they want.
As The Washington Post reports today, clergy in the nation’s capital are used to having their calls returned promptly; they expect the council to be responsive to their demands.
That may be changing. A battle over legalizing […] Read More
Has Chuck Colson finally gone off the deep end?
Colson, a prominent and revered Religious Right author and theoretician, seems to have been drifting toward the edge of the flat Earth for years.
Colson converted to evangelical Christianity while doing time in prison for his felonious role in the Nixon-era Watergate scandal. After getting out in 1975, he founded Prison […] Read More
Legislation that would target hate crimes is expected to start moving in Congress soon. The Religious Right is going bananas.
The legislation, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913), is intended to do a few key things: It would allow the U.S. Justice Department to offer assistance when a crime that results in death or […] Read More
Spring seems to finally be making an appearance here in Washington, D.C. Besides the flowers, warmer temperatures and upbeat moods, one other thing spring brings is the start of the wedding season.
I spent four days in Cleveland last week celebrating the wedding of a close friend. She had a Hindu ceremony with all the bells and whistles — […] Read More
Just when you think Religious Right groups can’t get any farther out on the edge of the flat Earth, they do.
Last week, the Family Research Council (FRC) was apoplectic that the Obama administration has decided to endorse a UN Declaration on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
The non-binding declaration, sponsored by France and Read More
Religion is a controversial thing, isn’t it? Especially when it occurs in a political or governmental context.
Exhibit A today is the flap over a minister’s opening prayer at the Oklahoma House.
The Rev. Scott Jones’ sentiments yesterday were pretty noncontroversial, as such invocations go. He asked the “holy and everlasting God” to “give us the courage to dream […] Read More
Is the state of Utah a theocracy?
You certainly might think so after reading an article in today’s Salt Lake Tribune.
More than 80 percent of legislators are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and for the past 15 years, legislative leaders have met annually with Mormon church officials to discuss the coming year’s agenda. […] Read More
For years we’ve heard Religious Right leaders and activists claim that all they want is a place at the table. They merely want the right to put their ideas out there and allow them to be debated in the public arena.
Nonsense. They’ve had that right for years. What these groups want is the right to run our lives and […] Read More
A few years ago, syndicated columnist Cal Thomas began rebuking the Religious Right. In a remarkable turn-around, the former Moral Majority official argued that conservative Christians would do better to persuade people that their theology is correct, not use the power of government to force it.
That was a welcome point of view. But it was apparently a rare bout […] Read More