Category: Religious Intolerance

July 31, 2011
Two beams from World Trade Center that formed a cross

American Atheists have filed a lawsuit challenging a recent addition to the 9/11 memorial in New York. A piece of rubble from the World Trade Center terrorist attack that is in the shape of a cross. The suit has generated a lot of “bad” press from the media, death threats, and other nasty messages from the “peace and love” Christians. Some freethinkers and seculars might be complaining about picking this fight but I admire American Atheist for standing up for what they believe. I think they have a good case and so do the directors of the memorial.

The “cross” was found in the debris and then worshiped in the following days by believers working the site of the tragedy.

July 28, 2011
Image of a stack of books with a red line through them

The Republic Missouri school district voted 4-0 with 3 absent to remove two books from the high school curriculum and from the library. The books were removed after a single complaint that challenged the use of the books and lesson plans in Republic schools, arguing they teach principles contrary to the Bible. The decision forced the theistic beliefs on all the children who will now not be able to get the books from their school library or study them in class. Can you say hypocrisy?

The two books were “Twenty Boy Summer” by Sarah Ockler and “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut.

June 27, 2011

After only a week, one of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) billboards placed in Columbus was removed after a church complained about it. Yes, we have to see church propaganda all the time but a church gets the vapors about an inoffensive billboard and the owner removes it quickly. Can you say Christian privilege?

June 25, 2011

The good news is that the New York state legislature finally approved a law that will allow same sex marriage. The bad news is that in order for this great thing to happen, changes in the law will allow religious sects AND the non-church businesses they operate to discriminate against gays without any legal repercussions. In the zeal to get these new rights for the LGBT community, did proponents give away the farm?

From the NY Times:

June 14, 2011

Being this is Flag Day, I wanted to, once again, point out that the words to the Pledge of Allegiance didn’t include God before 1954. One proof is this 1939 Porky Pig cartoon reciting the Pledge and God is no where to be found. The “Red Scare” of the 1950’s led to the addition of “Under God” to the pledge. Wish we go back to the original version as it is more inclusive.

May 20, 2011

David Barton appeared on “The Daily Show” on May 4th and I sighed. David Barton is a SELF-TAUGHT historian and favorite of the cheap labor religious right conservatives. He has been involved in re-writing history text books in the Texas state school system, and testifying to state legislatures and Congress. Luckily “The Daily Show” had a real scholar on the other night to counter Barton’s false view of history.