Secular Left Posts

September 3, 2013

AHA ‘Under God’ Case goes to Massachusetts Supreme Court Wednesday

photo of a Pledge of Allegiance poster in a school

On Wednesday, September 4th, oral arguments begin in the Massachusetts Supreme Court in the case of Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District. The case is being brought on behalf of three Massachusetts public school students and their parents by the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center. The plaintiffs are members of the AHA. The suit seeks to stop the use of the Pledge of Allegiance that uses the phrase “Under God”, added in 1954, using the equal protection clause of the Massachusetts constitution.

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August 31, 2013

Report Shows Christian Persecution Is A Myth

created clipart showing Church welfare courtesy of US Taxpayers

We hear all the time from Christian conservatives, in the US, that they are being persecuted in some way like the fake ‘war on Christmas’ or the new rules requiring businesses to cover contraceptives for their employees. We seculars have always known that such claims of persecution were false and now a report from the Council for Secular Humanism and University of Tampa offers proof that most religious groups aren’t doing charitable work and taxpayers are in fact propping up some of them with tax subsidies.

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August 27, 2013

The Price For Getting Political Should Cost Churches $82.5 Billion

photo of a church service

Churches get tax exemptions yet some want to get more involved in politics without losing those exemptions. Tax exemptions were a way of promoting the separation of church and state by limiting the influence of government on religion – a government might try to influence what a church supports or teaches by using the tax rates for example. The cost of this protection also limits how involved a church can get in politics. Some on the religious right want to remove those limits of involvement and I think if they do get those restricts removed they should then pay taxes. It is only fair, right?

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August 19, 2013

Yes, Attempt To Recruit Christian Workers Violates State And Federal Law

created image of a sing with text Atheists Need Not Apply

The director of operations of a Subway franchisee, in West Virginia, sent letters to several churches and congregations saying his company was “in need of Christian employees.” I’m sure some people will not see the problem with such a letter, after all a business should be able to make hiring decisions that prefer a particular group of people. Some may think the guy was just trying to reach out to a segment of people to recruit more workers. The problem is that such outreach is actually against state and federal law.

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August 17, 2013

Heartbeat Bill Returns In Ohio

photo of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar
Quiverfull proponents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar as props at the heartbeat bill press conference

In 2012, anti-choice groups got a heartbeat bill introduced in the Ohio legislature in an attempt to make abortion technically illegal. The bill was passed in the Ohio House but died in the Senate. This week the heartbeat bill was reintroduced by the same man who introduced it in 2012, Republican state Rep. Lynn Wachtmann of Napoleon. This time they used the celebrity Quiverfull proponents The Duggar Family as props at the press conference. Even after Ohio just enacted some of the most restrictive regulations on abortion in the country, the forced-birth people are back again for more restrictions.

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August 11, 2013

Obama Administration Says Prayers Before Town Council Meetings Are Okay

photo of people praying before a meeting
Praying before a meeting

Town of Greece v. Galloway is a US Supreme Court case to heard in the fall that might set the boundaries for prayers before town council meetings so they aren’t a violation of the separation of church and state. One interesting thing to come out of the pre-hearing filings is that the Obama administration is supporting the prayers. I really never knew why it was so important for an elected body to pray before working since prayers don’t make elected officials do a better job nor do the prayers improve living in a certain town or county. As one church state group put it, a town council meeting ‘isn’t a church service and it shouldn’t seem like one.’

We found out this week that President Obama’s administration weighed in on the case in an amicus brief and took the side of the town council.

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