21 July 2015 Religion and Freethought News

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1st amendment, andy hallinan, anti-islam, australia, bible, book of genesis, books, cemetery, christian, court, creationism, darwin, elle christopherson, environment, evangelist, evolution, FADA, feminism, florida, franklin graham, freedom, fundamentalists, fundraising, gay righrs, guns, history, immigration, intolerance, jihad, joshua feuerstein, laws, missionary church, mississippi, mosque, muslim, pope francis, prayers, religious, religious liberty, revenge, school, scopes, sermons, speech, supreme court, terror, texas, vatican

Put Away Your Bible, Justice: The New “Religious Freedom” Arguments Are Neither

The faithful want to follow a “higher law” than the Supreme Court. Even some justices. Here’s why they’re wrong.

How Religious Liberty Laws Threaten Religion

If America’s political system were not in ideological deadlock and controlled by unseen hands filled with dark money, we perhaps could do better this time around.

Why I Chose to Walk Away: Elle Christopherson’s Story

Our textbooks (and churches) selectively chose Bible quotations alongside manipulated scientific and historical data to ‘prove’ conservative Christian theory.

Are Fights Over the First Amendment Defense Act About the First Amendment, or What?

If you follow the history of cases involving freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion, you know that First Amendment liberalism can get pretty messy.

Mississippi Court Bars Inclusion of Prayers, Religious Sermons in All School Activities

A district court has fined a school district in Mississippi $7,500 and barred it from including prayers and religious sermons in all school activities.

Former Pastor Suggests Christians Should Fight Gay Rights With Guns

Former pastor and current Internet personality Joshua Feuerstein opened his July 9 tirade with several examples of what he described as attacks on Christianity.

Franklin Graham’s Turn Toward Intolerance

The famed evangelist, who made his reputation with humanitarian works, calls for a halt to “all immigration of Muslims to the U.S.”

Indiana Bible Study Leader Accused of Raping Mentally Disabled Women in His Care

23-year-old Thomas Cooperider of Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton reportedly committed the acts between November 2014 and March of 2015 on church grounds.

Creationists Take Down Another Top Professor

Most members of the Missionary Church reject Darwin’s theory of evolution in favor of a literal interpretation of the creation story in the Book of Genesis.

The Monkey Trial Ended, But The War Goes On

While the most famous battle ever over evolution ended nine decades ago, the war between evolution and creationism continues.

Texas Residents Attempt To Block Plan For Muslim Cemetery

Muslims say they’re looking for a place to bury their dead. Locals say it’s a plot to gain a foothold in their small rural Texas town.

Florida Gun Shop Owner Declares Store ‘Muslim-Free’ Zone

He is Andy Hallinan, 28, a self-proclaimed high school dropout from Massachusetts turned accidental gun shop owner.

Christian Florida Parents Want to Ban Books About Muslim Fundamentalists Banning Books

Parents in Duval County have gathered signatures asking the local school board to to ban several books about the Middle East from an elementary school library.

Muslim Accused of Fundraising and Recruiting for Jihad Terror Group

Irfan Demirtas, 56, accused of providing support for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, appeared in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia on Monday.

At a Mosque, Grief Mixes With Fear of Revenge

“You do not want what is not right to be associated with Islam,” Mr. Baasit, a native of Ghana, said in lilting, heavily accented English. “And yet it is happening.”

Anti-Islam Rallies, Counter-Protests Flare in Australia

About 100 anti-Islam protesters from the Reclaim Australia and United Patriots Front groups waved the national flag and yelled chants at a rally in Sydney Sunday.

Eco-Friendly Pope to Encourage Like-Minded Mayors at Vatican

Dozens of environmentally friendly mayors from around the world are meeting at the Vatican Tuesday to bask in the star power of eco-Pope Francis.

Feminists Should Not Give Up on Pope Francis

Complaints about Pope Francis’s old-fashioned backwardness are especially tied up in his failure to qualify as a good center-left feminist.