Re: the faith without justice thread, Sullivan writes how a growing number of Americans say they have no religious belief - though this does not necessarily imply hostility towards those who do:
In 1990, 8 percent of Americans reported that they had no religious beliefs. Twenty years later, that’s 15 percent. But when you look at […]

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Some of you may remember that I’d written about a cousin in California who had ALS - Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
He died yesterday at age 48, after asking that his life-support systems be disconnected. He was tired, he was getting worse, it was costing so much money… it was just too hard. A deeply religious man, he […]

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Matt Taibbi with a takedown of the notion that agnosticism of secular humanism or whatever we’re calling it today is itself a dogma (emphasis added):
As for the actual argument, it’s the same old stuff religious apologists have been croaking out since the days of Bertrand Russell — namely that because science is inadequate to explain […]

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Between 30 and 40 percent of young Americans now say they have no religious affiliation, ABC News tells us.
This, of course, will be spun as a disaster for American society. I’m not so sure that’s the case. The question is whether there’s a correlation between self-identification as a Christian/religious person and a certain standard of […]

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Sullivan, commenting on the poll showing white evangelicals more likely than any other group to approve of torture (and no euphemish was used in the polling; the exact term “torture” was used):
So Christian devotion correlates with approval for absolute evil in America. And people wonder why atheism is gaining in this country.
As to the second […]

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Nice:
The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new analysis.
More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 […]

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Will Saletan throws it, we swing away:
Should parents go to jail for believing so devoutly in faith healing that they don’t seek lifesaving medical treatment for their children?
Yeppers. Immediately.
Leilani and Dale Neumann of Wausau, Wis., will soon find out. Their 11-year-old daughter died of diabetic complications after they relied on prayer rather than doctors to […]

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Obama said so in his speech. Though I’m sure this will quickly be refuted by any number of letters to the editor.

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Hilarious. So in Washington state, there’s been conotroversy over the “holiday tree” (by the Association of Washington Business, for 19 years) erected in the state capitol. The wingers hate the name, obviously. As the Seattle Post-Intelligencer tells us:
That prompted a lawmaker from Spokane to stage a protest at the Capitol, demanding the holiday tree be […]

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Too good not to steal from Pastor Dan:

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Via Kos, this one’s just strange.
For these and other reasons Cindy is calling for a Day of Prayer for the World’s Economies on Wednesday, October 29, 2008. They are calling for prayer for the stock markets, banks, and financial institutions of the world on the date the stock market crashed in 1929. They are meeting […]

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We touched on this in the vid last week:
Palin said that Obama palled around with “terrorists,” plural. And Obama does not have a different view of America than “most of us.” Most of us love this country but know that its imperfections are worth tackling. Palin believes the country is already perfect and all criticism […]

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AP story today:
WASILLA, Alaska - The camera closes in on Sarah Palin speaking to young missionaries, vowing from the pulpit to do her part to implement God’s will from the governor’s office.
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What she didn’t tell worshippers gathered at the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown was […]

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So you’re in California, and you’re applying to the University of California. The 10-campus system is pretty hard to get into, and so you’ve taken college prep classes. But then you find out the university isn’t going to accept those classes; and you’re furious.
And, being furious, you sue.
But now, you’ve lost. Because a California judge […]

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In which Pastor Dan notes:
I like Barack Obama. I like his faith.** Up until recently, we shared that faith pretty much exactly. Time and again, I have defended his right to talk about his faith. Hell, for all I care, candidates can talk about their love of pooties if it helps voters get to know […]

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Via Pastor Dan, check it out - it really was only a matter of time:
Religious Right Gears Up To Push Political Choices From the Pulpit
As the presidential candidates prepare to compete for religious voters this November, some preachers on the Christian right are vowing to test longstanding tax rules that inhibit politicking from the pulpit.
The […]

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So there’s a new Pew U.S. Religious Landscape survey out, with some veddy veddy interesting findings. One of them, I’ll let Steven Waldman say, so I don’t get accused of making it up myself:
Evangelicals Similar to Muslims - In many questions, the group most similar to evangelicals was Muslims. For instance, 79% of evangelicals say […]

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I’m game.
First, an apology: I actually ran into Joe Hainthaler at the company picnic over the weekend, but just sort of mumbled a few things en route from one place to another. Basically, I was delivering food for two hungry kids; and Joe, as I saw you shepherding one around yourself, I figure you’d understand […]

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Hm. Via Sullian, Bob Casey Jr. on the role of the church in the affairs of state:
I do think there’s a difference between what a religious leader says and does and what a public official or legislator does. But there’s no question that a lot of our legal underpinnings find a good bit of their […]

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I like this one. So an outspoken athiest named Rob Sherman is in front of the Illinois state House of Representatives the other day, arguing about a $1 million state grant to a school that some Illinois legislators said should have instead gone to a Baptist church that had been destroyed by fire. Government grants to […]

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