And same for all of you who mock young earthers, or devout Scientologists, or believers in miracles — and all who say that, for instance, racist or sexist religious beliefs are contemptible — and maybe even all those who, even politely, contend that rival religions’ views are wrong and will deny salvation to the holders […]
Archive | Religion
The Boy Scouts’ Other Discriminatory Policy
Over the last decade, a lot of attention has focused on the Boy Scouts’ policy banning gays and lesbians from participating as Scouts or working for the organization. Most recently, a group of Eagle Scouts have returned their merit badges in protest of the policy. Unfortunately, very few have protested the Boy Scouts’ equally unjustified […]
“21 Killed in Attacks on Churches in Nigeria”
ABC News reports: Suicide bombers killed 21 people [and wounded at least 100] in attacks on three churches in Nigeria during Sunday services, exacerbating religious tensions in a West African nation that is almost evenly divided between Muslims and Christians…. It was the third Sunday in a row that deadly attacks have been carried out […]
Yeah, That’s the Way to Persuade People
ABC News reports: Christian protesters traveled across the country to Dearborn, Mich., where they taunted attendees and even held a severed pig’s head for three days at the annual Arab International Festival. The protests turned violent Sunday, and by the end of the day as many as 10 people facing disorderly conduct or assault charges, […]
Buddhist-Muslim Violence in Burma
The L.A. Times reports: The unrest was sparked Friday following last month’s rape and murder of a Buddhist girl, allegedly by three Muslims, and the lynching of 10 Muslims in retaliation. The weekend saw rival Muslim and Buddhist mobs burn houses. The government said about 4,100 people have lost their homes, many taking refuge in […]
How the British Gun Control Program Precipitated the American Revolution
By David Kopel on May 14, 2012 2:17 pm in Constitutional History, Guns, History, Militia, Religion, Religious Freedom
I posted a draft of this article a few months ago, and I thank VC readers for some helpful comments in improving it. The final version has been published by the Charleston Law Review, and is available on SSRN. Here’s the abstract: This Article chronologically reviews the British gun control which precipitated the American Revolution: the […]
Is Atheism a Religion?
At the Reason website, Kennedy (who apparently has only one name), argues at length that atheism should be considered a religion: [W]hether you make sense of the world as an atheist and don’t require the God postulate to complete your understanding, or you are a theist and your feelings and experiences tell you something greater […]
Judge Tries to Pressure Ex-Husband to Give Ex-Wife an Islamic Divorce; Court of Appeals Reverses
The case is Hammoud v. Hammoud (Mich. Ct. App. Mar. 8, 2012). An excerpt: Defendant next contends that the award of spousal support was excessive and improperly imposed as a sanction for defendant’s refusal to grant plaintiff an Islamic divorce…. “The object in awarding spousal support is to balance the incomes and needs of the […]
Posthumous Baptisms
I find it hard to get upset about “posthumous baptisms” by Mormons of Jews, whether Holocaust victims or otherwise. Either the Mormons are right about their theology, or they’re wrong. If they’re right, then the posthumous baptism will do good. If they’re wrong (and, being not a Mormon, I by definition think they are wrong, […]
Atheism, Religion, and Presidential Voting
The New York Times Room for Debate Forum has an interesting symposium on the role of religion in presidential elections. In his contribution, polling expert Andrew Kohut cites a 2007 Pew survey showing that atheism is viewed more negatively by voters than virtually any other possible trait of a presidential candidate. A whopping 63% of […]
President: “I do not believe in the Divinity of Christ.”
The President also said that he did not believe “in the literal truth of the creed as it is recited in the orthodox evangelical churches.” He did, however, believe that Jesus had set forth an outstanding system of moral precepts. Although the general views above were shared by Thomas Jefferson, the President quoted above was William Howard […]
Oral Argument in the Hosanna-Tabor Religious Freedom Case
Yesterday, the Supreme Court held oral arguments in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, a key religious freedom case that Eugene Volokh blogged about here. SCOTUSblog has a round-up of coverage of the argument. I found this exchange particularly telling, as the federal government did itself no favors by taking the extreme position […]
Upcoming 2012 Mayan Apocalypse Upcoming Transhumanism-Triggered Second Coming of Jesus?
From a WorldNetDaily article: Secret U.S. experiments to prompt 2nd Coming? … Secret experiments now underway in the U.S. and elsewhere are sparking fears of a potential extinction-level event hastening the 2nd Coming of Jesus …. The possibility of humans eradicating their own existence through technological advancement has some Christians cracking open their Bibles to […]
New Survey of Muslim Youth (Age 15 to 25) in Malaysia and Indonesia
This report (Values, Dreams, Ideals: Muslim Youth in Southeast Asia, with a pointer to the questionnaire and the raw data) struck me as interesting, because Malaysia and Indonesia are often mentioned as places in which a more moderate form of Islam is generally practiced, and because Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country […]
The Next Round of Leah Libresco’s Turing Test for Religion
Leah Libresco has now posted many of the questions and answers for the next round of her Turing Test for religion. They are available at her blog. In the previous round, her fifteen test participants (some real atheists, and some Christians) answered four questions about atheism, trying to persuade readers that they are genuine atheists. […]