Free Republic

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over its lax response to church politicking. The group argues that the tax agency is violating the Constitution by allowing tax-exempt churches and religious organizations to get involved in political campaigns. The suit points to several examples, including a full page newspaper ad by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The ad, which showed a photo of Rev. Billy Graham, urged Americans to vote along biblical principles. The 94-year-old evangelist also met with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in October and promised to do all he...

When I was the director of undergraduate medical education for OB/GYN at a Midwestern university (a state school), it came to my attention that a medical student was refusing to have anything to do with contraception as it was against her religion.So I spoke with her. I explained that over the course of her career she would undoubtedly see people from all walks of life with a myriad of religious and or personal practices. I explained that medical care is not about fulfilling any personal need beyond the need to help.I gave the example of a doctor who is a...

Over the past few centuries, science can be said to have gradually chipped away at the traditional grounds for believing in God. Much of what once seemed mysterious—the existence of humanity, the life-bearing perfection of Earth, the workings of the universe—can now be explained by biology, astronomy, physics and other domains of science. Although cosmic mysteries remain, Sean Carroll, a theoretical cosmologist at the California Institute of Technology, says there's good reason to think science will ultimately arrive at a complete understanding of the universe that leaves no grounds for God whatsoever. … Another role for God is as a...

The rigors of teaching apparently got to Michigan State University professor John McCarthy Monday. According to multiple sources, the math teacher stripped naked in the middle of his Calculus 1 class and started shouting obscenities.

- After sharp criticism from Mitt Romney and Republicans, the Democrats have reinstated the language into their party platform that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as well as the words "God-given" that were removed in this year's platform.

Just announced on Fox News!

Guess what? God’s name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform. This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform: “We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.” Now the words “God-given” have been removed. The paragraph has been restructured to say this: “We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work...

Democratic National Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz refused to commit to an answer when pressed on whether the party removed the word “God” from its platform, according to the Washington Examiner. The Florida congresswoman was asked by CNN’s Piers Morgan if the removal of the word “God” was a “mistake.” “Well, we have a commitment through all faith traditions that our values are reflected in our policy and that means we should look out for the least of these, that we should fight for the middle class . . .,” she told Morgan. Wasserman Schulz refused to admit that it was...

Landmark cases, brought by four British Christians, including two workers forced out of their jobs after visibly wearing crosses, have been heard today at the European Court of Human Rights David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has previously pledged to change the law to protect religious expression at work but official legal submissions on Tuesday to Strasbourg human rights judges made a clear “difference between the professional and private sphere”. James Eadie QC, acting for the government, told the European court that the refusal to allow an NHS nurse and a British Airways worker to visibly wear a crucifix at work...

In the passionate world of American atheism, the venom usually directed at believers has now been turned against the wrong kind of atheists. The cause of this freethinking furore? A new movement called Atheism+. According to its website, "Atheism+ is a safe space for people to discuss how religion affects everyone and to apply skepticism and critical thinking to everything, including social issues like sexism, racism, GLBT issues, politics, poverty, and crime."

What history we recall on the Fourth of July typically involves stirring words of freedom, and rightly so. But why stop there? After all, not every colonist in 1776 was a patriot, and at this particularly fractured political moment, we might do well to remember that, according to contemporary accounts, one third of Americans wanted revolution, one third were loyal to the crown and one third could go either way. Loyalists did more than talk; they formed Tory regiments and fought alongside the British, against their fellow Americans. Even those who did support breaking from Britain could be surprisingly lax...

Tony Blair has disclosed that he once wanted to end an address to the nation with the words “God bless Britain”. However, the former Prime Minister said his suggestion provoked such strong concern from civil servants that he was forced to drop the idea. Mr Blair said he had intended to echo the traditional closing remark of Presidents in the United States, who typically sign-off television broadcasts by saying, “God Bless America”. For much of his time in office, Mr Blair was accused of adopting a “presidential” style of leadership, and became close to former American presidents Bill Clinton and...

An elementary school in Massachusetts has told kids not to say the word “God” in the Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the USA” during a recent assembly. Instead, they wanted students to say, “We love the USA.” Many parents were not happy with this move, but some agreed that the principal did the right thing. The school decided that they would pull the song from the assembly all together instead of continuing a debate about it. Michael Graham, a conservative radio talk show host with WTKK in Massachusetts, joined Martha MacCallum on America’s Newsroom to discuss the matter. Graham disputes...

LAKELAND, Fla. – A group of atheists in Florida spent part of their weekend washing away a blessing placed upon a local highway by a religious group. Armed with brooms, mops and "unholy water," the atheists gathered Saturday to symbolically clean up holy oil that Polk Under Prayer put down on Highway 98 near the Pasco-Polk county line last year, Bay News 9 reported. "We come in peace," Humanists of Florida director Mark Palmer announced before he and members of other atheist organizations launched their cleanup.

The Obama administration has stepped into another controversy by announcing its opposition to the inclusion of a plaque depicting Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day prayer at the memorial that celebrates his life and presidency. The proposal to include the prayer is being offered by Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, and has bipartisan support. It is expected to pass committee, then be passed by the House. Its fate in the Senate is unclear. The objection was raised by Robert Abbey, the director of the Bureau of Land Management, who claimed such a plaque would "dilute" the memorial's central message and therefore should not be...

Sometimes you can focus so hard on a single tree, you lose sight of the forest. For instance, every sane person, which automatically excludes leftists, realizes that we can easily un-elect Barack Obama next year. But we should not lose sight of the fact that we will simultaneously be sending Hillary Clinton, Cass Sunstein, Timothy Geithner, Janet Napolitano, Eric Holder, Jeffrey Immelt, Jay Carney, Valerie Jarrett and Joe Biden, back where they came from. That should certainly provide all Republicans, no matter which candidate they happen to support at the moment, with plenty of incentive to vote for our ultimate...

A federal judge has ordered a Texas school district to prohibit public prayer at a high school graduation ceremony. Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s order against the Medina Valley Independent School District also forbids students from using specific religious words including “prayer” and “amen.” The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Christa and Danny Schultz. Their son is among those scheduled to participate in Saturday’s graduation ceremony. The judge declared that the Schultz family and their son would “suffer irreparable harm” if anyone prayed at the ceremony. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the school district...

BALDWIN BOROUGH, Pa. -- Baldwin borough is now telling a man who put a giant illuminated cross outside his home to take the structure down or face a penalty. Carl Behr built the 24-foot cross and two other crosses on his property along Robbins Street in Baldwin. "If you have a problem with that, I think you have a problem with the Lord," said Behr. Behr said it's an act of faith, but one neighbor claims it's an act of revenge. Next-door neighbor Lisa Fera said she contacted police and the borough because she felt Behr purposely built the large...

Kevin McKenna’s  review of 2010 in The Observer newspaper includes his assessment of Richard Dawkins behaviour during Pope Benedict’s visit to the UK:‘ The Pope’s visit was great but tinged with sadness because it reduced that once-great biologist Richard Dawkins to a rambling and wild-eyed madman hurling foam-flecked adolescent insults at the Roman holy man. I trust someone is giving the scientist his soup and caramelised biscuits as he recuperates. I even hear of a Richard Dawkins care fund. Could someone forward me the address?’Protect the Pope comment: Couldn’t agree more! It was a relief that the BBC cut away from...

THE BBC has angered Christians with a TV drama in which the Virgin Mary is branded a prostitute and sex cheat. In The Nativity, written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan, 15-year-old Mary is attacked by people who do not believe her claim that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph accuses her of “whoring” and even suggests that her pregnancy might have been the result of rape. The Church of England has described the four-part drama, which goes out before the 9pm watershed from tomorrow, as “a gritty interpretation”. But Stephen Green, of the ministry Christian Voice,...