Free Republic

Religious Neutrality? Olympic Sportsman Banned from Using Christ the Redeemer on SurfboardParis 2024 Olympics officials told Brazilian surfer João Chianca, 23, in early July that he must remove a Christ the Redeemer motif from his surfboard.He is one of the favorites to win a gold medal in Teahupo.The surfboard allegedly violates "Olympic rules". Article 50 reads: "No type of political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda shall be permitted in any Olympic venue." The Christ the Redeemer statue is the landmark of Rio de Janeiro. Chianca is from the state of Rio de Janeiro.Chianca was informed that "the painting is...

In a new autobiography France's best-known gay politician Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe has delivered a broadside against the country's prevailing homophobia and attacked President Jacques Chirac for failing to fulfil campaign promises to defend gay rights. The 54 year-old Socialist, who in 2001 was elected the capital's first ever left-wing mayor, says that French attitudes have certainly developed in the last 20 years - largely as a result of AIDS - and "in some quarters to be homophobic is seen as a sign of poor taste." But he says the progress is relative. "Outside certain circles homosexuality is still something...