Religion And Politics - Network For Church Monitoring

Diagnosing the Republican Brain

Posted by N4CM Features 5 Apr 2012

Source: Mother Jones. We all know that many American conservatives have issues with Charles Darwin, and the theory of evolution. But Albert Einstein, and the theory of relativity? If you’re surprised, allow me to introduce Conservapedia, the right-wing answer to Wikipedia and ground zero for all that is scientifically and factually inaccurate, for political reasons, on the Internet. Claiming over 285 million page views since its 2006 inception [...]

American atheists must define themselves, not be defined by the religious

Posted by N4CM Belief, Opinion 2 Jan 2012

Source: The Washington Post. I am sorry to tell you that this will be my last regular “Spirited Atheist” column, and I want to thank all of you who have followed my essays, including many who have taken the trouble to write me lengthy personal letters on my author Web site. Although I will continue to write occasionally on issues of unusual importance, a weekly column diverts too much time from the research for [...]

2012: The year when extremism self-destructs?

Posted by N4CM Belief, Opinion 30 Dec 2011

Source: The Washington Post. Extremism in religion and politics contains the seeds of its own destruction. The self-destruction of political extremism is already upon us. The Tea Party faithful force GOP candidates into ever more ridiculously extreme, and often self-contradictory positions that make it impossible for that candidate to win a general election. Nevertheless, the “base” continues to demand more extremism [...]

Life’s Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican

Posted by N4CM Features 20 Dec 2011

Source: LiveScience. The red meat is flying in the Republican presidential nomination battle, which sees its first caucus-goer and voter results early next month. Given the United States’ starkly divided political climate, one might think it obvious that fundamental, built-in differences exist between Democrats and Republicans. According to early poll results from psychology and neuroscience, you’d be right.

The faith (and doubts) of our fathers

Posted by N4CM Belief 18 Dec 2011

Source: The Economist. In the year of our Lord 1816 two grand old men of the American Revolution corresponded eagerly about the work they had recently done, in their rural retirement, on the Bible. Ex-President Thomas Jefferson thanked his old friend Charles Thomson, a co-sponsor of the Declaration of Independence, for sending a copy of his newly completed synopsis of the Gospels. At a time when many modern Americans are [...]

How We All Pay For the Huge Tax Privileges Granted to Religion – It’s Time to Tax the Church

Posted by N4CM Belief, Features 16 Dec 2011

Source: AlterNet. Would the world be better off without religion? That was the topic of a recent debate in the NYU Intelligence Squared series. One of the audience questions concerned the enormous wealth hoarded by churches, which Christian apologist Dinesh D’Souza defended as follows: I think in the case of the Vatican, the wealth of the Vatican is in priceless treasures, tapestries, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, art.

Obama Supporters Worried He May Grant Contraception Exemptions to Catholic Hospitals

Posted by N4CM News 29 Nov 2011

Source: ABC News. In August, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that health insurance plans, as of January 1, 2013, will be required to cover contraception, including FDA-approved emergency contraception. “These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need,” she said.

Catholic Bishops Up The Ante In Fight With Obama

Posted by N4CM Christian Right Watch 4 Oct 2011

Source: The Huffington Post. U.S. Catholic bishops, concerned about Obama administration policies on birth control and gay rights that they say see as an unprecedented “assault” on the rights of faith groups, have established a watchdog panel to combat threats to “religious freedom.”

America’s secular revival

Posted by N4CM Belief, Features 29 Sep 2011

Source: AlterNet. In between bragging about the number of people they’ve killed and vilifying gay soldiers, the GOP presidential candidates have spent the primaries demonstrating how little they respect the separation of church and state. Michele Bachmann seems to think God is personally invested in her political career. Both she and Rick Perry have ties to Christian Dominionism, [...]

The unhappy marriage of religion and politics

Posted by N4CM Reproductive health 1 Dec 2010

Source: openDemocracy.net. The past three decades have witnessed the rising political prominence of religious actors and movements. While religious attachments and practices may have weakened in some countries (most notably in Western Europe), they seem to have persisted if not intensified on a worldwide basis. Religious arguments continue to be actively invoked [...]