Spreading Enlightenment Ideas Beyond Borders
An interview with Faisal Saeed Al Mutar
Religion
L.A. Times Turns Pastor's Death into Outrage Clickbait
Bob Bryant was infected with COVID-19 while on vacation and died. A news story tries to link that to church services.
Following Protests, France Retreats on Plan to Censor Filming of Police
Earlier in November, surveillance footage captured officers beating a man for not wearing a mask.
Christians Trying to Convert Muslims and Jews to Christianity
"So what?." asks David Harsanyi at the National Review, quite correctly.
Why this Religious Freedom Case is Different From the Others [updated with an important qualification]
In Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a key case currently before the Supreme Court, there is a strong reason to rule for the government that doesn't apply in most other religious-liberty disputes.
The Nationalism-ists
The members of Steve Bannon's international circle share an outlandish spiritual-historic vision, but their threat to liberty is more mundane.
Pope Francis Declares Support for Civil Unions for Gay Couples
His statement doesn’t change Catholic Church teachings, but it’s an indicator of big cultural shifts.
Reviews: Love and Monsters and J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius
A good teens-and-creatures movie, and a deep dive into a glorious fake cult
The Sins and Virtues of New Religions
Occultists, social justice warriors, and techno-utopians may not look like the Christians of yore, but they're more religious than they realize.
Will-to-Power Conservatism and the Great Liberalism Schism
By virtue of representing the correct vision of the good, these conservatives say, they have every right to use the coercive power of the state to interfere with others' choices.
Rocker Nick Cave: Cancel Culture Is 'Bad Religion Run Amuck'
'Political correctness has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world.'
Kanye West Unveils His Presidential Platform
Is the Kanye 2020 platform designed to steal votes from Joe Biden?
The Obamacare Birth Control Coverage Fight That Never Ends
Plus: Biden echoes Trump on trade, tech ties to cops revealed, and more...
Churches, Which Account for 0.02% of COVID-19 Cases, Are a 'Major Source' of Infection, The New York Times Says
The paper's claim reflects the same arbitrary distinction between religious and secular activities that churches are challenging in court.
Supreme Court Strengthens First Amendment Protections for Religious Employers
SCOTUS rules 7-2 in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru.
Supreme Court Strikes Down Montana Blaine Amendment Barring State Aid to Religious Schools
The decision is an important victory against government discrimination on the basis of religion.
Kneeling in the Church of Social Justice
America certainly has work to do on race, but ritual and symbolic acts aren't the way forward.
Supreme Court's LGBT Discrimination Decision Revives Interest in the Federal Equality Act
The Equality Act would significantly expand government power and it also threatens religious freedom.
John Roberts Does Not Think California's Special Restrictions on Religious Services Discriminate Against Churches
As SCOTUS declines to issue an injunction, the chief justice says the state's COVID-19 control measures seem consistent with the First Amendment.
Churches Get Go-Ahead in California's Latest Reopening Plans
They’re still not being treated the same as secular places of gathering, so a legal challenge continues.
Minnesota Churches Aren't Asking the Governor for Permission To Reopen
If the Mall of America can reopen on June 1, why can’t the Cathedral of St. Paul?
Justice Department Warns California Not To Leave Churches Behind in Its Reopening Plans
Allowing schools and malls to reopen, but not places of worship, would raise civil rights issues
De Blasio Threatens To Arrest Hasidic Jews for Congregating To Mourn the Death of a Rabbi
On the same day Brooklyn’s Hasidic Jews came out for a funeral, hundreds were gathering elsewhere in New York City to watch a military flyover.
Religious Freedom Clashes With Public Health Enforcers
Plus: Signal will leave the U.S. market if EARN IT passes, Justin Amash blasts Michigan shutdown orders, and more...
Is Passover the Most Libertarian Holiday?
The annual retelling of the Exodus story reminds us not to take freedom for granted.
"Mass Prayer Gathering … in Bangladesh to Read 'Healing Verses' Against Covid-19"
I'll say it again: "Trust in Allah, but tie your camel."
California Wants To Carve Out Religious Exemptions to Its Insane Housing Laws
State lawmakers want to override local zoning codes to let churches and other nonprofits build affordable housing on their own land.
The Likely Outcome of the Methodist Schism
An interesting analysis from Prof. Mark Movsesian (St. John's).
Thank You, Ram Dass!
The pioneering psychedelic researcher, Timothy Leary collaborator, and New Age seeker exemplified America's postwar turn to individualism.
Everyone Is Confused About Trump's Executive Order on Judaism
Plus: the foundations bankrolling bad tech policy, they is the word of the year, and more...
Monty Python Meets the Bishop
Friday A/V Club: The 40th anniversary of Life of Brian's British debut—and of a legendary TV debate
Occult Features of Anarchism
An anthropologist examines secret societies, revolutionary movements, and esoteric ideas.
The Supreme Court's Next Big School Choice Case
What’s at stake in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.
Arizona's Supreme Court Rules Christian Calligraphers Can't Be Forced to Make Gay Wedding Invitations
Justices rule that invitations are expressive speech and businesses cannot be compelled to write messages they oppose.
Catholic School Pastor Thinks Harry Potter's Spells Are Real, Bans the Books
Harry Potter and the Baffling Return of Religious Panic
Neal Stephenson Wants To Tell Big Stories
An economist and a science fiction author discuss cryogenics, mythology, philanthropy, fragmentation, and simulation.
Christian Satire Site The Babylon Bee Is So Good Snopes.com Treated It Like Real News
Editor in Chief Kyle Mann talks about being taken literally by fact checkers, whether any subject (even a mass shooting) is off limits, and the libertarian sensibility of his humor.
