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Ten Commandments vs. American Law

Roy Moore's Ten Commandments Monument

The myth that the Ten Commandments are the basis for American law is used by Christian Nationalists to justify all sorts of nonsense. It's easy to demonstrate how false this myth is, yet it persists anyway because it's politically useful.

Ten Commandments in America

Agnosticism / Atheism Spotlight10

Why Must Non-Christians Use Christian Churches to Vote in Civil Elections?

Monday February 13, 2012
Voters at Cedar Hill Lutheran Church Cedar Hill, Missouri, 2004
Voters at Cedar Hill Lutheran Church
Cedar Hill, Missouri, 2004
Photo: Elsa / Getty Images

Many communities in America put polling stations in churches instead of fire halls, town halls, libraries, schools, or other neutral sites. Atheists as well as many theists rightfully object to being forced to use sectarian, religious institutions for voting in secular, civil elections. Such institutional mixing of religion and government violates the church-state separation. It not only conditions civil rights on entering a religious institution, but makes things difficult for churches too.

Read Article: Why Must Non-Christians Use Christian Churches to Vote in Civil Elections?

Magnets May Force the Truth Out of You

Monday February 13, 2012

Everyone lies now and again, there's no avoiding that. But what if a magnet helmet (or similar device) could impair your ability to deceive? It seems possible -- recent research has found that stimulating a particular region of the brain makes it harder for a person to create a fake story rather than simply remember the truth. Read More...

Book of the Week: Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt

Monday February 13, 2012
Religious Right - Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt
Image courtesy
PriceGrabber.com

What is the American "Bible Belt" and how did it originate? Why did the most conservative strains of Christianity moved from New England down to the South? Much has been written about Southern evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity in America, but not a lot has been written about its very earliest origins: how a mostly Anglican region based upon money and commerce was converted to the Baptist and Methodist denominations based on authoritarianism and masculinity.

 

Book of the Week: Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt

From Jehovah's Witness to Atheist: Life Outside The Watchtower Society

Sunday February 12, 2012
Many Jehovah's Witnesses are taught that life outside the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is filled with wickedness and pointless misery. But what happens when one of them becomes an atheist and decides to leave the religion on their own? Some try to fade away quietly so they can maintain contact with their friends and family. Others make the break all at once and are forced to rebuild their lives without the support of others. But then what?

 

Read Article:From Jehovah's Witness to Atheist: Life Outside The Watchtower Society

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