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Breaking News and Opinions founded by the infamous Arianna Huffington.

The de-facto portal for evolution vs. creationism from the scientific perspective.

Iron Chariots is intended to provide information on apologetics and counter-apologetics. We'll be collecting common arguments and providing responses, information and resources to help counter the glut of misinformation and poor arguments which masquerade as evidence for religious claims. The complexity of issues surrounding religion ensures that any proper assessment requires us to delve into a number of philosophical, historical and sociological topics. Our ultimate goal is to provide a robust and definitive resource for: atheists seeking responses to common apologetic arguments,  theists who are questioning the efficacy of their beliefs, apologists who feel that their "pet" argument is above reproach, individuals of any philosophical ideal who have an interest in religious studies.

Truthout works to broaden and diversify the political discussion by introducing independent voices and focusing on under-covered issues and unconventional thinking. Harnessing the expanding power of the Internet, we work to spread reliable information, critical thought and progressive ideas.

Kasese United Humanist association is a registered community based organization set up on the Foundation of Science registered with Kasese Town Council authorities and Kasese District Development Network (KADDE-NET) with Registration number CBO/223, The Organization got registered in June 2009 and the idea of setting up a humanist organization started as way back in 2007.

 The Foundation works as an umbrella for those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle of separation of state and church.

Atheist Alliance International (AAI) is the umbrella organization of atheist groups and individuals around the world committed to promoting and defending reason and the atheist worldview.

The Secular Coalition for America is a 501(c)4 advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States. We are located in Washington, D.C. for ready access to government, activist partners and the media. Our staff lobbies U.S. Congress on issues of special concern to our constituency.

Truth is defined as conformity with fact or reality. It is based on the most current available evidence and facts, not personal opinions, traditions or authority. On this site we never claim "absolute truth" and are always having our work checked and rechecked to ensure the most accurate content. It is only when a group claims absolute truth that they allow themselves to overlook the actual truth. 

The mission of the Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values.

Since 1963, AMERICAN ATHEISTS has been the premier organization laboring for the civil liberties of Atheists, and the total, absolute separation of government and religion. It was born out of a court case begun in 1959 by the Murray family which challenged prayer recitation in the public schools.

The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is to support scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and human suffering.

The Texas Republican party has doubled down on the state’s same-sex marriage ban in their continued war against LGBT rights.

Americans are largely optimistic about the future, according to the poll from the Pew Research Center For The People and The Press/Smithsonian Magazine.

By mid century, 71 per cent believe cancer will be cured, 66 per cent say artificial limbs will work better than real ones and 81 per cent believe computers will be able to converse like humans.

FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg is being investigated by Pakistani police under a section of the penal code that carries the death sentence for blasphemy against the “prophet” Mohammed.

​Chalk up another one on the list of random things the Westboro Baptist Church hates: Flags.

"The kids, that's the highest cost," says Ido Lev, 30, who hasn't seen his two children for five years.

It's hard to imagine the software engineering student, now wearing jeans and a checked shirt, in the black hat and suit of the ultra-orthodox Jew he used to be.

The World's Largest Social Networking Site Exclusively For Nontheists!

A resolution encouraging people to pray for an end to the BP oil spill crisis has been approved by the Louisiana Senate.

Judicial officials say a Saudi court has convicted four women and 11 men for mingling at a party and sentenced them to flogging and prison terms.

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a creationism think tank and school that attempted to force the state of Texas to allow it to offer master's degrees in science education.

Seniors at a New Haven, Conn., high school will not be graduating “in the year of our Lord” this year – or any future years, according to the superintendent of schools.

The school district has removed the traditional phrase from high school diplomas after someone complained.

Belgian authorities have raided the headquarters of the Belgian Catholic Church during an investigation into child sex abuse claims.

A prominent Catholic priest, praised by Pope John Paul II as "an efficacious guide to youth," Father Marcial Maciel, sexually abused not only young seminarians under his control but also abused his own children, according to a lawsuit filed today in Connecticut by a man who claims to be Maciel's son.

The British Humanist Association... ...is the national charity supporting and representing people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. Our vision is of a world without religious privilege or discrimination. We promote Humanism, campaign for an open society and a secular state, and work with others of different beliefs for the common good.

KUALA LUMPUR—The U.S. has "American Idol." Britain has "The X Factor." Malaysia, one of the world's more progressive Muslim nations, has something rather different—a televised search for the country's most eligible young religious leader.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus seemed to talk mostly about helping people and healing the sick and generally being nice to others, but his followers seem to do a lot of the opposite? Well, we did, so here’s some proof.

Remember when a tornado struck downtown Minneapolis last year and broke the cross atop a downtown church?

Minneapolis Pastor Tom Brock made a whole bunch of waves by suggesting that the twister was God's retribution for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America voting at its national convention in Minneapolis that day to take up -- and pass -- a resolution that allows for openly gay clergy could serve as ministers.

The Vatican has expressed shock at raids, including the "violation" of a cathedral crypt, by Belgian police investigating alleged child sex abuse.

Pakistan will monitor seven major websites, including Google and Yahoo, to block anti-Islamic links and content, an official said Friday. Seventeen lesser-known sites are being blocked outright for alleged blasphemous material.

Media Matters for America has compiled a list of myths and falsehoods about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, all of which have been pushed by Fox News.

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all.

Independent news and politics.

An informative site with good articles and videos.

Mother Jones is a nonprofit news organization that specializes in investigative, political, and social justice reporting.

STUDENTS at one NSW school were told by an untrained scripture teacher they would "burn in hell" if they didn't believe in Jesus

And, elsewhere in the state, children at other schools were given creationism showbags. A survey by Sydney's Macquarie University also found 70 per cent of scripture teachers think children should be taught the Bible as historical fact and 80 per cent believe students should not be exposed to non-Christian beliefs.

Aggregating blogs from non-believers and free-thinkers.

Breaking free from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism in America.

Homeschooling Freethinkers supports the international non-religious homeschool community by promoting social networking and secular home school resources.

A daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 800 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the U.S.

Slate is a daily magazine on the Web. Founded in 1996, we are a general-interest publication offering analysis and commentary about politics, news, business, technology, and culture. Slate's strong editorial voice and witty take on current events have been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online. The site, which is owned by The Washington Post Company, does not charge for access and is supported by advertising revenues.

The fictional vampire romance enthralling "Twilight" fans will return to the big screen as the third installment in the popular movie series premieres in theaters Wednesday.

Home atheists and agnostics over the years.

While American society today is in some ways overly sexual and sex obsessed, in other ways we are a very prudish and sexually repressed society. While the Porn industry is one of the few industries that is growing in this declining economy, it is still looked down upon and viewed in secret. Millions of Americans don’t talk about sex openly even with their own partners and sex education is America is in many cases very poor and insufficient and in other cases simply non-existent.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

This site is dedicated to exposing the ridiculous notions we have come take for granted at the core of many societies – that is religious beliefs.

Do a Google search on Shirien Elamawy and you'll find her Tweets, her Egyptian Gumbo website, her college newspaper columns, and the beginnings of her Muslim children's book.

The low-budget film Letters To God is one of a new-wave of religiously driven films that are proving popular with US audiences.

An abortion hotline which has been set up in Pakistan is facing violent opposition. Islamic groups and political parties have condemned the hotline, which was launched yesterday, as "anti-Islamic" and "colonial", even though it will save the lives of thousands of women who die each year in backstreet abortion clinics. They have warned the organisers that they are at risk of reprisals.

The ever-entertaining WorldNetDaily has a breaking exclusive this morning suggesting that President Obama may have caused the BP oil spill by dissing Israel. Quoting the Biblical prophecies of Carl Gallups, a talk-radio host and Baptist pastor in Florida, WND reports:

An ideologically split Supreme Court ruled Monday that a law school can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that won't let gays join, with one justice saying that the First Amendment does not require a public university to validate or support the group's "discriminatory practices."

This morning the Supreme Court ruled that the University of California-Hastings law school can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that violates the school's non-discrimination policy by barring non-Christian and LGBT students from membership. Five of the Court's nine Justices upheld the lower court rulings that the Christian group's First Amendment rights of association, free speech and free exercise were not violated by the college's decision.

The Supreme Court has ruled against a Christian campus group that sued after a California law school denied it official recognition because the student organization limits its core membership to those who share its beliefs on faith and marriage.

There is a cruel paradox in the career of the man who, in September, will become only the second pope in history to visit Britain. When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in April 2005, he set about purifying the Catholic Church and returning it to its core values. He also pledged to get his charismatic predecessor, John Paul II, canonised as quickly as possible.

Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland prime minister, married her long-time partner on Sunday as a new law legalising homosexual marriages came into force.

Police officers in Chechnya have been firing paintballs at Chechen women with uncovered hair; the policemen drive by in cars with tinted windows and shoot the women in the face and neck as they're walking down the street.

Richard Dawkins has said he is interested in setting up an atheist “free school” under the Government’s plan to encourage independent education establishments.

Unknown vandals unhappy about atheists' billboard in Charlotte, N.C., spray-painted "Under God" on the ad, the city's

It has something to do with the way she wears her red tunic and trousers, her short cropped black leather jacket, and the way she chews gum and rolls her eyes.

Since winning the Republican nomination in the Nevada Senate race Sharron Angle has drawn attention and controversy for a host of conservative policy prescriptions that seem well outside the political mainstream. Now, a Democratic source has passed along a radio interview she did back in January 2010 that could end up topping the list.

Pope Benedict XVI is creating a new Vatican office to fight secularization and "re-evangelize" the West – a tacit acknowledgment that his attempts to reinvigorate Christianity in Europe haven't succeeded and need a new boost.

Australia’s new Prime Minister has revealed she does not believe in God, and will not try to court the Christian vote by pretending to have faith.

Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen. From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.

Before the Supreme Court struck down many state laws restricting abortion in the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade, the Justices read briefs from both abortion-rights supporters and opponents.

A 43-year-old Iranian woman is facing death by stoning unless an international campaign launched by her children forces the authorities to quash what her lawyer calls a bogus conviction.

An Australian Catholic priest was sentenced Friday to almost 20 years in jail for child sex attacks which the judge said were sadistic and went unpunished for many years.

An explosion of smart-phone software has placed an arsenal of trivia at the fingertips of every corner-bar debater, with talking points on sports, politics and how to kill a zombie. Now it is taking on the least trivial topic of all: God.

Many of the Milky Way's ancient stars are remnants of other smaller galaxies torn apart by violent galactic collisions around five billion years ago, according to researchers at Durham University.

The developers of a solar lamp that aims to replace kerosene-burning lights in developing countries have won a prestigious environmental award.

For more than half a century, the American Humanist Association has stood as the singular voice of humanism in the United States.

By now, you probably think your opinion of Goldman Sachs and its swarm of Wall Street allies has rock-bottomed at raw loathing. You're wrong. There's more. It turns out that the most destructive of all their recent acts has barely been discussed at all. Here's the rest. This is the story of how some of the richest people in the world – Goldman, Deutsche Bank, the traders at Merrill Lynch, and more – have caused the starvation of some of the poorest people in the world.

Megachurches here in the heart of the Bible Belt are thriving enough to support a major building boom despite a sluggish economy.

 A farmer in northern Egypt says his cow has given birth to a two-headed calf that he calls a "divine miracle."

The monks seemed to come out of nowhere.

They arrived from Cleveland last fall; Archbishop Timothy and Father Anthony and the cleric in charge, Metropolitan Stephen. In their billowing black robes, they were looking for a new base for the Syro Russian Orthodox Catholic Church.

The old Kurdish midwife's hands trembled alongside a bowl that she positions to catch dripping blood. She picked up a razor blade and sliced through a corner of paper, mimicking the ritual cut she has performed at least 500 times, on young girls' genitals. "In the name of God, the most compassionate and merciful," Naksheen Moustafa said. "That's it! It's simple.

Twice a year, American evangelicals show up at a winery in this Jewish settlement in the hills of ancient Samaria to play a direct role in biblical prophecy, picking grapes and pruning vines.

Hundreds of Muslim parents are withdrawing children from music lessons because their beliefs forbid them from learning an instrument.The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said music lessons were potentially unacceptable to about 10% of Muslims.

In an attempt to rid the country of "decadent Western cuts", Iran's culture ministry has produced a catalogue of haircuts that meet government approval. The list of banned styles includes ponytails, mullets and elaborate spikes. However,quiffs appear to be acceptable, as are fashioning one's hair in the style of Simon Cowell or cultivating a 1980s-style floppy fringe.

The 26-year-old recognised Christ's image as he trawled the map site looking for holiday destinations. The bearded messiah can be seen clearly in satellite pictures of a field on farmland near Puspokladany, Hungary.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch has called on Iran to stop the execution of a woman convicted of adultery. The group says Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a mother of two, faces imminent death by stoning after her appeals for clemency were denied.

A Connecticut Catholic priest spent $1.3 million in stolen church funds on male escorts, Armani suits, and stays at the Waldorf-Astoria, according to law enforcement authorities. Rev. Kevin Gray, until recently a parish priest in Waterbury, also paid the college tuition and rent of two of the young men he met.

If you're like most Americans, there's probably been a time in your life when you've been sitting in church, listening to a particularly ennui-inducing homily or enduring another warbly version of "Holy Holy Holy" and thought, "Man!

Ernest J. Pagels Jr. is a long shot contender for the Wisconsin GOP Senate primary, vying for the opportunity to run against Sen. Russ Feingold (D) this September. And perhaps there’s a reason.

US researchers have discovered two powerful antibodies that neutralise more than 90 per cent of all known strains of the HIV virus in the lab, new research released today showed.

Over the past year, Weinstein and his organization have recorded a tremendous string of victories in the fight against Christian supremacists inside the armed forces.

A CHARISMATIC terror leader linked to the botched Times Square car bomb has placed the Seattle cartoonist who launched "Everybody Draw Muhammed Day" on an execution hit list.

The Institute for Humanist Studies is committed to information and practices meant to address the socio-political, economic and cultural challenges facing communities within the United States and within a global context. At The Institute for Humanist Studies we view humanism as having the moral imperative to extend the circle of justice, caring and concern to all.

There is a "coherent and significant connection" between radiation from Vatican Radio aerials and childhood cancer, researchers have said.

While imprisoned serial killers often attract letter-writing admirers, no other convicted murderer has amassed a following quite like the 'Son of Sam.

Glenn Beck devoted his show last night to a bizarre theology rant, in his 

She was only 14 when she was forced into marriage with an older man. Yet within a year of her wedding, Azar Bagheri was charged with adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death. The sentence could not be carried out until she was 18. So for the past four years, Ms Bagheri has been languishing on death row while the courts waited for her to reach maturity so she could be put to death.

A Catholic priest in the Netherlands who held an orange-themed Mass in support of the national football team has been suspended.

The new rules issued by the Vatican puts attempts at ordaining women among the “most serious crimes” alongside paedophilia and will be handled by investigators from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), considered the successor to the Inquisition.

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law held a hearing titled “The Ethical Imperative for Reform of our Immigration System,” which made the case that reforming the country’s broken immigration system is a moral duty.

Shamen trying to perform an exorcism in eastern Russia allegedly suffocated the four-year-old boy they were trying to save. Dmitry Kazachuk, who apparently had pneumonia, was left alone with the ritual healers by his parents. Before leaving, Dmitry's mom observed the woman performing the ritual insisting her son's name was "Lucifer the demon."

"Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate," Sarah Palin tweeted yesterday afternoon.

Female students wearing a full face veil will be barred from Syrian university campuses, the country's minister of higher education has said.

At a time when the prospects for immigration overhaul seem most dim, supporters have unleashed a secret weapon: a group of influential evangelical Christian leaders.

A pastor is accused of stealing $1 million from his church to hire male escorts. Mike Jones, the escort who outed Ted Haggard, on what really happens when priests visit gay prostitutes.

A recent study released by two Texas Tech professors found the more fundamental the Christian beliefs of college students are, the more likely those students are to commit domestic abuse.

It may be a sign of the times that on Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, N.C, from whence the famed evangelist hailed, the North Carolina Secular Society recently unveiled a suggestively secular billboard: a flag with the words “One Nation Indivisible.”

Halal meat has become a common part of life in the UK, but now a company has launched a range of halal make-up, which is free from alcohol and animal products.

In a move designed to coincide with the pope's visit to Britain in September, London buses are to carry posters calling for the ordination of women. The initiative, from the UK group Catholic Women's Ordination (CWO), will see buses carrying the slogan "Pope Benedict Ordain Women Now"

Evangelical groups in recent weeks have become key players in the Obama administration’s efforts to get immigration reform moving in Congress. And while they have largely couched their arguments in moral terms or with references to biblical teachings, top leaders acknowledge another important reason:

Two Muslim women were ordered to leave a swimming pool in a French holiday village on the southwest coast for wearing body-covering "burkinis". The women had plunged into the pool at le Port Leucate wearing full body swimsuits, including a head-covering hijab veil, but were immediately told to get out of the water.

A Saudi man has been chained in a basement apartment for more than six years because his father believes he is possessed by an evil female genie. 'When he has fits he has convulsions and his entire body twists and his eyes become completely white,' said the father of the 29-year-old man who has been identified only as Turki.

The Catholic church, already reeling from a string of clerical sex abuse scandals, is facing new embarrassment after an Italian magazine published an investigation into what it termed the double life of gay priests in Rome.

Two Muslim women have claimed they were refused a bus ride because one had her face covered by a veil. The students, both 22 and from Slough, Berkshire, boarded a Metroline bus from Russell Square to Paddington, London.

Affecting one out of every four girls, the brutal practice of "breast ironing" is on the rise in the African country of Cameroon.

The people of Westboro Baptist Church are used to facing counter-demonstrations when they bring their GOD HATES FAGS and GOD HATES AMERICA banners to soldiers' funerals, Jewish centers, college campuses, etc. Rarely, however, have they faced anything like they did when they protested at Comic Con 2010 in San Diego CA Thursday (July 22).

The Livingston Parish School Board will begin exploring the possibility of incorporating the teaching of “creationism” in the public school system’s science classes. During the board’s meeting Thursday, several board members expressed an interest in the teaching of creationism, an alternative to the study of the theory of evolution, in Livingston Parish public school classrooms.

Tennessee’s current lieutenant governor said he had reservations about whether the American Constitution, which guarantees “freedom of religion”, applied to followers of the world’s second largest faith. Critics denounced the 54 year-old’s comments, made at a party meeting earlier this month, as a part of “disturbing” trend in American politics.

Atheists could set up their own schools in England under the government's education reforms, Education Secretary Michael Gove has said. Mr Gove said he would be "interested" in proposals from individuals such as atheist Professor Richard Dawkins.

Anne Rice, the bestselling novelist most popularly known for "Interview with the Vampire" and her other creepy vampire novels, announced on Wednesday via Facebook that she has officially renounced Christianity. It's a bold move for the author who has become well-known for her vehement religiosity; the majority of her frequent tweets are related to religion in some way.

Every two years the National Science Foundation produces a report, Science and Engineering Indicators, designed to probe the public’s understanding of science concepts. And every two years we relearn the sad fact that U.S. adults are less willing to accept evolution and the big bang as factual than adults in other industrial countries.

Evangelical Christian minister Tim LaHaye says that the policy initiatives put forth by the Obama administration are bringing the country "closer to the apocalypse."

A terrified young woman in a red headscarf bolts through a door into a darkened room. Chased by an angry mullah, she pulls out her phone and desperately tries to call for help, but there is no signal.

A local pastor’s complaint about a brand of underwear being sold with “pornographic” pictures on the packaging at the Cullman Walmart reportedly led to a recall of the product. Frank Boren, pastor of New Hope Christian Center Church of God in the Springhill community, said he noticed the questionable underwear package while shopping at the store in May.

A group called 'Stop Islamization of America' is promoting ads on major city public transportation that urge people to leave the Muslim faith. The anti-Islamic campaign is sparking thought about the religion's place in American society.

A comprehensive study of global lesbian, bisexual and gay rights, seen by The Independent on Sunday, reveals the brutal – and, in many instances, fatal – price people pay around the globe for their sexuality.

A decision by a Malaysian state to allow under age marriages has drawn criticism from women's groups.

Officials in Malacca state said the move was aimed at reducing the number of babies born outside wedlock.

A group of young Muslim men have been publicly flogged in Sudan after they were convicted of wearing women's clothes and make-up.

The court said the 19 men had broken Sudan's strict public morality codes.

The Livingston Parish School Board won’t try to include the teaching of creationism in this year’s curriculum, but has asked the School Board staff to look at the issue for possible future action, board officials said.

Ken Buck, who is running in the Colorado Republican Senate primary, has surged in recent polls due in large part to tea party support. In a video obtained by the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, Buck stakes out an extreme position on abortion that is likely to appeal to his far-right base, saying that even in the cases of rape and incest, abortions should not be allowed:

A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a California ban on same-sex marriages as unconstitutional, handing a key victory to gay rights advocates in a politically charged decision almost certain to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

In our shrill political climate let’s celebrate the quiet passing of a science milestone. Last week the Food and Drug Administration gave its first approval for a clinical trial of an embryonic stem cell treatment. Embryonic stem cells are special because they can grow, or differentiate, into any kind of human tissue.

Last November, on the steps of Tate Britain, I witnessed a scene that troubles me still. A furious Asian father was shaking his young son and tearing up the picture his child had drawn. The boy kicked and cried. Recognising my face from TV appearances I had made as a commentator on current affairs, the father came across to say 'hello'.

Want to know whether your wife, sister or daughter has left the county? Well, in Saudi Arabia, there's an app for that. Reportedly, male guardians or mahrams in Saudi Arabia are now receiving text message notifications when their female charges leave the country unaccompanied. "iMahram", a friend of mine jokingly called it.

A Republican running for governor of Colorado has discovered a dangerous new threat to the American way of life and the personal freedoms Americans enjoy: bicycles. Dan Maes, a Tea Party favorite, has charged the Denver mayor, who he's running against, of joining a "well-disguised" international plot to have the UN take over the country though a bicycle-sharing program.

The law is an elegant, even beautiful thing. It is based on the distilling of reason and fact from the irrational and the irrelevant.

In some societies, the move toward gay marriage rights is like a high-speed train. Once it gets rolling, it is relentless and unidirectional.

In others, it is the little engine that could.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the woman whose sentence of death by stoning triggered an international outcry has accused the Iranian authorities of lying about the charges against her to pave the way to execute her in secret.

The mutilated Afghan girl featured on a controversial Time magazine cover is preparing for reconstructive surgery in the U.S. that will give her a new nose, the BBC reports.

The report, sent to the government’s Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT), was not intended for publication but has now been leaked on the internet.
Entitled "Preventing terrorism, where next for Britain?" it says the ideology of non-violent Islamists is “broadly the same as that of violent Islamists” adding “they disagree only on tactics.”

In a big victory for students everywhere, school lunch may finally be moving away from gross goods towards sustainable fare. Yesterday, the Senate passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. If signed into law, the bill will provide $4.5 billion over ten years to federal child nutrition programs — namely, school lunches.

In a study published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Philip Schwadel, of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said this was true even though they were less likely than previous generations to have been brought up with a religion.

The federal judge who upended California's same-sex marriage ban this week is now being scrutinized by some for being gay himself. Which raises another question – should his sexual orientation even matter?

California's governor and attorney general have asked a US federal judge to allow same-sex couples to wed pending an appeal against his rejection of the state's same-sex marriage ban.

Backers of the ban had asked for a delay while the appeal was considered.

The judge ruled that the ban, known as Proposition 8, was unconstitutional.

The voice of atheism since 1881.

Religion Dispatches is a daily online magazine dedicated to the analysis and understanding of religious forces in the world today, highlighting a diversity of progressive voices and aimed at broadening and advancing the public conversation.

Those of us who value reason are alarmed about the increasingly extreme religious influence in our Government, on our lawmakers, and in our public institutions – especially our education system. Many people, while standing up for freedom of religion, and freedom not to believe, feel that the proper place for religion is in the place of worship or home. They see the danger of religion becoming too politically ambitious.

When the US Supreme Court decided back in January to roll back longstanding restrictions on corporate campaign financing, I doubt many could have predicted thisdecision would ultimately inspire a Minnesota grandmother to launch a public protest of the Target Corporation in support of her gay son.

So what arguments have you recently heard against government social programs? They’re too expensive, they’ll bankrupt us; they’re socialist; they’re too bureaucratic; they’ll inhibit self-reliance… they’re unconstitutional?

How about: “They violate the First of the Ten Commandments prohibiting idolatry.”

An 18-year-old Iranian is facing imminent execution on charges of homosexuality, even though he has no legal representation. Ebrahim Hamidi, who is not gay, was sentenced to death for lavat, or sodomy, on the basis of "judge's knowledge", a legal loophole that allows for subjective judicial rulings where there is no conclusive evidence.

The world leadership qualities of the United States, once so prevalent, are fading faster than the polar ice caps. We once set the standard for industrial might, for the advanced state of our physical infrastructure, and for the quality of our citizens’ lives. All are experiencing significant decline.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Self, you are not doing enough to ensure you die of a heart attack before you have to deal with that nasty growing old nonsense”? Then maybe you should see if your local state fair is selling the Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger.

The Taliban publicly whipped then executed a pregnant widow for an alleged "illicit affair", then dumped her body in a government-controlled area, the police said Monday. The killing is a grim reminder of the Taliban's regime in the late 1990s.

Highway Patrol arrested Jake Young early Saturday morning. He's a pastor at North Anderson Community Church, Presbyterian in Anderson.

The 69-year-old author and Oxford academic said he is filled with “visceral revulsion” when he sees women wearing the traditional Islamic covering.
But he held back from advocating a ban on the all-enveloping cloak, insisting that such legislation would fly in the face of Britain’s liberal tradition.

Strip-club owner Tommy George rolled up to the church in his grabber-orange Dodge Challenger, drinking a Mountain Dew at 9 in the morning and smoking a cigarette he had just rolled himself.

Pastor Bill Dunfee stepped out of a tan Nissan Murano, clutching a Bible in one hand and his sermon in the other, a touch of spray holding his perfectly coiffed 'do in place.

An Associated Press-Univision poll finds that younger Latinos, as well as those who speak more English than Spanish, are much less likely to identify as Catholics than older Hispanics who mostly speak Spanish.

A pastor arrested Monday for protesting Warner Robins High School's "Demon" nickname and mascot says he was just standing up for Jesus -- and he'd do it again.

Pastor Donald Crosby said the school's demon logo just encourages children to evil.

"I don't scare easily. Lock me up as many times as you have to lock me up. Even kill me if you have to. I'm standing up for Jesus."

A US judge who overturned California's same-sex marriage ban has ruled gay nuptials may resume on 18 August.

Judge Vaughn Walker overturned the ban, known as Proposition 8, last week. Its proponents asked for a stay pending their appeal against his ruling.

A man and a woman who allegedly had an adulterous affair have been stoned and killed in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz.

The punishment happened in a crowded bazaar on Sunday in the Taliban-controlled village of Mullah Quli.

One of the most prestigious figures in Scots law is calling on the country’s courts to take biblical teachings into account when administering justice. Former Conservative Cabinet member Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who served as Lord Chancellor under Margaret Thatcher and John Major as well as holding the post of Scotland’s Lord Advocate, is fronting a campaign which will see bibles sent to every court in the land.

THE Military Religious Freedom Foundation has written a letter to the US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates about a troubling new fact of life in some parts of the military – the use of chaplains to treat mental health problems frequently encountered by soldiers during war, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

With just over a month to go before the Pope arrives in Britain, the Catholic Church is facing a £2.6m shortfall in donations needed to pay for the visit. The Church officially needs to raise £7m to pay for the pastoral elements of Pope Benedict's state visit, although sources involved in organising the trip have told The Independent that the final bill will be closer to £8m.

Celebrities Naomi Campbell and Mia Farrow have testified at the Charles Taylor trial, but activists say it also would be useful for a well-known U.S. televangelist to make an appearance. The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network has been mentioned at the West African war-crimes trial and had mining interests in Liberia when Mr. Taylor was president.

A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals in the country whether they could damage a man's spinal cord as punishment after he was convicted of attacking another man with a cleaver and paralyzing him, the brother of the victim said Thursday.

Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle once partook in a campaign against a local high school's use of black football jerseys, arguing that the dark color was ungodly and wicked, Bill Roberts of Nevada's Pahrump Valley Times recently reported.

A Muslim woman who works as a hostess at a Disney-owned restaurant filed a discrimination complaint against the entertainment giant Wednesday, saying they have repeatedly sent her home without pay for refusing to remove her headscarf at work.

For the past several years, two U.S. Army posts in Virginia, Fort Eustis and Fort Lee, have been putting on a series of what are called Commanding General's Spiritual Fitness Concerts. As I've written in a number of other posts, "spiritual fitness" is just the military's new term for promoting religion, particularly evangelical Christianity. And this concert series is no different.

A Bangladesh court has ruled that people cannot be forced to wear skull caps, veils or other religious clothing in workplaces, schools and colleges. The ruling came after reports that a college in the north had forced students to wear veils.