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Zack Ford explains: Here’s a brief recap of the situation: The University of California has a nondiscrimination policy. If you want to be recognized as a student group (i.e. use the university’s name, access funding for student groups, reserve campus spaces, etc.), you must abide by the nondiscrimination policy. The Christian Legal Society at Hastings [...]
Archive for the ‘Religious Rights’ Category
Supreme Court Upholds University Non-Discrimination Statement
June 28th, 2010 
Daniel Fincke 
Posted in Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Free Speech, Free Speech, Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Law, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Politics, Politics, Religious Rights, Religious Rights 
Tags: United States Supreme Court, Zack Ford 
No Comments »On The “Compassion” In The Catholic Bishops’ Letter To Congress Against Gay Rights
June 21st, 2010 Daniel Fincke Recently, United States bishops petitioned Congress to not protect gays from being fired for their sexual orientation. Andrew Sullivan already precisely attacked the bishops’ immoral political calculation by which they explicitly committed themselves to a perverse moral contradiction whereby they simultaneously concede that homosexuality is to a significant extent not a choice and argue that [...]
Posted in Andrew Sullivan, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Politics, Religion, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Same Sex Marriage Tags: ZJ Jones, ZJemptv No Comments »Workshop To Teach Public School Teachers How To Proselytize In School
June 20th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Because no legal or moral principles matter more to some fundamentalists than their drive to evangelize: “Every day, 55 million American children and their teachers show up for school. For the nearly 90% who attend a public school, the ACLU and other anti-Christian organizations have systematically stripped almost every vestige of Christianity from their schools. [...]
Posted in Christianity, Fundamentalism, Law, Law & Politics, Politics, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Separation of Church and State Tags: First Baptist Church of Central Florida, Florida Baptist Convention, Liberty Council, Religion In Public Schools, Separation of Church and School, Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools No Comments »The Rise Of Islamo-Erotica
June 15th, 2010 Daniel Fincke (Image: “God Is Great” by Makan Emadi) Betwa Shermer has a really interesting piece about Muslim artists in America who incorporate nudes into their art. Defenses of nudity in art as permissible by Islamic standards: The Lebanese-born artist, who now lives in New York, insists that the taboo stems from a conservative society and not [...]
Posted in Arts, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Islam, Koran, Photography, Religion, Religious Moderates, Religious Rights, Religious Secularism, Separation of Church and State Tags: "God Is Great" by Makan Emadi, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Betwa Shermer, Columbia University, Erotica, Harper College, Iranians in America, Islamic Art, Islamo-Erotica, Khalid Al Tahmazi, Makam Emadi, Makan Emdai, Marilyn Monroe, Nada Shabout, Normandie's Hejab, Nudes, Paintings, University of North Texas, Zainab Bahrani No Comments »Is Shari’a Law “Inevitable” For UK Muslims?
June 15th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, claims it is: Dr Rowan Williams told Radio 4′s World at One that the UK has to “face up to the fact” that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system. Dr Williams argues that adopting parts of Islamic Sharia law would help maintain social [...]
Should Church Vandalism Be Considered A Hate Crime?
June 9th, 2010 Daniel Fincke That’s essentially what New York state senator Jeffrey Klein is arguing when he explains proposed legislation to make vandalizing a house of worship a felony. And I agree with him. Desecrating the grounds of institutions that represent specific subset communities is not simply attacking the specific owners of that property but sending a threatening message [...]
Angry Atheist Debate About A Mosque Near Ground Zero
June 7th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Saturday I put together a large post highlighting a spectrum of thoughtful and/or provocative opinions on the recently approved plan to build a mosque a couple of blocks away from the former site of the World Trade Center in New York. That day, for the sake of balance, I wanted to find someone who could [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheist Videos, Atheistic Ethics, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Islam, Law, Law & Politics, New Atheism, News Discussion, Pat Condell, Politics, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Videos, World Affairs Tags: 9/11, Ground Zero, Islamophobia, The Amazing Atheist, World Trade Center 4 Comments »8: The Mormon Proposition
June 7th, 2010 Daniel Fincke 8: The Mormon Proposition, a new movie out in theaters next Friday and available on DVD in July, explores the way that a tax exempt organization has waged a “secretive, decades-long campaign against gay rights”: Thanks to Richard for the link. Your Thoughts?
Posted in Christianity, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Film, Free Speech, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Politics, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Same Sex Marriage, Theocrats, Videos Tags: 8: The Mormon Proposition, California Proposition 8, Documentary, Mormons, Proposition 8, Tax Exemptions for Churches No Comments »Burqa Banning: A Religious Or Cultural Issue?
June 1st, 2010 Daniel Fincke Another thoughtful and passionate debate on this difficult issue from the land down under: Your Thoughts?
Posted in Civil Liberties, Culture, Islam, Law, Law & Politics, News Discussion, Religious Rights, Videos, World Affairs Tags: Australia, Australian, burka, burkha, Burqa Bans, Clare Bowditch, Cory Bernardi, Maxine McKew, Mitchell Grady No Comments »Mikey Weinstein: Saving The U.S. Military From God
May 27th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Foreign Policy has a profile of Mikey Weinstein who tirelessly works to combat the efforts of fundamentalist Christians to co-opt the U.S. military for purposes of religious recruitment and religious crusades: Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein shares his hate mail with both friends and strangers the way elderly people show off photos of their grandkids. He [...]
Posted in Fundamentalism, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Theocrats Tags: Campus Crusade, Campus Crusade for Christ's Military Ministry, Christianity in Military, Marines, Mikey Weinstein, Militaristic Religion, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Muslims in US Military, Navigators, Proselytization In Military, Religion In Military No Comments »Teachers Suspended For Sprinkling “Holy Water” On Atheist Colleague
May 27th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Last weekend I discussed the incident in which a teacher accused two other teachers of bullying her over her atheism by threatening to sprinkle her with “holy water” (in the form of a bottle of perfume). I agreed with the atheist teacher’s assessment that she was being bullied but did not think the passive aggressive [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheist Videos, Free Speech, Law, Law & Politics, News, News Discussion, Religious Rights, Secularism, Separation of Church and State Tags: Alonzo Neal, Atheist Persecution, Bullying, Danita Kilcullen, Djuna Robinson, Ely High School, Jeff Burnside, Johnny McCray, Leslie Rainer, Pompano Beach Florida, Schandra Rodriguez-Conti, Tea Parties, Tea Party Ft. Lauderdale No Comments »Should Religions Be Exempt From Laws Otherwise Applicable To Others?
May 25th, 2010 Daniel Fincke ProfMTH explores the issue with a wealth of information, siding against such exemptions: The second video is chock full of legal information. The most interesting bit in here is where he discusses Antonin Scalia’s strong case against religious exemptions and Sonia Sotomayor’s general support for them. 1. Regarding Christian Legal Society v. Martinez– –the decision [...]
Posted in Abortion, Applied Ethics, Atheist Videos, Bio-Medical Ethics, Christianity, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Free Speech, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Homosexuality, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, News Discussion, Political Secularism, Racism, Religion, Religious Rights, Roman Catholic Church, Same Sex Marriage, Secularism, Separation of Church and State Tags: "The Ministerial Exception", Anti-discrimination Laws, Antonin Scalia, Archbishop Donald Wuerl, Archdiocese of Washington DC, Automatic Charitable Deductions, Bob Jones University, Bob Jones University v. United States, Boy Scouts, Catholic Charities, Catholic Charities of Sacramento v. Superior Court, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany v. Serio, Christian Legal Society, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, Connecticut, Contraception, DC Same Sex Marriage Law, Employment Division v. Smith, Establihsment Clause of 1st Amendment, Federal 9th Circuit, Free Exercise Clause of 1st Amendment, Jonathan Turley, LAPD, Los Angelas Police Department, Mandated Benefits Laws, McClure v. The Salvation Army, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, Palmore v. Sidoti, ProfMTH, Sonia Sotomayor, Special Rights, Supreme Court of the United States of America, Tax Exemptions for Churches, The New York Times, The Supreme Court, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, University of California Hastings College of Law, Wisconsin Supreme Court No Comments »Teachers Accused Of Bullying Atheist Colleague
May 23rd, 2010 Daniel Fincke South Florida News reports: The district is looking into whether the women at Ely High School tried to bully the counterpart into becoming a believer. “The students whom I interviewed said that’s absolutely untrue,” said Fort Lauderdale attorney Johnny McCray, who represents both teachers, Leslie Rainer and Djuna Robinson. He says the two didn’t have [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Civil Liberties, Featured, Free Speech, Law, Law & Politics, News, News Discussion, Religion, Religious Rights, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Videos Tags: Atheist Persecution, Broward County, Bullying, Djuna Robinson, Leslie Rainer, Pompano Beach High School, Victim Card No Comments »Nigerian Witch-Hunter Tries To Silence Critics
May 21st, 2010 Daniel Fincke Below is the just the first two parts of the British documentary “Saving Africa’s Witch Children”, which exposes the horrendous child abuse carried out in Africa under the pretense of exorcism, followed by today’s New York Times article relaying the denials and excuses offered by Helen Ukpabio, a dangerous promoter of these heinous practices: [Helen] Ukpabio’s critics [...]
Frenchwoman Rips Off Muslim Convert’s Burqa
May 18th, 2010 Daniel Fincke The Telegraph calls it “burka rage”: A 26-year-old Muslim convert was walking through the store in Trignac, near Nantes, in the western Loire-Atlantique region, when she overhead the woman lawyer making “snide remarks about her black burka”. A police officer close to the case said: “The lawyer said she was not happy seeing a fellow [...]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Fundamentalism, Islam, News, Politics, Religious Rights, World Affairs Tags: burka, Burqa, Burqua Ban, France, Loire-Atlantique No Comments »Justice Stevens and the Separation of Church and State
April 11th, 2010 Daniel Fincke The Center For Inquiry pays tribute to retiring Justice John Paul Stevens for his record of affirming the necessity of a wall between church and state: He was a stalwart defender of church-state separation, and through his persuasive powers he was often able to garner a Court majority to support a proper reading of the [...]
Man Fired For Telling Coworker Her Homosexuality Was “Bad Stuff”
November 16th, 2009 Daniel Fincke This poor man had to suffer hearing a woman make references to her fiance a whole four times. It’s damaged his psyche to the point where he can’t stop himself from saying the word homosexual six times in the space of two sentences. He just can’t stop repeating the horrible word: “This woman repeatedly and [...]
Hate Crimes Demonstration: The “YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!” Edition
November 8th, 2009 Daniel Fincke So last month fundamentalists were lying that extending hate crime protections (which already protect religious people to no complaint from anyone, including those so afraid of “thought police”) to gays would result in arrests for anti-gay remarks in sermons. Dan Savage had an ingenious idea for showing the lie that this claim was. The idea [...]
ZJ On Mormons And Civil Liberties
October 22nd, 2009 Daniel Fincke Everyone should see this video: Your Thoughts?
Posted in Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Law, Law & Politics, Politics, Racism, Religion, Religious Rights, Same Sex Marriage, Theocracy, Theocrats Tags: Church of Latter Day Saints, Mormon Opposition To Civil Liberties, Mormon Racism, Mormonism, Mormons, Mormons and Gay Marriage, Mormons and Proposition 8, Religious Extremism No Comments »Gay Marriage = Religious Freedom
October 18th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Another great video from before the inception of Camels With Hammers worth catching up on in case you missed it. This one is from robtish, who has other terrific videos on his youtube channel. It’s not just a cheerleading or general argument video but an in-depth information video with a bunch of important facts refuting some [...]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, News Discussion, Politics, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Rights, Religious Secularism, Same Sex Marriage, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocrats, Videos Tags: Adoption Services, Catholic Charities, Proposition 8, Robtish No Comments »Boehner’s Spokesman: Belonging To A Religion Is Not A Choice, Being Gay Is
October 17th, 2009 Daniel Fincke The shameless willingness to bullshit in the name of discrimination and special treatment makes the blood boil: You were born a Christian, not born gay. Religion is not a choice. Or so the spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) would have you believe. Questioned about why the House’s top Republican opposes a hate [...]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Religious Rights Tags: John Boehner, Pam's House Blend No Comments »Geert Wilders Arrives In UK
October 17th, 2009 Daniel Fincke The story: From Wilders’s press conference: Here was Pat Condell’s response last winter when the UK banned Wilders from visiting: Your Thoughts?
Posted in Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Free Speech, Gay Rights, Islam, News, News Discussion, Religious Rights, Secularism, Videos, World Affairs Tags: Geert Wilders, United Kingdom No Comments »Atheism, Albuquerque, And “Weird Al” Yankovic
October 14th, 2009 Daniel Fincke Recently Hemant Mehta did an excellent job of mobilizing criticism of Albuquerque city councilman Don Harris for creating campaign literature that attacked his opponent for, among other things, being an atheist and contributing to a “Charles Darwin” scholarship. Harris, to his credit apologized for trying to exploit his opponents views on religion in the campaign, [...]
Posted in Atheism, Civil Liberties, Comedy, Cultural Secularism, Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, Hilarious, Music, Music Videos, News, News Discussion, Parody, Political Secularism, Religious Rights, Satire, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Videos Tags: "That's Your Horoscope For Today", "Weird Al" Yankovic, Albuquerque, Albuquerque City Council Race, Don Harris 3 Comments »Camels With Hammers Philosophy
September 27th, 2009 Daniel Fincke After this introductory paragraph, every sentence in this post will summarize and link a different post expressing my views, primarily on topics related to atheism, philosophy, and ethics—which are the primary preoccupations of this blog. I am organizing all of these links into this one summary statement of “Camels With Hammers’ Philosophy.” This post will [...]
Posted in About This Blog, Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authority, Autonomy, Christianity, Contemporary Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Duty, Epistemology, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Evolutionary Psychology, Faith, Featured, Fundamentalism, God, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Metaethics, Metaphysics, Moral Psychology, Nietzsche, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Political Secularism, Politics, Psychology, Religion and Science, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Secularism, Secularism, Sociobiology, Teleology, Virtues, Why I Am Not A Christian Tags: Camels With Hammers 3 Comments »British Quakers To Request Government To Allow Gay Marriages
August 1st, 2009 Daniel Fincke From the BBC: The Quakers – also known as The Religious Society of Friends – are likely to reach consensus on the issue of gay marriage without a vote at their annual gathering in York on Friday. They will also formally ask the government to change the law to allow gay people to marry. Quaker [...]
Posted in Gay Rights, Homosexuality, Law, LGBTQAA, News, Religious Rights Tags: Quakers, The Religious Society of Friends, York No Comments »
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