Category: religion

STUDY: Buddhism Reduces Prejudice


Secular Talk

According to rawstory.com, Belgian and Taiwanese researchers found that being exposed to Buddhist concepts can lead to decreased prejudice toward others.

rawstory.com:

“Buddhism contains a variety of teachings and practices – such as meditation – intended to help individuals develop a more open-minded and compassionate personality. Unlike the three dominant monotheistic religions, it does not draw a sharp line between believers and unbelievers.

“In three separate experiments of 355 individuals, the researchers found that being exposed to words related to Buddhism could “automatically activate prosociality and tolerance, in particular among people with socio-cognitive open-mindedness.”

More:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/study-unconscious-reminders-of-buddhism-reduce-prejudice-even-among-christians/

http://psp.sagepub.com/content/41/4/513.abstract

(Updated post)

Non-Religious Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Passes In Madison, Wisconsin


Secular Talk

Do non-religious, secular people, and atheists have legal protections?

“On Tuesday, the city of Madison, Wisconsin announced that it is now against the law to discriminate against atheists, making it the first city in the country to grant explicit legal protection to people who do not believe in a God,” according to the publication Think Progress.

Think Progress:

“According to Hemant Mehta of the Friendly Atheist blog, last night the Madison city council voted unanimously to add atheists to a list of protected groups in the city’s equal opportunity ordinance, an anti-discrimination law. The move, which inserts the phrase ‘religion or nonreligion’ into the legal code, prevents atheists from being denied equal opportunity in employment, housing, and public accommodations.”

Secular Talk looks at the ordinance passed in Madison, Wisconsin that protects atheists and secular people.

(Updated post)

Lively: Homosexuality Is Worse Than Murder


Right Wing Watch

In this video, Scott Lively tells Focal Point host Bryan Fischer that gay marriage was the cause of Noah’s flood and that celebration of homosexuality will bring God’s judgment upon America.

Scott Douglas Lively (born December 14, 1957) is an American author, attorney, social activist and a former independent candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in the 2014 election. He is the president of Abiding Truth Ministries, a conservative Christian organization based in Temecula, California. He was the state director of the California branch of the American Family Association and a spokesman for the Oregon Citizens Alliance, states Wikipedia.

Marriage Control: Oklahoma’s Atheist Marriage Ban Proposal


The Lip TV

The Oklahoma state House has passed a bill banning non-religious people from marrying. The bill also requires that all marriage licenses be approved by a member of the clergy.

“The discriminatory legislation essentially makes it harder for gay marriages to take place bringing into question whether this is an attack on atheism, or same-sex unions,” states The Lip TV.

“But while it might seem on the surface like an assault on atheism, critics are saying that it is same-sex unions that the bill is not-so-stealthily attacking. By making the clergy – not judges and court clerks – the sole marriage licence issuers, it will be more difficult for gay marriages to take place,” states Metro U.K.

Pat Robertson Recommended For A Woman Working With Buddhists To Quit Her Job


Secular Talk

Wikipedia states that Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson is an American media mogul, executive chairman, and a former Southern Baptist minister.

He supports conservative Christian ideals, and he presently serves as chancellor and CEO of Regent University and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Robertson recommended recently that a Christian woman working with Buddhists quit her job.

He told viewers on Monday that Buddhism was like a “disease” and that Christians could get “infected” if their coworkers practiced it.

Abercrombie & Fitch Refused To Hire Muslim Woman Due To Hijab, Now In Court

Abercrombie & Fitch, purveyor of preppy teen wear, is fighting out its latest hijab-related controversy in the Supreme Court, where the clothing store is currently facing a religious bias case for alleged discrimination against a potential hire who wore a traditional Muslim headscarf (“hijab”) to an interview, according to Vice News. The case has dragged on since 2008, when Samantha Elauf, then 17, allegedly resisted the store’s infamous “look policy” — which dictates staff guidelines on clothing accessories, and even makeup . She wore a black headscarf to her interview in a Tulsa, Oklahoma branch of the kids store.

“I learned I was not hired by Abercrombie because I wear a head scarf, which is a symbol of modesty in my Muslim faith,” Elauf said after oral arguments had been presented to the court Wednesday.

Abercrombie claims in a court brief that Elauf’s scarf infringed on company policy because the company explicitly forbids its “models” — as sales staff are called — from wearing the color black or from sporting headwear in store, which is why she was not offered the job.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which brought the suit on Elauf’s behalf, claims Abercrombie violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically aimed at stopping companies from refusing to employ someone based on race, color, sex, national origin, and religion, according to Vice.


TYT Network

The Majority Of Republican Primary Voters Want Christianity To Be The National Religion


Secular Talk

57% of Republicans support establishing Christianity as the national religion, according to the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling group.

30% are opposed to it, and another 13% said they were not sure. According to the poll, 74% of Republicans have a favorable opinion of former president George W. Bush as well.

According to TPM, the poll was conducted among 316 Republicans from Feb. 20-22. The margin of error was plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.

More here:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/polltracker/poll-57-percent-republicans-christianity-national-religion

Presidential Contender Scott Walker Not Sure Of Obama’s Religion

Not only does Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) not know whether President Barack Obama loves America, he also appears to be unaware that the president is a Christian.

In an interview with the Milwaukie Journal-Sentinel, Walker was asked, “Do you think the president loves America?”  This was in reference to former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani’s comments.

The possible 2016 White House candidate said he’s never asked the president about it.

“I assume most people in this country love America. And to me I don’t think it’s worth getting into the battle over whether he does or he doesn’t,” Walker told the Journal Sentinel. “He can handle that himself. I know I do. And I know there are great people in this country who love this country and who … feel this country’s exceptional and it doesn’t necessarily align by party. I think there are Republicans and Democrats and plenty of people in between. I’ve never asked the president so I don’t really know what his opinions are on that one way or another.”

Walker told The Associated Press: “You should ask the president what he thinks about America.”

Recently, the Washington Post asked Walker if he thought the president is a Christian.

“I don’t know,” the potential 2016 candidate told The Washington Post at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C.

“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said of Obama’s faith. “I’ve never asked him that. You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

“First and foremost, my Christian faith gives me a perspective and security that I don’t think I would have otherwise: that I am loved. That, at the end of the day, God is in control,” Obama said in a 2012 interview according to The Huffington Post.

According to an AP survey, 18 percent of Americans thought Obama is Muslim in 2012.   In 2010, 17 percent of Americans believed he is Muslim.

Click to access AP_Racial_Attitudes_Topline_09182012.pdf

Huckabee And Company: America Is A ‘Secular Theocracy’

Secular Talk

Does possible right-wing presidential candidate Mike Huckabee go too far in regards to religion? Is the U.S. a “secular theocracy?”

Huckabee was the guest recently on James Robison’s “Life Today” television program, where he declared that he is thinking about running for president to fight the “secular theocracy” in America that is destroying Christian liberty.