LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY bennu_)

Here is a list of quotes from Christian leaders that are truly disturbing and inhuman.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ccroft)

I don't think any of us here can really be surprised by the findings of this poll; what folks might find interesting is how the US stacks up compared to the rest of the world... like those 'Cheese-Eating Surrender-Monkeys', France:

A nation under God: US tops religious poll

Religious devotion sets the United States apart from some of its closest allies.

Americans profess unquestioning belief in God and support mixing faith and politics at much higher rates than people in other countries, a poll has found.

Respondents in Western Europe, where Pope Benedict XVI has complained that growing secularism has left churches unfilled on Sundays, were the least devout among the countries surveyed.

Only Mexicans come close to Americans in embracing faith, among 10 countries polled for Associated Press by Ipsos. Unlike Americans, Mexicans strongly object to clergy lobbying lawmakers, in line with Mexico's historic opposition to church influence.

The polling was conducted last month in the US, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Spain.

Nearly all US respondents said faith was important to them and only 2 per cent said they did not believe in God. Almost 40 per cent said religious leaders should try to sway policymakers. "Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian policies and religious leaders have an obligation to speak out on public policy, otherwise they're wimps," said David Black, a retiree from Pennsylvania, who was polled.

By contrast, 85 per cent of French objected to clergy activism. France has strict curbs on public religious expression and, according to the poll, one of the largest shares of atheists: 19 per cent, equalled only by South Korea. ( Read more... )

Source: Stuff.co.nz

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Today's Diane Rehm Show is about evangelism at the USAF academy. It'll be archived soon, and is worth a listen.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This op-ed column talks about the 'hijacking' of religious language by extremists.

New voices emerge in religion debate

Among the most dishonest features of current political theater is the insistence by some on the Christian Right that religious faith requires supporting specific policies.

The tactic is clearest in the repeated charge that "activist" judges are engaged in a "war against people of faith." So it is really encouraging to see religious voices emerge to set the record straight.

When President Bush gave this year's commencement speech at Calvin College, a small evangelical school in Grand Rapids, Mich., the unthinkable occurred: Eight-hundred students, faculty members and alumni signed a letter of protest that ran as a full-page advertisement in the Grand Rapids Press. The letter challenged Bush in explicitly religious terms, saying in part "Your deeds, Mr. President -- neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment, and misleading the nation into war -- do not exemplify the faith we live by."( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Kit's Concatenation is another great church/state oriented blog, written by twistedchick. Definitely worth a visit.