LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ellid)

No surprise that this is happening in Tulsa....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050608/ap_on_re_us/zoo_display

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY seshen)

There are individuals who go door-to-door in a desperate attempt to convert others to their faith. Those of us who are not interested in this face-to-face equivalent of spam either refuse to answer the door or blindly take the pamphlet that is handed to us, knowing that we will be throwing it in the trash.

I am a Pagan, so their conversion attempts are annoying, to say the least. Luckily for me, because of my honesty and courtesy toward them, there is usually no problem.

Then they decided to prey upon my child.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This article talks about the pressure that the Religious Right is putting on corporations who have any kind of inclusive regulations:

The New Blacklist
Corporate America is bowing to anti-gay Christian groups’ boycott demands
by DOUG IRELAND

Spurred on by a biblical injunction evangelicals call “The Great Commission,” and emboldened by George W. Bush’s re-election, which is perceived as a “mandate from God,” the Christian right has launched a series of boycotts and pressure campaigns aimed at corporate America — and at its sponsorship of entertainment, programs and activities the Christers don’t like. [This writer uses 'Christer' instead of 'Dominionist' or 'Christocrat'. -ed]

And it’s working. Just three weeks ago, the Rev. Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association (AFA) announced it was ending its boycott of corporate giant Procter & Gamble — maker of household staples like Tide and Crest — for being pro-gay. Why? Because the AFA’s boycott (which the organization says enlisted 400,000 families) had succeeded in getting P&G to pull its millions of dollars in advertising from TV shows like Will & Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. P&G also ended its advertising in gay magazines and on gay Web sites. And a P&G executive who had been given a leave of absence to work on a successful Cincinnati, Ohio, referendum that repealed a ban on any measures protecting gays from discrimination was shown the door.

“We cannot say they are 100 percent clean, and we ask our supporters to let us know if they discover P&G again being involved in pushing the homosexual lifestyle,” growls the AFA’s statement of victory over the corporate behemoth, “but judging by all that we found in our research, it appears that our concerns have been addressed.” The Wall Street Journal reported on May 11 that “P&G officials won’t talk publicly about the boycott. But privately, they acknowledge the [Christer] groups turned out to be larger, better funded, better organized, and more sophisticated than the company had imagined.”( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

The Silver Ring Thing is a blatantly religious abstinance program that is federally funded.

(WOMENSENEWS)--The Silver Ring Thing is a live three-hour, high-tech sound, light and video show complete with actors and comedy sketches with a stated mission to impress teens to promote teen chastity and so-called Christian values.

The mobile shows--set up in churches, conference centers and other venues around the country--culminate with teens pledging abstinence until they present a silver ring that symbolizes their celibacy to their spouse on their wedding day. They also sign a covenant agreeing to follow "biblical standards." Teens who don't want to participate in the religious testimonials that are part of the ceremony are allowed to leave the room.

The $15 silver rings that teens are encouraged to buy for the ceremony are inscribed with a biblical reference of 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, which reads "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor."

Photographs of Silver Ring Thing events in newsletters and on its Web site depict a majority of female teens in the audiences.( Read more... )