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[above: click on image for YouTube video trailer]"Renewal or Ruin": New Video Documentary By Steve D. Martin Spotlights Secretive Rightwing Effort To Destroy Mainstream Protestant Churches
Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy, by Frederick Clarkson
Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort
by Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons
sample chapter
God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the Republican Crusade For Values Voters
By Sarah Posner
Liars for Jesus: The Religious Right's Alternate Version of American History
By Chris Rodda
Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism
: by Michelle Goldberg
With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush's White House.
by Esther Kaplan
Straight to Jesus: Sexual and Christian Conversions in the Ex-Gay Movement
Tanya Erzen
Attack on The United Churches of Christ
Attack on The United Methodist Church
"The Christian Right, Dominionism, and Theocracy", by Chip Berlet
"Taking Over The Republican Party", a four part series by Joan Bokaer
The Woman in A Mink CoatWhile We Were sleepingAngels On a PinheadUnder Cover of Night
The Indian River Incident : What You Can Do
link > The "Stop the ACLU Coalition" Shaming Project
How you can help stop "Stop The ACLU" just by sending a few emails
The Shaming Projectdoes the violence of "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" bother you ? If so, what can you do ? Well, to begin with you can email Jonathan Hutson's stories to people you know. That will help to bring more public scrutiny of the game. Public shaming really works ! Just click on the "email" icon and link at the top or bottom of the story and you'll be taken to a form that will allow you email the first story, The Purpose Driven Life Takers or the latest installment without leaving this site. Thanks.
An Illegal Interview on CNN? |
| Wed Apr 16, 2008 at 07:20:35 PM EST |  print story | |
 
Sunday night's Compassion Forum on CNN provided an opportunity to get some relevant answers about the respective stances of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on the role of religion in government. Instead, the moderators asked some clearly inappropriate questions about the candidates' religious beliefs, and failed to ask others that would have given the voting public insight into the candidates' positions on these important issues.Here is the money quote:
If a potential employer asked you questions about your religious beliefs in a job interview, it wouldn't only be offensive, it would be illegal. The media needs to stop imposing a de facto religious test on the candidates. |
| topic: Church/State Separation |
Article VI of the Constitution promises that, "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." So why did the Compassion Forum's moderators ask about Senator Clinton's belief in the Trinity, and what Senator Obama would tell his children about creationism?Americans would be much better served by hearing Senators Clinton and Obama talk about how they will respect their constituents' religious diversity and how they plan to balance their private faith with their public oath to uphold the Constitution and the separation of religion and government.
Many important issues were discussed Sunday night. I only wish the moderators had pushed the candidates to elaborate on issues like teaching intelligent design in our public schools and government-funded religion paid for by your tax dollars, rather than asking questions that do little to move the national conversation on faith in public life forward.
Not all questions related to faith and public life need be what, in other circumstances, would be a clear violation of the civil rights of our candidates.
The Interfaith Alliance Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State via thier joint project, First Freedom First, have come up with a list of better questions about the relationship of faith and public life.
The media might try them out sometime:
1) Leaders on the religious right often say that America is a "Christian Nation." Do you agree with this statement?
- Do you think Houses of Worship should be allowed to endorse political candidates and retain their tax exempt status?
- Do you think public schools should sponsor school prayer or, as a parent, should this choice be left to me?
- Would you support a law that mandates teaching creationism in my child's public school science classes?
- Do you think my pharmacist should be allowed to deny me doctor-prescribed medications based on his or her religious beliefs?
- Will you respect the rights of those in our diverse communities of faith who deem same-gender marriage to be consistent with their religious creed?
- Should "faith-based" charities that receive public funds be allowed to discriminate against employees or applicants based on religious beliefs?
- Do you think one's right to disbelieve in God is protected by the same laws that protect someone else's right to believe?
- Do you think everyone's religious freedom needs to be protected by what Thomas Jefferson called "a wall of separation" between church and state?
- What should guide our policies on public health and medical research: science or religion?
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