- One of the religious leaders urging voters to oppose the amendment is Rev. William Barber, President of the state's NAACP chapter, who has recorded a radio spot urging voters to vote against the "deceptive" Amendment One, which he says would codify hatred and discrimination into law.
- Culture Warriors vs. Sex for Pleasure: Why the Right Wing is Wrong When it Comes to Sex
- Study: Atheists more driven by compassion than highly religious people
Peter Montgomery, Religion Dispatches
Voters in North Carolina will cast ballots May 8 on an anti-gay initiative that would put into the state constitution a ban on same-sex couples getting married. The broadly worded initiative would also threaten any kind of legal recognition of same-sex couples, including benefits for domestic partners. WRAL's reporters have dug through the recent campaign finance filings and concluded that the anti-gay initiative is being pushed overwhelmingly by churches and religious nonprofits, while the opposition to the amendment is drawing most of its funds from individuals.
The biggest contributor to the anti-gay effort is the state-level Christian Action League, which has given $309,652.70, followed closely by the National Organization for Marriage at $302,589.52. Also notable are big contributions, $50,000 each, from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and Diocese of Raleigh. Also kicking in major contributions are the American Family Association $20,000, Bayleaf Baptist Church $19,130, and First Baptist Church (Charlotte) $15,000.
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Related:
Culture Warriors vs. Sex for Pleasure: Why the Right Wing is Wrong When it Comes to Sex, Lara Riscol, AlterNet
If prescribing to dogmatic absolutes worked, then the most conservative Christian red states wouldn’t have the highest rates of teen pregnancy, divorce and porn consumption.
Study: Atheists more driven by compassion than highly religious people, David Edwards, Raw Story
“Overall, this research suggests that although less religious people tend to be less trusted in the U.S., when feeling compassionate, they may actually be more inclined to help their fellow citizens than more religious people,” study co-author Robb Willer concluded.
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Police arrest retired Episcopal Bishop George Packard during an Occupy demonstration in December. Packard was among those trying to access a vacant lot owned by Trinity Episcopal Church in lower Manhattan. AP/Stephanie Keith
It was Packard’s second arrest as part of the Occupy protests. Last Dec. 17 he was arrested when he leapt over a fence in his flowing bishop’s robe to spearhead an attempt to occupy a vacant lot owned by Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. The December action by the Occupy movement was a response to the New York City Police Department’s storming and eradication of the encampment in Zuccotti Park. Packard will appear in court in June to face the trespassing charge that resulted. Now, because of this second arrest, he faces the possibility of three months in jail.
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Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than atheists, agnostics and less religious people, according to a new study.
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Speakers hidden behind the statue call to swallows at the mission in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Thursday, April 26, 2012. For most of its 230-year history, the Mission at San Juan Capistrano has been known for the cliff swallows that flock to the crumbling bell tower each spring to nest. In recent decades, however, what used to be swarms of swallows at the original Spanish mission have dwindled. (AP Photo - Chris Carlson)
Today (April 25), the Supreme Court is hearing a case about the constitutionality of Arizona's anti-immigrant legislation, SB 1070. It will be months before the case is decided but a broad spectrum of the Christian community already has their minds made up.
The Vatican has turned its fury toward the nation’s largest and most influential group of Catholic nuns accusing them of promoting “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith” for questioning the church’s stance on homosexuality and male-only priesthood.
