My God Can Beat Up Your God (Defining "Tolerance")

(This post is part of the annual Blog Against Theocracy. The twitter hatchtag is #AgainstTheocracy.) Tolerance is a worthy value, but it's important to recognize that different religious traditions do not share the exact same beliefs (not even under different names), that atheism is not just another faith (as the saying goes, atheism is not a religion any more than "not collecting stamps" is a

Surely the Constitution Must Match My Theocratic Beliefs

(This post is part of the annual Blog Against Theocracy. The twitter hatchtag is #AgainstTheocracy.)Rick Santorum's understanding of freedom of religion and the separation of church and state matches his understanding of almost everything else. Santorum's corruption should not be overlooked, nor should his vengeful hyper-partisanship, but what truly defines him is his combination of

Blog Against Theocracy 2012

If you didn't know, this weekend is the annual Blog Against Theocracy. I'll just go ahead and quote Blue Gal:This is a blogswarm dedicated to the separation of church and state.It is not a blogswarm against religion. Bloggers who believe in religion, and those who don't, are equally welcome here. What we share is a common commitment to the First Amendment to the Constitution and its guarantee of

The Meek Shall Inherit What's Left of the Earth the Mean and Dumb Destroy

For this year's Blog Against Theocracy, I wanted to revisit some infamous remarks by Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) during a set of March 2009 hearings held by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment: The key remarks are: The earth will end only when God declares its time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood. Shimkus has said

Theocracy is Authoritarian

(It's the weekend for another Blog Against Theocracy blogswarm. Blue Gal has more information. The twitter category is here. Here are my previous entries for Blog Against Theocracy and religion.)As First Freedom First points out, Freedom of Religion means "the freedom to worship – or not." The essence of theocracy isn't religion per se; it is power over others and authoritarian rule. In