Well they love him! It wasn’t long before the religious right let loose a loud “Hooray!” After all, it took a lot of hard work to get a nominee that supports so much of their agenda.
For full coverage see statements by Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, and James Dobson. Gary Bauer and Phyllis Schlafly also made […]

Let the flurry begin. This time around it seems the guessing caps can be retired.
What we know about Samuel Alito at this point:

Opponent of personal freedom. Opposed a decision to overturn a PA law requiring a woman to notify her husband before obtaining an abortion under certain circumstances.
Unclear on the establishment cause. […]

Story’s in today’s New York Times and Washington Post highlight the real ramifications of Kansas’ decision to rob their students of a true science education, as the National Academy of Science and the National Science Teachers Association have revoked the state’s right to use key educational materials produced by the organizations.
NSA and NSTA are right […]

According to Tony Perkins, Miers’ “graceful withdrawal” has given the president a “golden opportunity” to nominate “a strong judicial conservative, an unquestioned champion of judicial restraint.”
So here’s the question, will he seek to appease the outspoken conservatives who clearly had the power to force the withdrawal of an unfit candidate (in their opinion), or is […]

On Nov. 8, Texans will vote on whether to amend the state’s constitution to define marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.
Never mind that a controversy has arisen over whether the amendment’s language may actually invalidate pre-existing marriages between a man and a woman, or that the Ku Klux Klan is holding […]

Two weeks from today voters across the country will head to the polls to decide on issues ranging from child custody laws to school funding. Several states however will decide on issues of personal freedom and equal rights.
One of the more astounding is an attempt to roll back the rights of homosexuals in Maine, […]

By Frederick Clarkson
The Religious Right rose to power while most of the nation remained somnambulant. Books and articles were written; film documentaries broadcast; and activist and scholarly seminars and conferences held — but most of our leading institutions have had little to no response. Fortunately, this is changing. Leaders of major religious and secular […]

Some big articles out over the last few days:
The Washington Post reported this morning that the Judiciary Panel may soon call on James Dobson to testify during the Miers confirmation process. This move by the committee is the right one. But it yet again highlights the religious right’s undue influence and access to our nation’s […]

Have some fun with the religious right this weekend.
Check out this daily religious right quiz, brought to you by Holier Than Thou.
Let’s see how everyone does. Answer today through Tuesday’s questions (that’s 10 in all) and give yourself a point per question.
I got 6 right. How about you?

The Dover School Board began arguments on Monday, defending the teaching of intelligent design in their school district. Yesterday, for a third day in a row, Michael Behe testified in support of this pseudoscience.
For those not in the know, Behe – who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry — teaches at Lehigh University and […]

Hopefully most of you have seen DefCon’s new feature on Dispensationalism. The introduction of the feature on the site has been book marked nicely, both by a piece on Dispensationalism in last Sunday’s New York Times, and by the release tomorrow of the third installment of the “Left Behind” movie series, which will be screened […]

By Frederick Clarkson
Rev. John Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ acknowledged on Friday what mainline protestant church leaders have been reluctant to address for two decades: the rightist Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) and allied groups are seeking to undermine if not destroy the mainline Christian churches in the United States. […]

By Chris Mooney
In my book The Republican War on Science, I argue that today’s GOP is, in essence, waging a systematic attack on scientific expertise in order to appease two key constituencies: regulated industry and religious conservatives. The fascinating thing about this “war” is that it’s highly opportunistic: Not all of science is attacked, and […]

By Chip Berlet
A group of ultraconservative political operatives have harnessed a particular reading of Biblical prophecy, known as Premillenial Dispensationalism, (embraced by tens of millions of evangelical Christians) and transformed these beliefs into campaigns to deny basic rights to groups of people framed as sinful and subversive.
Premillennial means a belief that Jesus Christ returns in […]

Let’s start today with a quote.
President Bush: “People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers. … They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers’ life is her religion.”
Here is another quote.
Article VI of the US Constitution: “No religious test shall ever […]