On September 23, Focus on the Family and the radical anti-gay organization Exodus International will hold an event at the Southwest Community Church in Palm Springs, CA. At the event, dubbed “Love Won Out“, the groups will “offer ways they say can help gays to change their sexual orientation. They will also offer family and […]

By Michelle Golberg
Phil Burress, who I debated last night in Cincinnati, is a clever man. He’s a leading Christian right organizer in Ohio, but to hear him, you’d think he was just an amiable, utterly reasonable family guy. After I left, I was kicking myself for not printing out news clippings before the event, because […]

For those of you who missed last night’s debate between DefCon advisory board member Michelle Goldberg and Ohio Citizens For Community Values’ president Phill Burress, an archived copy of the chat is now available.
I want to thank Xavier University for making this webcast possible, and more importantly our friends at UnderOneTent.org who put the debate […]

So anyone who was able to tune into our live audio broadcast of last night’s debate between DefCon board member Michelle Goldberg and emerging religious right figurehead Phil Burress now knows why we are so proud to affiliate ourselves with her.
Michelle combined an incredible depth of knowledge with her very quick mind, resulting in a […]

Tonight at 7 p.m. EDT, DefCon advisory board member Michelle Goldberg will debate Phil Burress, the head of Ohio Citizens For Community Values. The debate is being held at Xavier University, and is being co-sponsored by our friends at UnderOneTent.org.
DefCon will be broadcasting the debate live. You can pre-register here.
This debate will definitely […]

From the Guardian:
Philosophers, scientists and other intellectuals close to Pope Benedict will gather at his summer palace outside Rome this week for intensive discussions that could herald a fundamental shift in the Vatican’s view of evolution.
There have been growing signs the Pope is considering aligning his church more closely with the theory of “intelligent design” […]

D. James Kennedy, leader of the infamous Coral Ridge Ministries, has gotten himself in quite a bind. The outspoken religious right leader is at the center of a controversy over a documentary entitled “Darwin’s Deadly Legacy,” through which the televangelist seeks to expose the “chilling social impact of Darwin’s theory of evolution,” most notably by […]

This is incredible! Take a moment to see what happens to all those embryos that will not be used for embryonic stem cell research.
As most of you know DefCon ran an aggressive campaign this summer, targeting the religious right’s war on stem cell research, and fighting for the hope and health of millions of Americans. […]

The New York Times is reporting that scientists have found a way to move forward with embryonic stem cell research while also meeting the unnecessary demands of the religious right.
Biologists have developed a technique for establishing colonies of human embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos, a method that, if confirmed in other laboratories, would seem […]

On September 22nd, the who’s who of the religious right will descend on Washington D.C. to join in a massive “Values Voter” conference dubbed “The Washington Briefing.”
When I say everyone is going to be there I mean everyone. The attendees of this glorified Justice Sunday event include entire congregations from across the country, and the […]

A Sunday school teacher in Watertown, NY, has been fired from her position after her Church recently adopted a literal interpretation of the Bible.
From CNN:
The First Baptist Church dismissed Mary Lambert on August 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted [a Biblical] interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught […]

In an AP article entitled “Pat Robertson Laments Mideast Cease-Fire“, Robertson voices his outrage over the recent end of major hostilities between Israel and Lebanon:
“Israel went in, but what have they done? Is the word of Isaiah true? — ‘We writhed in pain but we gave birth to wind’ — I’m afraid so.”
So the conflict […]

Sen. Tom Coburn has long been considered one of the closest allies of the religious right, aiding in the shaping and implementation of much of their agenda from their attacks on women’s health to the affront on civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans.
Now he has inserted himself into the Ten Commandments debate, dedicating two […]

Christian Reconstructionism is among the most terrifying — and revealing — aspects of the religious right’s agenda. The theology is based on the notion that Christians must strive to control every aspect of society, including civil government, with the movement’s leaders often condemning the “heresy” of democracy.
AlterNet has posted a detailed expose on the recent […]

Dobson is launching a voter drive, based out of churches and focused explicitly on empowering the religious right’s political agenda.
From the LA Times:
As discontent with the Republican Party threatens to dampen the turnout of conservative voters in November, evangelical leaders are launching a massive registration drive that could help counter the malaise and […]