GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Ireland Votes To Abolish Blasphemy Laws

This past weekend voters in Ireland decided to abolish laws against blasphemy by approving a  referendum to remove the word "blasphemous" from the following clause in the constitution of the republic of Ireland:

The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.

There was also a 2009 law on the books (the Defamation Act of 2009) which included blasphemy as an offense and had never been used but came to public notice in 2015 when openly gay actor Stephen Fry was investigated by the Irish police (after a complaint by an unknown  member of the public) for saying on Irish television "The god that created this universe, if it was created by a god, is quite clearly a maniac, utter maniac, totally selfish." Fry's potential legal jeopardy put the issue on the map, which eventually led to the referendum this week in which 64.85%  voted YES (43% turnout) to remove blasphemy from the Irish constitution. The government will follow with legislation to implement the will of the people to abolish the "crime" of blasphemy.

Good news!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Partisan Differences In Religious Affiliation

From Five Thirty Eight comes this interesting analysis of a report from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) which discusses the implications from looking at the differences in partisan affiliation of various religious groups. There are opportunities and challenges for Democrats:

There’s also evidence in the report that young religious voters of color in particular may feel less loyalty to the Democrats than older generations did. Only 35 percent of Hispanic Catholics under the age of 30 identify as Democrats, compared to 56 percent of Hispanic Catholic seniors. Similarly, just 58 percent of black Protestants under 30 say they’re Democrats, compared to 79 percent of black Protestants over the age of 65.

and Republicans:

So far, having a base that’s composed overwhelmingly of one demographic group hasn’t doomed Republican candidates — white, conservative Christian voters have been the bedrock of the GOP base since the 1980s and helped deliver President Trump to the White House last year. In 2016, a whopping 35 percent of Republicans were white evangelical Protestants, 18 percent were white mainline Protestants, and 16 percent were white Catholics; together, those groups account for nearly 70 percent of the Republican base.

To me, the most interesting aspect of the report is the age breakdown of the "religiously unaffiliated" (which I would call "the godless").  The results are 34% are age 18-29, 37% are 30-49, 19% are 50-64 and 10% are 65+.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: In Mississippi, New Law Says Religion Trumps Civil Rights

What a shocker! More bad news out of Mississippi regarding civil rights and the equal treatment of all its citizens. Governor Phil Bryant, A Republican, signed House Bill 1523 into law on Tuesday. The bill, which goes into effect in July, is titled "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" and purports to provide people with "sincerely held religious beliefs" the right to deny services and public accommodations to certain people. But it is also to support only certain religious beliefs, such as:

The act states that the government cannot penalize an individual, organization, or business for acting according to the following "sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions": that "marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman"; that "sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage"; and that "male (man) or female (woman) refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth."

It looks flagrantly unconstitutional as well as discriminatory to me. It will be interesting to see if the response to Mississippi's bill mirrors the negative response North Carolina and Indiana have received for enacting similiarly bigoted legislation.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Americans Moving Away From Religion

NPR reported on a poll by the Pew Research Center which demonstrates that the United States is becoming less religious.  The findings can be summarized as:

• The share of Americans who say they are "absolutely certain" that God exists has dropped 8 percentage points, from 71 percent to 63 percent, since 2007, when the last comparable study was made.

• The percentage of adults who describe themselves as "religiously affiliated" has shrunk 6 points since 2007, from 83 percent to 77 percent.

• The shares of the U.S. adult population who consider religion "very important" to them, pray daily and attend services at least once a month have declined between 3 and 4 percentage points over the past eight years.

The key statistics to know is that the percentage of Americans who describe their religion as "nothing in particular" are now 23% of the population, up from 16%.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Poll Reveals Republicans Do Not Believe In Religious Liberty

Here at MadProfessah.com we are extremely interested in religious liberty, especially for those who are atheists agnostic or godless. A new exclusive poll from PPP for DailyKos.com reveals that Republicans (who seem to spend a fair amount of their time bleating about religious liberties) really don't seem to understand what taht term actually means.

Nationwide, more than a third of Republicans say that Islam should be illegal in the United States, according to a new PPP poll provided exclusively to Daily Kos Elections. Nearly half—a 44 percent plurality—say Christianity should be our official religion. 

[...] 

Lest you think this is solely confined to Republicans, smaller numbers of both Democrats and independents also admitted to wanting to outlaw Islam (15 percent of Democrats, 20 percent of independents) and make Christianity our official religion (28 and 24 percent, respectively). 

Overall, for all respondents, the share that supports freedom of religion in deed, not just in word, barely clears the halfway mark: Just 53 percent of voters oppose making Christianity the official religion of the United States, and only 56 percent think Islam should be legal.

As the post describes this result: It looks like we are "halfway to theocracy"!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Ben Carson Believes In A Religious Test For Public Office

Ben Carson is a retired neuroscientist running for the Republican nomination for President. He has made headlines in the last week for saying things that demonstrate his extreme religious beliefs and his dubious understanding of the U.S. constitution.

"I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."

Somehow, I don't think Dr. Carson understands (or maybe he disagrees with?) Article VI, Paragraph 3 of the United States Constitution:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz both responded informing Dr. Carson of the existence of the constitutional prohibition on religious tests for elected office in the United States. Cruz said "The Constitution specifies there shall be no religious test for public office, and I'm a constitutionalist." While Mrs. Clinton tweeted her response.

You know you might want to consider your position if both Senator Cruz and Secretary Clinton are both opposing you AND citing the U.S. constitution in support of their (op)position.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: John Oliver Demolishes Televangelists In Viral Video

This clip about "prosperity preachers" from HBO's Last Week with John Oliver has well over 4 million views on YouTube since it was put up on Sunday's show. It completely demolishes televangelists by depicting their methods for raising money from their gullible believers. In the segment Oliver creates his own church (Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption) to demonstrate the insanity of allowing tax-empt status for these charlatans.

STUDY: 52% Of Tweets Against SCOTUS Obergefell Ruling Were Religion-Based

An analysis of over 25,000 tweets by Crowdflower in response to the June 26th United States Supreme Court ruling Obergefell v. Hodges striking down state-based bans on same-sex marriage indicate that the majority of opposition is based in religion. Of course, the decision was about civil marriage licensed by the state, not religious marriages but people who believe in a mythical, omnipotent, omniscient "sky god" are not exactly the same group of people to recognize reality or reason.

Other key findings in the CrowdFlower report include:

SUPPORT OUTWEIGHED CRITICISM 4 TO 1 

Although overall Twitter sentiment was 55% positive, 32% neutral, and 13% negative, with neutral tweets excluded, positive opinions outweighed negative opinions 80% to 20%. 

WOMEN WERE MORE SUPPORTIVE THAN MEN 

While 86% of women and 72% of men were in favor of the Supreme Court ruling, 14% of women and 28% of men opposed it. 

THE EAST COAST HAD THE MOST SUPPORTERS 

Massachusetts (96% approval), New Jersey (87.3% approval), and New York (86.8% approval) were most vocal in their support of the Supreme Court ruling. 

SOUTHERN STATES HAD THE MOST OPPONENTS 

Although these three states still had more supporters than detractors, Alabama (50% disapproval), North Carolina (35.1% disapproval), and Virginia (31.5% disapproval) had the most naysayers. 

OVERALL SENTIMENT WAS POSITIVE IN ALL STATES 

For all states with a significant volume of tweets, the majority of sentiment was positive.

Are the heterosexual supremacists in theGOP looking at these numbers? Read 'em and weep! EVERY state was positive:

Boom!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Tennessee State House Passes Bill To Make Bible The State Book

Just in time for Godless Wednesday! Despite the Attorney General of the state saying clearly that the act would be struck down for violating the Tennessee  and United States constitutions, the State Assembly has decided to pass a bill declaring that the Bible is the "state book."

The Holy Bible is the official book of Tennessee in the view of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Despite questions of constitutionality, lawmakers beat back an attempt to make Andrew Jackson's Bible the official book and voted 55-38 in favor of Rep. Jerry Sexton's original bill.

Do these people even care that some people think "The Bible" is just an old book of Jewish fairy tales.

QUEER QUOTE: CA Proposed Ballot Measure Would Authorize Death Penalty For "Sodomites"

Wow. Now this is some pretty crazy stuff, even for heterosexual supremacists. A religious zealot has filed a proposed ballot measure called the "Sodomite Suppression Act" with the Attorney General of California that says "any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purpose of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or any other convenient method."

Matt McLaughlin filed the measure and paid the $200 fee required to get the ballot measure in the system. He then has to collect the signatures of 5% of the votes cast for Governor in November 2014. Because turnout was so low, the magic number is a mere 366,000 valid signatures to qualify an initiative statute for the statewide general ballot. I suspect we will see quite a lot of crackpot ballot measures filed seeking to make the November 2016 ballot.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: "Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" Admits He Made It All Up

The author of "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" has recanted his story, and the publisher is pulling the best-selling book from book shelves in response.

The Washington Post covers the story:

Referring to the injuries that continue to make it difficult for him to express himself, Alex writes, “Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short. … I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.”[...]
There is considerable disagreement about when Alex first recanted his testimony and objected to the book, which has reportedly sold more than 1 million copies.
Maggie Rowe, senior publicist of Tyndale, released an updated statement Friday evening, saying: “Earlier this week Tyndale learned that Alex Malarkey, co-author of ‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven,’ was retracting the story he had told his father and that he recounted in the book they co-authored for publication in 2010. It is because of this new information that we are taking the book out of print. For the past couple of years we have known that Beth Malarkey, Kevin’s wife and Alex’s mother, was unhappy with the book and believed it contained inaccuracies. On more than one occasion we asked for a meeting with Kevin, Beth, Alex and their agent to discuss and correct any inaccuracies, but Beth would not agree to such a meeting.”

Why didn't they just put the book in the fiction section where it belonged all along? How could people be so gullible? Oh, yeah, these are the same people who believe in all-seeing, all-knowing, entity who lives in the sky and follows human events continuously. Srsly.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Oklahoma's Ten Commandments Monument Destroyed By Vandal

This news story about the destruction of a monument of the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol caught my eye. There are multiple interesting aspects of the story, in my opinion. The very first was: Oklahoma has a monument to the Ten Commandments on state property? How is that legal? The second one was, "Good for you, vandal, for ending this violation of church-state separation, although I do not approve of your methods." Third was, I wonder who did it?"

It turns out the person who did it is not a godless heathen, but a different kind of crazy person. According to KFOR:

OKLAHOMA CITY – A man has been taken in for mental evaluation after allegedly vandalizing the Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol. 

U.S. Secret Service Agents say it all started after a man walked into the Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City Friday morning making strange threats against the President and Federal Government.
Agents say he then admitted to them that he crashed his car into the Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol, then left his damaged car and walked to the Federal Building.
The Secret Service says the man told them that Satan made him crash his car into the statue.
He also told agents that Satan told him to urinate on the statue.
According to investigators, the man says he is bipolar and had been off his medication for quite some time.

Interestingly the ACLU and the Satanists both condemned the man's actions, with the ACLU saying it was "outraged at this apparent act of vandalism" while the Satanic Temple says it still wants a monument next to the Ten Commandments one,"we want it to compliment and contrast the Ten Commandments, with both standing unmolested as a testament to American religious freedom and tolerance."

Wouldn't it just be easier if we followed the law and legal principle that the state shall not endorse or promote any religion by refusing to enact monuments with clear religious meanings on state property maintained by taxpayer funds? I'm jus' saying...

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Republican Congressman Sends Bible To Every Other Member

A Republican Congressman from Mississippi named Steven Palazzo is garnering headlines over his actions of sending a copy of the Bible and a letter to every member of Congress that says "I find that the best advice comes through meditating on God's Word. Please find a copy of the Holy Bible to help guide you in your decision-making."

Has this person never even heard of the concept of separation of church and state?

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Creationist Says "Aliens Going To Hell (So We Should Stop LookIng)"

*sigh* Creationist Ken Ham is the religious fundamentalist nut behind The Creation Museum (where humans and dinosaurs are shown frolicking together!). He debated Bill Nye on the topic of "creation versus evolution" this spring and issued numerous cringeworthy logic-free lines.

Recently Ham made headlines responding to NASA head Charles Bolden saying "It's highly improbable in the limitless vastness of the universe that we humans stand alone" by declaring:

"You see, the Bible makes it clear that Adam’s sin affected the whole universe. This means that any aliens would also be affected by Adam’s sin, but because they are not Adam’s descendants, they can’t have salvation."

So basically Ham is saying the search for extraterrestrial life should cease "because Bible." Umm, no. What if taxpayers don't agree with what you say your religious text says? Why should we make public policy reflective of what religious fundamentalists think about anything? Especially since they are willing to make statements that countermand demonstrable scientific fact.

Hat/tip to Huffington Post.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Percentage Of Godless Americans Doubled Since 1999

The ranks of the godless are growing! A recent Gallup poll indicates that up to 19% of Americans say they agree with statement "Humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in  the process." Sadly, 42% of Americans agree with the scientifically false statement "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time in the past 10,000 years or so." This is so disheartening for someone who is an academic and who has worked at the National Science Foundation. What are you people thinking?

Between 40% and 47% of Americans over the past 32 years have said the creationist explanation for the origin of human life best fits their personal views. These Americans tend to be highly religious, underscoring the degree to which many Americans view the world around them through the lens of their religious beliefs. Those who adopt the creationist view also tend to have lower education levels, but given the strong influence of religious beliefs, it is not clear to what degree having more education or different types of education might affect their views. 

A number of states have been embroiled in fights in recent years over the degree to which evolution and creationism should be included in their public school curricula. Residents in the South are more likely to believe in the creationist view of the origin of humans than are those living in other regions, making it clear why the fights to have creationism addressed in the public schools might be an important political issue in that region. 

Still, few scientists would agree that humans were created pretty much in their present form at one time 10,000 years ago, underscoring the ongoing discontinuity between the beliefs that many Americans hold and the general scientific consensus on this important issue.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

QUEER QUOTE: Pasadena's Public Health Director Condemns Homosexuality (& Oprah & Jay-Z!)

Oh dear! I live and work very near to Pasadena, California in the north-east section of Los Angeles. Pasadena is having its own "bigot eruption" right now as the virulently anti-gay (and bizarre) beliefs of
Dr. Eric Walsh, the City Director of Public Health have come to light in the local media.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Dr. Walsh has been put on administrative leave from his taxpayer-funded job, for which he was paid more than $250,000 in 2012.

The reason for his suspension is this list of things that Dr. Walsh believes, according to the Pasadena Star-News, should disqualify him from serving as Pasadena's Public Health Director

• Oprah Winfrey is harboring the spirit of the anti-Christ;• The prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, was influenced by Satan;• The devil set up Catholicism;• Acceptance of homosexuals is a satanic ploy to destroy America;• Rapper Jay Z is a disciple of Satan;• Single mothers are ruining their children;• Disney movies, which are loaded with violence, sex and magic, are a satanic ploy to split up families;• Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a “satanic belief”;• The distribution of condoms to a public in need leads to higher AIDS rates;• The pope is the anti-Christ.

But it is this choice quote which makes him today's Queer Quote:

“In our public school system they began to teach moral relativism. They began to teach that there really is no absolute right or wrong. It’s more a matter of what you think or what you accept. And (according to that doctrine) if two adults agree to do something, it’s not wrong because they are both consenting adults. That is doctrine from the pits of hell. What makes something right is not based on man, it is based on God.”

One website thinks that is basically saying that gay people come from the "pits of hell" but maybe that's not what the good doctor meant?
Hat/tip to The New Civil Rights Movement

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Religious Profiles of Democratic and Republican Voters Very Different

The Brookings Foundation released a report which analyzes the religious affiliations of the electoral coalition of the Romney-Ryan (Republican) and Obama-Biden (Democratic) presidential tickets in the 2012 elections.

John Hudak summarizes:

While diversity has been a key to Democratic success in recent presidential elections, it can also make coalition management difficult. The Democratic coalition is made up of the least religious Americans (17 percent of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated) and the most religious Americans (African-Americans). This is reflected in the religious and theological orientation of the parties. The relative homogeneity of the Republican Party means there are fewer tensions but points to long-term challenges, since younger voters are less religiously affiliated and more progressive on many social issues, particularly marriage equality.

The reports points out that there are advantages and disadvantages to the religious diversity found in both coalitions. As an atheist, I am happy that the Democrats are orienting themselves towards the least religious Americans.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Poll Says Religion Trumps Science For Most Americans

Ugh, chalk up another reason why I am a godless heathen: I believe in science, not mysticism. These results from a recent AP poll on the science literacy of Americans is simply embarrassing:

To the public "most often values and beliefs trump science" when they conflict, said Alan Leshner, chief executive of the world's largest scientific society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

[...] 

Political values were closely tied to views on science in the poll, with Democrats more apt than Republicans to express confidence in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change. 

Religious values are similarly important. 

Confidence in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change decline sharply as faith in a supreme being rises, according to the poll. Likewise, those who regularly attend religious services or are evangelical Christians express much greater doubts about scientific concepts they may see as contradictory to their faith. 

"When you are putting up facts against faith, facts can't argue against faith," said 2012 Nobel Prize winning biochemistry professor Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University. "It makes sense now that science would have made no headway because faith is untestable."

The key phrase in that excerpt for me is "Confidence in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change decline sharply as faith in a supreme being rises." That is basically all I need to know to put my faith in a supreme being at zero.

SCOTUS Denies Cert In Important Anti-LGBT Rights Case

Good news out of the United States Supreme Court today! The high court decided not to hear arguments in the case of Elane Photography v. Willock where the New Mexico State Supreme Court had ruled that the denial of photographic services  to a same-sex couple who wanted their commitment ceremony  by a private firm violated the state's anti-discrimination ordinance. The private company who denied the services appealed the unanimous state Supreme Court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying  that being forced to photograph the same-sex commitment ceremony violated their religious beliefs and should trump the public accommodations section of New Mexico's human rights law.

Slate reports and analyzes this case:

"The court has: A) reaffirmed the status quo [the justices still haven't stated that religious objections can be used to override anti-discrimination laws], and B) relieved gay rights activists, who dearly hoped the court would stay away from this case. It's just too messy. By my count, it involves at least four separate issues: Hybrid rights [i.e., free speech rights combined with free exercise rights]; compelled speech; photography-as-speech; and a religious objection to anti-discrimination statutes. It's just too much for one case."

LGBT groups are definitely happy that SCOTUS took a pass on this case, because the question of whether religious freedom can trump anti-discrimination statutes has still not been addressed by the high court. And with the Court currently considering whether corporations have religious freedom exercise
rights which exempt them from Obamacare provisions, this a question people in favor of LGBT equality are not confident would turn out the way we want.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

QUEER QUOTE: Mormon Big Wig Releases Non-Apocalyptic Statement On Marriage Equality

Neil M. Andersen is a member of the hierarchy in the Mormon Church so it is a big deal when he issues  a statement reiterating his religion's opposition to marriage equality which does not have apocalyptic (or homophobic) undertones. At the annual LDC meeting in Salt Lake City, the meme of the Quorum of the 12, the Church's highest body, said:

"While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not. He designated the purpose of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults, to more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared and nurtured."

Some may quibble with my characterization that today's Queer Quote is not homophobic, but compared to previous statements from Mormon leaders about homosexuality, this is very mild indeed. Previously, another Quorum of the 12 Member said that human laws can not "make moral what God has declared immoral."

The reason why this statement is a step forward is because it doesn't claim that the church's position on marriage or morality has to be the state's position on those issue for everyone. So, in that way,it is a step forward to acknowledging they have lost the cultural war and will only be making policy for adherents, not the rest of us. That's a good thing!