Ten Commandments Taken Down in Giles, Va

I've previously blogged about the situation in Giles County, Va, concerning hanging the Ten Commandments in the school. There's been a new development in the case that I wanted to state here. According to the Roanoke Times:

The board voted unanimously to replace the commandments with a copy of a page from a history textbook that mentions the Ten Commandments in conjunction with American government and morality. The commandments themselves do not appear on the page; they are represented by a drawing of two tablets.

I've read a photocopy of the  new document. It does detail that our system of government was influenced by Enlightenment thought and by Greco-Roman systems of government. I applaud both of those features, commonly denied by the Christian Right. Strangely, when discussing the Enlightenment influences, the document only references John Locke and Montesquieu. There are several others that would likely be worthwhile to mention -- Voltaire and Rousseau being perhaps obvious examples. Nonetheless, not everyone could be covered in the small space and perhaps this omission could be excused.

Discrimination

Polls show that the least trusted group in the United States are atheists. Want statistical evidence? I've got that.

First, there's the study from Minnesota:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1786422&page=1

http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheitsHated.htm

And then there are statistics on public attitudes about atheists in general: http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheistSurveys.htm

Christians constitute a full 81% of the country (and are, therefore, a very large majority). The largest group of Christians, according to Pew, are the evangelicals, comprising 26.3% of the American religious public (to be compared with the roughly 2% who are atheists, based on most estimates.)

I found this comical little quote from Pat Robertson:

And, despite being a member of the 2% who are atheists and belonging to one of the most hated groups in the United States, I feel bad for all the Christians that we liberals have whisked off to death camps. I mean, we really shouldn't be exterminating the Christians en masse.

Wait....... what the....???

Obligatory 9/11 Post

On this day, 10 years after the attack on the twin towers, there are a few things that are worth keeping in mind. First and foremost, is that those who suffered personal losses that day have my passionate sympathies. I didn't lose anyone that day, and would not be so arrogant to think that whatever feelings I have about it are even within an inch of the agony of those who did lose someone. Nonetheless, they have my sincere sympathies. If I were religious, I would be praying for them.

Respect Family's Right to Their Own Funerals

I cannot imagine a more egregious offence to the right of private citizens to their own beliefs than to force the inclusion of a particular doctrine at a funeral. Yet, this is precisely what certain lawmakers in Texas are trying to do. Everyone, regardless of religious persuasion or attitude, should have the right to be buried in whatever respect that they wish. Instead, certain Texas politicians are pushing for the mandatory inclusion of Christian iconography and ritual at the funerals of soldiers, regardless of the wishes of families or of the deceased.

As if Rick Perry's stance on science, religion, and their role in governance wasn't already morally despicable, lawmakers in his own state are now pushing for this rubbish. Take a look here.