Religion – Page 18 – Doug's Views

August 1, 2012April 18, 2020

If You Support LGBTs Then Don’t Spend Money That Will Be Used To Hurt Them

There has been a lot of ink and electrons spent about the controversy over Chick-fil-A and its CEO supporting anti-gay groups and causes. I’ve known for a couple of years that Chick-fil-A was not a friend of the LGBT community and have chosen not to spend my money at any of their stores. There has been the typical conservative backlash. My feeling is if you support LGBTs then don’t spend money that will be used to hurt them.

The controversy got started earlier in the month when owner Dan Cathy made public statements against gay marriage which also brought out the fact that the company donated millions of dollars to anti-gay groups. The public relations dust up caused the Jim Henson company to pull out of a kids meal promotion and the outrage overflowed onto many articles in print and on the Internet from the LGBT community and its allies.

July 17, 2012April 18, 2020

Boy Scout’s Anti-LGBT Policy Drips With Religious Right Bigotry Code Words

On June 7th the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) reaffirmed their policy to deny membership to LGBT people. There was a chance they would reconsider but the consensus of a secret committee decided it was “absolutely the best policy” for the organization. Once again religious right bigotry trumps the actual American values that the BSA claims it is teaching to the boys.

July 15, 2012April 18, 2020

Should Circumcision On A Child Be Criminal?

Earlier this month a German court banned the practice of circumcision on the grounds it causes bodily harm to babies. The decision upset Jewish and Muslim communities in Germany because they claimed making the ritual criminal violated their religious freedom. While I believe that circumcision on babies shouldn’t be performed by the medical community unless the child consents or it is medically necessary, I’m not sure if the practice by religious practitioners should be made criminal.

July 8, 2012April 18, 2020

Barbara Walters Heaven Special Includes Token Atheist Response

Ellen Johnson and Barbara Walters

The July 6th special 20/20 episode all about “Heaven” gave about 2 minutes and 30 seconds for the atheist view. Even though it was a token amount, it was more time than I thought they would give to non-believers.

When I saw the title of the special edition of the ABC news magazine 20/20, I assumed it would be religious cheerleading the whole time even if journalist Barbara Walters was presenting the story. I almost decided not to watch it at all but then I wanted to prove how bigoted the show would be so I put it on DVR and scanned though it over the weekend.

June 28, 2012April 18, 2020

New Secular Woman Group Debuts

Normally I frown on creating new freethought groups because we tend to see new ones pop-up for no real reason but Secular Woman is a group our community needs to have. It will serve a group of non-religious people that tend to be under served or marginalize even within the freethought movement. I like their mission and value statements and the fact that even as a man I can join if I want to support their goals.