Reads of Reason (March 7, 2022)

Happy Monday!

Welcome to Reads of Reason, a weekly compilation of news-clippings that relate to our work advocating for the rights of nonreligious Americans and the separation of religion and government.

At the Secular Coalition for A merica (SCA) we know that being well-informed is a vital part of being an effective advocate. If there is an issue that inspires or concerns you, please reach out and we can take action as your voice in Washington D.C!

News We Care About
(Good to know for protecting the Wall of Separation)

SCOTUS Won’t Weigh Whether Christian College Profs Are Ministers—For Now (Christianity Today, 3/1/22)
A lawsuit against Gordon College will go forward in Massachusetts, but four
justices say the court will eventually have to clarify the “ministerial exception

Health workers’ vaccine mandate undone by religious exemptions (Politico, 2/28/22)
Several hospital executives said they believe they have to approve the religious exemptions for their employees.

Gov. Ricketts signs COVID-19 vaccine exemption bill (KMTV, 2/28/22)
Governor Pete Ricketts has signed a bill allowing Nebraskans to claim medical or religious exemption for the coronavirus vaccine if their employer requires it.

Dr. Ben Carson: Accepting church/state separation is a form of ‘schizophrenia’ (OnlySky, 3/1/22)
The former Trump administration official endorsed Christian Nationalism while speaking at the Air Force Academy.

How can religious schools and public money mix in Vermont? (VT Digger, 3/2/22)
In Vermont, many school districts pay tuition for students to attend private schools, known as independent schools, elsewhere in the state.

Ohio governor signs athletes’ religious expression bill (AP, 2/28/22)
Schools and school sports regulators could no longer require advance waivers or otherwise restrict participants’ religious apparel unless it causes a “legitimate danger” for fellow competitors, under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Mike DeWine. The measure was inspired by an Ohio teen disqualified from a cross-country race because she was wearing a hijab without a required waiver.

How is Russia-Ukraine war linked to religion? (AP, 2/27/22)
Ukraine’s tangled political history with Russia has its counterpart in the religious landscape, with Ukraine’s majority Orthodox Christian population divided between an independent-minded group based in Kyiv and another loyal to its patriarch in Moscow. (More from Religion Dispatches)

Secular Americans
(Who are we? What are we up to?)

In LA, ‘Atheist Pirates’ remove religious signs from public streets and overpasses (RNS, 3/3/22)
‘The only way we can have streets that are welcoming to all is if all religions can equally go through them and be on them without feeling like they are less than.’

Atheists more likely to hide beliefs if they're women, Republicans, southerners or were previously religious (Phys.org, 2/28/22)
Atheists in the United States are more likely to conceal their beliefs if they're women, Republicans, southerners or if they've previously been religious, according to new research from Rice University and West Virginia University.

An atheist called out religious hate speech. Facebook punished him for it. (OnlySky, 2/28/22)
Seth Andrews got temporarily banned after quoting the hate-speech of a Christian preacher in order to condemn it.

Commentary
(Everyone has an opinion...)

The Students’ Religious Belief Protection Act protects no one (OnlySky, 2/28/22)
Oklahoma religious belief protection legislation would criminalize teachers who in any way "oppose" any student's faith.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s religious liberty opinions won’t bother most American Jews (Forward, 2/28/22)
When it comes to matters of church and state, issues that have been front and center in recent Supreme Court nominations, Judge Jackson’s record is sparse — she has not issued a significant number of opinions on hot-button topics.

Why Was a Catholic Hospital Willing to Gamble With My Life? (Washington Post, 2/25/22)
More than 20 states are poised to ban or severely restrict abortion if the Supreme Court decides to overturn or undermine Roe v. Wade this year.

How faith-based abortion narrative omits Jewish values of reproductive freedom (Courier Journal, 3/4/22)
Judaism is one of the major religions in which the vast majority agree that decisions with respect to abortion should be left to the woman making the decision.

Why translating ‘God’s law’ to government law isn’t easy (The Conversation, 3/1/22)
Few readers of the Bible realize that the laws then were not practiced in the way many think of laws functioning today.

Why does Christianity still dominate the Democratic Party? (OnlySky, 3/4/22)
Caught between the seculars they have and the religious they still need, Democrats have to decide which side requires a pander.

Opposing Views
(Always good to know what others are saying)

How American Evangelicals helped make Putin’s Russia and how Russia became the darling of the American right (Religion Dispatches, 3/2/22)
The answer, as with most things wrong with the contemporary GOP, lies in the party’s almost complete takeover by evangelicals that began during the Nixon era.

Bannon, Milo, and Other Right-Wing Activists Are Hellbent on Transforming the Catholic Church (Mother Jones, 2/3/22)

"The ideological center of the Christian right—and thus the broader American right—springs at least as much from traditionalist Catholicism as from evangelicals who have commanded most of the public attention since the Reagan era."

The views expressed in the articles included in the Reads of Reason do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Secular Coalition for America or its coalition members--varying opinions may be included in an effort to inform our readers as much as possible. Please let us know of any feedback you might have!