Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1919

Alabama Lawmakers Will Propose Bill to Allow Teachers to Pray with Students

Earlier this summer, legislators in North Carolina passed Senate Bill 370, which (unnecessarily) reiterated the rights of students to express their faith in school. These rights were already protected under the law, but you can never appease religious voters too much…

The Republican-dominated House and Senate voted overwhelmingly in support of the bill, with plenty of Democrats helping them out. The Republican governor, as expected, signed it into law.

But there was reason to be worried because the bill included this line:

Local boards of education may not prohibit school personnel from participating in religious activities on school grounds that are initiated by students at reasonable times before or after the instructional day so long as such activities are voluntary for all parties and do not conflict with the responsibilities or assignments of such personnel.

According to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, that’s unconstitutional:

“When a public school teacher prays with students, he or she is endorsing religion,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Even if the prayer is supposedly ‘optional’ it amounts to coercion when a teacher joins in. The U.S. Constitution has been interpreted to strictly prohibit this sort of behavior, and it doesn’t matter that some lawmakers in North Carolina or any other state disagree.”

That coercion factor still applied even if the prayers happened before or after school. If a faculty member participated in a student-led prayer — let’s say a football coach or a strict teacher — it’s reasonable to think other students would be pressured to participate in order to remain on the adults’ good side.

AU sent a letter to school district leaders across the state reminding them of these issues.

…

Now, lawmakers in Alabama plan to do the same thing, because… Jesus.

The sponsors, state Rep. Steve McMillan, R-Gulf Shores, and Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, contend the bill would clarify a right Americans already have.

…

McMillan said the bill addresses prior court rulings restricting the ability of people to pray in school.

“We believe it will restore the rights of children to have voluntary religious activities in school,” he said.

It’s amazing how Alabama has solved all of its problems and they’re now working on legislation that just reinforces laws already in the books…

And the right to have voluntary religious activities in school was never taken away in the first place! Students can pray around the flagpole before school, have Christian clubs after school, and read their Bible during lunch. None of that was ever in doubt.

Once again, though, the bill includes the problematic passage allowing teachers to join students in some of these activities:

Gregory Lipper, senior litigation counsel for [Americans United], said the courts have ruled that teachers cannot participate. He said religious activities among students become less than voluntary when they see people in positions of authority taking part.

“It creates an undue pressure on students to join in,” he said.

But Dial, the Alabama bill’s co-sponsor, said barring teachers from praying would trigger a separate constitutional problem.

“How are you going to deny a teacher, and tell them they can’t pray?” he said. “You’re violating their constitutional rights.”

Let’s say it all together now: Teachers can pray. That’s not up for debate.

In case you’re wondering what the point of this bill is, I’ll just remind you that Sen. Dial, one of the co-sponsors, only narrowly won his Republican primary this summer. Rep. McMillan is running unopposed. But both undoubtedly want to shore up their Christian base.

(Thanks to Matthew for the link. Large portions of this article were posted earlier.)

Mizzou Offers Free Tickets for a Volleyball Game, but Christians Also Get a Special Discount… Somehow

The University of Missouri has a women’s volleyball game airing on ESPN’s SEC Network this weekend, so they want as many people in the crowd as possible to really sell that school pride to the viewing audience. The promotions team, as you might expect, is doing whatever it can to make sure those seats are filled.

That’s why they decided to offer free tickets to anyone who brought in a church bulletin.

We’ve seen restaurants pull that sort of thing before — the general rule is that you have to offer the discount to everyone who brings in any bulletin (including atheist ones).

You might also notice on that screenshot a link to a voucher for “Free Admission.” That was added only recently.

The Skeptics, Atheist, Secular Humanist, and Agnostics on campus (MU SASHA) noticed the original offer as well as the revised one and sent the promotions manager an email explaining the legal problems with the church bulletin discount:

We still feel that the original promotion is unnecessary and inappropriate; although not technically illegal, this practice shows a clear bias against those who do not attend church or those who do not believe. The voucher still requires prior knowledge and printing, whereas the church bulletin does not.

…

On behalf of all those unfairly discriminated against by this practice, in a legal sense or because of the message it sends, we respectfully request that you discontinue the church bulletin promotion for this weekend’s event and in the future. We look forward to hearing from you when you have decided how to remedy this issue.

In a separate email, they also asked what prompted the free voucher offer. Did people in the promotions department know they were doing something wrong and try to cover their butts? And how come the free voucher wasn’t offered in other instances with the church bulletin promotion?

We’re also very curious about what prompted the introduction of the free voucher earlier this week (between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon at some point, well after the initial church bulletin discount had been announced and advertised), as we cannot find any other instances of free vouchers being offered alongside church bulletin discounts in the past. Is this a new policy in response to the recent rulings that church bulletin discounts are illegal without other equal options?

The responses they received were less than satisfying. You can read the full back-and-forth exchanges here. Kudos to the group leaders for not letting this slide.

The big question I have is why the school continues running the church bulletin promotion when the voucher already gets you in for free. It’s completely redundant at this point — and MU SASHA’s right; it unnecessarily promotes Christianity at the expense of everyone else.

At this point, since the school is essentially giving away tickets, why not just forget the vouchers and bulletins altogether? Just say “EVERYONE CAN COME FOR FREE” and don’t even bother checking pieces of paper when people walk in. Or, if it’s too late to do that or they want to make *some* money on the game, why not just put up a statement on the site saying that bulletins from any religious or non-religious service will also be accepted?

I’ve sent my own email to the school asking that question. I’ll update this post if/when I hear back.

El Al Flight Becomes “11-Hour-Nightmare” When Haredi Demand To Be Shielded From Women

You’d think that El Al, the Israeli national airline, would know how to accommodate religious flyers, including the ultra-Orthodox. But the crazy (and the over-entitled) was strong on this flight:

An El-Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv was turned into an “11-hour nightmare” after hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers refused to sit next to women. According to those on board the flight descended into chaos because of their demands.

The flight was full with Israelis, secular, orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews — known as Haredim — flying home to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Even though the passengers had been pre-assigned seats before boarding, the ultra-Orthodox Jews refused to accept the arrangements because their beliefs required that men and women were segregated.

As the aircraft prepared to take off, the haredi men, distinguishable by their black suits and in many cases wide-brimmed black hats, stood in the aisles rather than sit down, delaying the departure.

Next time, if they feel that strongly about it, maybe they could consider chartering their own plane, rather than trying to make secular passengers of both genders conform to their over-the-top, religion-inspired sexism.

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

(Image via Shutterstock)

Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) Curriculum Teaches That Scientists Can Generate Electricity from Snow

Jonny Scaramanga, who’s written at this site about his fundamentalist education at an Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) school, has a new piece up at The Guardian with a stunning (yet not necessarily shocking) revelation from the ACE curriculum: It suggests that snow can generate electricity.

Scaramanga quotes a textbook called Science 1087 (aimed at 9th-graders):

Snowflakes also contain small air pockets between their spokes. These air pockets have a higher oxygen content than does normal air. Magnetism has a stronger attraction for oxygen than for other gases. Consequently, some scientists have concluded that a relationship exists between a snowflake’s attraction to oxygen and magnetism’s attraction to oxygen.

Job 38:22, 23 states, ‘Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?’ Considering this scripture, some scientists believe that a tremendous power resides untapped within the water molecules from which snowflakes and hailstones are made.

How can this scripture, along with these observations about snowflakes, show us a physical truth? Scientists at Virginia Tech have produced electricity more efficiently from permanent magnets, which have their lines of force related to each other at sixty-degree angles, than from previous methods of extracting electricity from magnetism. Other research along this line may reveal a way to tap electric current directly from snow, eliminating the need for costly, heavy, and complex equipment now needed to generate electricity.

Scaramanga asked a chemist what he thought about that theory and the response was epic:

“Bullshit on stilts” came his reply, in a brusque email pointing out that snow has no magnetic properties. The prospect of generating free electricity from snow, he added, “bears no relationship to reality”.

“No relationship to reality,” of course, is the pillar on which the entire curriculum rests.

(Image via Shutterstock)

Atheist Groups Will Hold Protest in Defense of Teen Facing Two Years in Jail for “Desecration” of Jesus Statue

Readers of this site are aware of a recent controversy involving a 14-year-old boy from Pennsylvania who thought it would be hilarious to take pictures with a local Jesus statue as if he were getting a mock-blowjob from the Lord:

He’s currently facing two years in prison for this supposed desecration — which is absurd, especially when you consider that his punishment would likely be less than that if he flat-out vandalized the statue.

This weekend, three groups — American Atheists, Pennsylvania Nonbelievers, and Truth Wins Out — will protest the desecration charge against this kid:

“In America, separation of religion and government is one of the foundations of the law,” said American Atheists President David Silverman. “While this teen’s action may have been distasteful to some, prosecuting this case at taxpayer expense is a clear abuse of the district attorney’s legal authority, and is a clear symptom of his personal bigotry against atheists, an alarming attitude for any prosecutor, and especially one in a state where 30% of the population is not religious. Blasphemy is not a crime and freedom of expression is a human right.”

The protest takes place at noon tomorrow near the steps of the courthouse where the teenager will be tried next week. There’s more information here.

If any of you attend, I would love to get your pictures and stories.

Friendly Atheist Podcast Episode 20: TAM2014: Steven Novella and Jon Armstrong

Our latest podcast guests are Skeptics Guide to the Universe host and neuroscientist Steven Novella and magician Jon Armstrong

Jessica sat down with them to talk about skepticism and the brain, our faulty memories, and how the placebo effect is not what you may think.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the podcast. If you have any suggestions for people we should chat with, please leave them in the comments, too.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, get the MP3 directly, check it out on Stitcher, or just listen to the whole thing below.

And if you like what you’re hearing, please consider supporting this site on Patreon and leaving us a positive rating!

Search For “Holy Water” Leads to Amputation For South African Man

A South African climber, Tsenolo Shadrack Rasello, whose foot got stuck on an unforgiving cliff, managed to summon a rescue crew via his cell phone, but to limited avail. Medical personnel were eventually called in to amputate the limb.

[W]orkers failed to free him by pulling on the leg, hacking at rock and pouring lubricant to try to get the limb to slip out. “‘Listen, if you have to take the leg off, take the leg off. But get me out of here,’” … the trapped man [said] on Saturday, midway through the three-day drama.

Rasello had been on a sacred mission:

[He] became trapped on Friday, when he was searching alone for “holy water” in the streams of the mountain range, deemed by some South Africans to have spiritual import, according to an account he gave to a rescue worker. He slid down the cliff after a talking snake startled him, he said.

I’m just kidding. It was a regular snake, not a talking one. ‘Cause a talking snake would be ridiculous.

(Image via Shutterstock)

Is Congressman Jared Huffman an Agnostic? “Perhaps,” He Told Stephen Colbert

In 2012, after the last election, we knew there were no longer any openly non-theistic members of Congress with the loss of Rep. Pete Stark. We also knew that there were 10 members of Congress (all Democrats) whose religious affiliations were “Unspecified.”

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) was one of them.

Last night, Huffman appeared on The Colbert Report (for the “Better Know a District” segment) and Stephen Colbert grilled him on the ambiguity of that label. He may have even gotten the Congressman to admit he’s not religious…

Colbert: I see you’ve listed your religion as “Unspecified.”

Huffman: Yes.

Colbert: Would you like to re-specify as Roman Catholic?

Huffman: No…

Colbert: Door’s always open.

Huffman: … nothing against Roman Catholics and I love your new Pope…

Colbert: Thank you very much. “Unspecified.” C’mon, grow a pair. What is it? What is it? Are you an atheist?

Huffman: I–I don’t know…

Colbert: Agnostic then?

Huffman: Perhaps…

Colbert: What is an Agnostic but an atheist without any balls?

Huffman: [Awkwardly nods]

Colbert: [Smiling] I see you’re choosing not to specify your response to that “Unspecified.” I’ll just put you down for heathen-slash-hellbound.

I know he only said “Perhaps,” but that may be the closest any sitting member of Congress has been to admitting s/he’s not religious in more than two years.

I’ve asked Huffman (or at least his staff) to clarify his beliefs. It would be incredibly important to millions of non-religious Americans to know that there’s at least someone in Congress who is openly non-religious.

Pharrell Williams: “It’s So Incredibly Arrogant and Pompous” Not to Believe in a Higher Power

Pharrell Williams, the singer/songwriter behind “Blurred Lines” and “Happy,” recently spoke to Stylist (a free weekly magazine in the UK) about his religious views, telling the interviewer not just that he believes in God, but that there’s something wrong with anyone who doesn’t believe in a higher power:

I wonder, does he considers himself spiritual – does he believe in a higher power? “I believe in God but I also believe in the universe… and I believe in that innate ability to make decisions and to exercise our feelings as human beings.

“How do you see all the stars and think there’s nothing else out there? It’s so incredibly arrogant and pompous,” he exclaims. “It’s amazing that there are people who really believe that. It’s unbelievable”…

…

“Every person who doubts is another person unconverted to better ways of thinking. So, with no conversation there’s no conversion. With no conversion, there’s no conviction. And with no conviction, there’s only confusion. You understand what I’m saying? If you don’t believe there is a change that is due to you then you will never, ever find it. Change won’t come and tap you on the shoulder. You have to be open for change.”

If someone can interpret whatever the hell he just said, I’d appreciate it…

But that first comment, about thinking there’s nothing else out there, is a straw man. There’s plenty of stuff “out there” and we only know about a fraction of it, but to insist that the mystery points to some Higher Power is completely misguided. There are plenty of reasons to be awed by the universe. God doesn’t have to be one of them. And you could argue it’s even more “arrogant and pompous” to believe that a Higher Power is looking out just for you.

Maybe the hat’s cramping his ability to think.

On a side note, since I’m talking about popular singers and their religious beliefs, you might remember that Cee Lo Green changed the lyrics to John Lennon‘s “Imagine” on a New Year’s Eve special a couple of years ago so that he wouldn’t have to sing “And no religion, too.”

(Image via Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com. Thanks to Justin for the link)

Canadian Secular Alliance Releases Video in Their Campaign to End Public Prayers at City Council Meetings

The Canadian Secular Alliance is getting ready to exercise its intervenor status in the Saguenay prayer case, in which Quebec Humanist Alain Simoneau is trying to have prayer and religious imagery in public meetings declared a violation of non-Christians’ rights to freedom of conscience.

At this juncture, the organization has decided to revisit the past experiences of three Canadian secularists who also sought to keep municipal politics inclusive by booting prayer out of public meetings.

They interviewed Veronica Abbass, Peter Ferguson, and the late Dagmar Gontard-Zelinkova, as well as Secular Ontario president Sheila Ayala, and pulled the interviews together to form this mini-documentary (followed by full-length raw-footage videos for context).

While it would have been nice if the filmmakers had chosen to interview anybody from outside of Ontario, a province that gets a fair amount of criticism for being so darn Ontario-centric, I can understand the choice of interview subjects. The video weaves together the separate legal fights in various parts of the province through Ayala’s Secular Ontario, then relates them to the Saguenay case. It probably doesn’t hurt that Canada is very big, the organization’s home base is in Toronto, and the video likely had to be made on a shoestring budget if it was going to function as a fundraising aid rather than eat up the already-available funds.

Canadians have a reputation for being polite and accepting, and for our federal policy of multiculturalism, so it’s a bit of a shock to see such a widespread failure to recognize why public Christian prayer at municipal meetings is really not a very Canadian way to conduct our local governance. The lack of inclusion impacts people of diverse non-Christian faiths as well as the whole range of non-believers, particularly in districts where the Lord’s Prayer is still used automatically and without much thought.

The Canadian Secular Alliance hopes that the video will raise awareness about the upcoming Supreme Court case and encourage people to contribute donations to help defray their associated costs. Those interested in donating can do so at the organization’s website.