The Devil Went Down To Detroit

Via World Net Daily:

After weeks of speculation and protests by Christian leaders in Detroit, the unthinkable took place. Just after 11 p.m. on July 25, a satanic organization unveiled a 9-foot statue of the goat-headed Baphomet, a pagan symbol of Lucifer. The 1-ton statue features two young children looking up adoringly at the devil. Leaders of the Satanic Temple have been saying for weeks they planned to unveil the statue somewhere in Detroit and leave it there temporarily before moving it to Arkansas, where they plan to set it beside the Ten Commandments at the State Capitol. This is the same statue they attempted to erect months ago in the Oklahoma State Capitol. Nine Detroit preachers have done battle with the Satanic Temple, protesting the statue being brought to their city and pleading with the city not to allow it. “They got kicked out of Boston, Oklahoma didn’t want them, they tried to put (it) up in Florida, that was shut down,” said David Bullock of Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church in Detroit at a recent news conference. “Now they come to Detroit. Why do they come to Detroit? We gather together to stand, as one unit, against this demonic spirit,” said Pastor Don Shelby of Burning Bush International Ministries.

World Net Daily either doesn't know or doesn't care that the Satanic Temple is actually a group of atheist pranksters opposed to religious icons on public property. WND points their readers to the website Church Militant, which "infiltrated" the statue's unveiling party.

Before the unveiling, the announcer denounced the protestors who had shown up outside the original venue — in addition to ChurchMilitant.com's presence and our conspicuous six-foot-tall statue of St. Michael secured to a flatbed truck, two women were also present holding up a large banner with an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At 11 p.m., two men in leather S&M attire grabbed each side of the sheet and yanked it off, to loud applause and shouting. The men then stood directly in front of the monument and began kissing lewdly while the crowd cheered, and afterwards a steady stream of VIP ticketholders — who had paid $75 for the chance to approach the statue — took turns sitting on Baphomet's lap while engaging in sexual groping, mostly homosexual in nature. Outside, ChurchMilitant.com staff drove the St. Michael statue around the venue three times while reciting the St. Michael prayer.

VIDEO: Church Militant founder Michael Voris spoke to local news outside the event. Five years ago I reported that Voris was calling for a "benevolent Catholic dictatorship in the United States." 

The Rise Of The Nones: 23% Of Americans Now Atheist Or Unaffiliated With Religion

Via Pew Research:

Christians are declining, both as a share of the U.S. population and in total number. In 2007, 78.4% of U.S. adults identified with Christian groups, such as Protestants, Catholics, Mormons and others; seven years later, that percentage has fallen to 70.6%. Accounting for overall population growth in that period, that means there are roughly 173 million Christian adults in the U.S. today, down from about 178 million in 2007.

The decline of Christians in the U.S. has corresponded with the continued rise in the share of Americans with no religious affiliation (religious “nones”). People who self-identify as atheists or agnostics (about 7% of all U.S. adults), as well as those who say their religion is “nothing in particular,” now account for a combined 22.8% of U.S. adults – up from 16.1% in 2007. The growth of the “nones” has been powered in part by religious switching. Nearly one-in-five U.S. adults (18%) were raised as Christians or members of some other religion, but now say they have no religious affiliation.

There are clear differences between certain demographic groups when it comes to religious affiliation. For example, younger adults are far more likely than older Americans to identify as religious “nones,” and men are more likely than women to be religiously unaffiliated. But despite these differences, the major trends seen in American religion since 2007 – the decline of Christians and rise of the “nones” – have occurred in some form across many demographic groups, including men and women, older and younger Americans, and people with different levels of education and different races and ethnicities.

The study also shows that Muslims now make up 0.9% of the population.

UPDATE: The Center For Inquiry celebrates.

"America is transforming before our eyes," said Ronald A. Lindsay, President and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. "We are witnessing a tectonic shift from a nation nearly unified in its religiousness a generation ago, to an America where increasing numbers of Americans are rejecting religious doctrines and are living lives largely free of religious influence."

"While it's important to acknowledge that not all of the 'Nones' are nonbelievers, this sharp decline in religious affiliation points to a growing embrace of religious doubt among Americans," said Lindsay. "Whether they consider themselves spiritual or atheist, the willingness to inquire and question religious assumptions is a promising sign for our nation's future. We need critical thinkers, not followers."

Added Lindsay, "Millennials make up the most secular generation America has ever known, which means that year by year, the grip of religion on American policy and culture will only continue to loosen. And a more secular America will be one that is closer the America envisioned in our founding documents: a nation governed by reason, whose policies are not influenced by religious beliefs."

Happy Openly Secular Day

(Tipped by JMG reader Doug)

Freedom From Religion Foundation Runs Full-Page Anti-RFRA Message In NYT

The above message ran in Sunday's New York Times.

Barney Frank To Atheist Politicians: Stay In The Closet About Your Atheism

WISCONSIN: Madison Becomes Nation's First City To Explicitly Protect Atheists

Via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

In what is believed to be a first in the nation, the Madison City Council has voted to amend the city's equal opportunities ordinance to make "nonreligion" a protected class. The ordinance, which was approved Tuesday night, adds atheists to the official list of people who could face discrimination. It comes as Indiana is facing a firestorm of criticism over its new "religious freedom" laws amid charges that it is a thinly disguised attempt to permit discrimination against gays. "This is important because I believe it is only fair that if we protect religion, in all its varieties, we should also protect nonreligion from discrimination. It's only fair," said Ald. Anita Weier, the bill's chief sponsor, Madison's WISC TV reported. It was sponsored by 14 of the council's 20 members. Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said the Madison ordinance wasn't necessary. "I figured it was an April Fool's joke. Unfortunately it's not an April Fool's Joke," Appling said. "It's very Madisonian." Todd Stiefel, chairman of the Ohio-based nonprofit Openly Secular, called the Madison vote "magnificent."

RELATED: The above-quoted Julaine Appling, you may recall, had a delicious meltdown when same-sex marriage was legalized in her state. She has predicted that Wisconsin's ban will be reinstated when SCOTUS rules in June.

GREECE: Atheist Prime Minister "Politely" Rebuffs Clergy For Swearing-In Ceremony

Via the Economist:

Greece's new prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, made history within hours of his victory by informing the Archbishop of Athens, very politely, that clerical services would not be required for his swearing-in ceremony. An avowed atheist who has nonetheless made a point of dealing courteously with senior clergy, Mr Tsipras lost no time in making known that his oath of office would be a secular procedure. It was also explained that when the whole cabinet was sworn in, a more junior cleric (but not the archbishop) would be invited to assist those who wished to take a religious oath.

It's hard to overstate what a rupture this marks with the ceremonial culture of Greece. For as long as anybody can remember, every senior office-holder, from socialists to right-wing dictators, has assumed the post with a ritual involving Bibles, crosses and often holy water, sprinkled about with a sprig of basil. The opening words of the Greek constitution recall the theological formulas of the early church which predate by the Hellenic state by more than 1,300 years: "In the name of the holy, consubstantial and indivisible Trinity......"

An Orthodox Christian leader praised Tsipras for declining to take a "false oath." (Tipped by JMG reader Rob)

Richard Dawkins Reads Anti-Gay Hate Mail

Pure gold. Audio is definitely not work-friendly.

(Via Towleroad)

Headline Of The Day

Glenn Beck's readers are ever so pissed. In case you don't know, the Satanic Temple is actually an atheist pranking group.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Mythmas

"Keep the yuletide gay. If your son is, keep him locked away."

(Tipped by JMG reader Doug)

Atheist Kids' Songs

Tweet Of The Day - Sen. Cory Booker

Stand by for the outrage.

An American Pastor In Scandinavia

Via Addicting Info:

Pastor Marty McLain, who describes his religious belief as deriving from a literal interpretation of the Bible, was given the opportunity to see how secular Scandinavia is by a documentary series called The Norden. The concept is simple: find narrow-minded Americans and throw them into countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark and watch them have panic attacks. It actually sounds like a lot of fun. McLain wanted to use his time in the north to explore how Scandinavians worship God. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that most of them don’t.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jerry)

PENNSYLVANIA: Atheist Protest Of Jesus Statue Charges Meets Counter-Protesters

Remember the teenager in Pennsylvania who faces two years in juvenile detention for posing on a statue of Jesus? This happened this weekend:

A successful protest, where several dozen people rallied in favor of free speech, was marred on Saturday, when a belligerent group of counter protesters, including two from what appeared to be a motorcycle gang, crashed the demonstration and threatened those in attendance, including a 14-year old boy arrested for “desecrating” a Jesus statue and Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. Incredibly, there was not a single police officer on-hand to prevent potential violence and this left the protesters vulnerable to thugs and forced them to fend for themselves. “The Bedford police placed us directly in harms way and their inaction nearly caused a full-blown melee,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “This is the first time in two decades of protesting that I’ve been put directly in harm’s way by town officials. We call on Bedford to immediately review its policies for protecting the free speech rights of those who demonstrate in their town.”

From the clip recap:

Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen, American Atheists President David Silverman and Pennsylvania Nonbelievers President Brian Fields all three organizations came together, held a press conference and a demonstration in Bedford, Pennsylvania, to speak out for freedom of speech and freedom of religion for all after hearing of a fourteen year old child is being tried in juvenile court in Bedford on October 3 2014 for “desecrating” a Jesus statue after pictures were posted on Facebook.

Things start to get heated around the 8:00 mark.

Pat Robertson Has The Air Force Sadz

Pat Robertson is denouncing the Air Force for caving to "one little Jewish radical" and dropping its "so help me God" oath requirement. That Jewish radical, Mikey Weinstein, responds at Friendly Atheist: "Pat Robertson is to human dignity and sanity and integrity and character what dog shit is to a fine French restaurant on the menu." Snork!

Bryan Fischer Has The Air Force Sadz

Air Force Drops "So Help Me God"

After an atheist airman complained that he was denied reenlistment because he refused to say the "so help me God" portion of the oath, the Air Force has dropped that requirement.

Following a review of the policy by the Department of Defense General Counsel, the Air Force will now permit airmen to omit the phrase, should they so choose. That change is effective immediately, according to an Air Force statement. “We take any instance in which Airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said in the statement. “We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our Airmen’s rights are protected. “The Air Force will be updating the instructions for both enlisted and commissioned Airmen to reflect these changes in the coming weeks, but the policy change is effective now. Airmen who choose to omit the words ‘So help me God’ from enlistment and officer appointment oaths may do so.”

The Air Force was the only military branch with such an oath.

Frothy Mix: Make Secularism A Religion So That It Can Be Banned In Public Schools

"The idea that if you take religion out of the public square, if you take the Bible out of the classroom, that that’s neutral - well, no it’s not neutral! It’s a different worldview. I think we should start calling secularism a religion. Because if we did, then we could ban that too, because that’s what they’ve done. They’ve hidden behind the fact that the absence of a religion is not a religion of itself, which, in fact it is, because it has certain moral values and certain teachings that look like a type of moral worldview. So what we have to start doing as Christians is reassert ourselves and say, 'You know what? The freedom of religion is not the freedom from religion.' We should be in the public square. We should be taught in the schools. We should be an open marketplace of ideas instead of throttling one perspective out of the fear it being offensive to someone." - Likely 2016 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, speaking today on the radio show of Bryan Fischer, who has declared that the First Amendment only applies to Christians.

American Family Association: Atheists Should Be Banned From US Military

"This is an absolutely foundational, non-negotiable, bed-rock American principle: there is a Creator - with a capital 'C' (you could look it up) - and he and he alone is the source of the very rights the military exists to protect and defend. An individual who does not understand and believe this has no right to serve in the U.S. military. Military service should rightly be reserved for those who believe in and are willing to die for what America stands for - and what America stands for is a belief in God as the source of our rights. A man who doesn't believe in the Creator the Founders trusted certainly can live in America without being troubled for being a fool. But he most certainly should not wear the uniform." - Bryan Fischer, writing for the American Family Association.

RELATED: There is a very freepable poll at the link.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: The American Family Association declares that the First Amendment only applies to Christians. The American Family Association calls for banning Muslims from the military. The American Family Association calls for deporting all Muslims from the United States. The American Family Association declares that Native Americans are "morally disqualified" from owning property in the United States. The American Family Association calls for criminalizing homosexuality in the United States. The American Family Association calls for criminalizing all sex outside of marriage in the United States.

Air Force Rejects Airman For Refusing To Swear "So Help Me God" At Reenlistment

Via the Air Force Times:

An atheist airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada has until November to change his mind and swear a reenlistment oath to God, the Air Force said. The unnamed airman was denied reenlistment Aug. 25 for refusing to take an oath that concludes with the phrase “so help me God,” the American Humanist Association said in a Sept. 2 letter to the inspectors general for the Air Force and Creech. In her letter, Monica Miller, an attorney with the AHA’s Apignani Humanist Legal Center, said the airman should be given the choice to reenlist by swearing a secular oath. She said the AHA will sue if the airman is not allowed to reenlist. In a Sept. 5 email, Air Force spokeswoman Rose Richeson said the airman is still serving and will continue to do so for at least two more months. “The airman’s term of service expires in November 2014,” Richeson said. “He has until this time to complete the Department of Defense Form 4 in compliance with the Title 10 USC 502.”

The Air Force says it can do nothing unless Congress changes the statute which demands that all Air Force enlistees swear allegiance to God. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)