GREENVILLE, S.C. — A leader of a South Carolina atheist organization has discontinued her online offer to attend the church of the highest bidder after the popular auction site eBay repeatedly removed her ad—and then apologized for the mistake. As previously reported, Eve Brannon, the president of Upstate Atheists, posted the offer on Ebay earlier this month in […]
TULSA — An Illinois man who plotted to bomb dozens of churches in Oklahoma two years ago has been found not guilty in federal court by reason of insanity. As previously reported, in October 2012, then 24-year-old Gregory Weiler II of Oak Village, Illinois was reported to police after staff at a motel in Miami, […]
STANFORD, Conn. — A retired United Methodist minister and former Yale Divinity School Dean is set to face a church trial in March for officiating his son’s same-sex “wedding” in 2012. Thomas Ogletree, 80, will stand trial on March 12 at First United Methodist Church of Stanford following complaints filed by fellow clergy who accuse […]
FLORENCE, Colo. — A California-based Christian legal organization has proposed a new policy to Colorado school district officials in an effort to sufficiently protect girls in one school district who state that they feel uncomfortable with a boy that has been using their restroom. As previously reported, according to the Sacrament0-based Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), […]
GREENSBORO, N.C. — A federal judge appointed by Barack Obama has struck down North Carolina’s ultrasound law as unconstitutional and potentially harmful to pregnant women. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagle issued her opinion on Friday, asserting that the regulation was “an impermissible attempt to compel [abortion] providers to deliver the state’s message in favor of […]
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Extension has removed all of the Gideon Bibles from its conference center guest rooms at the urging of an atheist activist organization. The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) states that it received a complaint last November from a visitor to the university’s Lowell Center, who noticed the […]
RICHMOND, Va. — A Senate committee in Virginia has narrowly approved a bill that seeks to protect the religious rights of students in public schools. Senator Bill Carrico (R-Grayson County) recently introduced SB 236 as part of his longtime fight for faith in the public arena. The legislation, passed 7-6 by the state Education and […]
AUGUSTA, Maine — A senator in Maine has introduced a religious freedom bill that seeks to protect the people from unlawful government actions. Senator David Burns (R-Whiting) unveiled the legislation, LD 1428, on Thursday before the Maine House Judiciary Committee. More than 100 supporters gathered outside the state house to rally for the bill, and […]
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A nationally-recognized atheist activist group is demanding that officials with a Florida city remove a 40-year-old Bible from city hall chambers. The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) recently sent a letter to officials in Pinellas Park, Florida on behalf of local businessman Randy Heine, who states that the Bible […]
OAKTON, Va. — A group of three Muslim homeschooled middle school students from Virginia are petitioning the White House for recognition of Islamic holidays in public schools nationwide. According to The Muslim Link, Sumayyah McTaggart of Great Falls, Iman Hazer of Dunn-Loring and Fatimah Dandashi of Falls Church created the petition for a civics class […]