Religious conservatives are pushing to have fathers take charge of their daughters' sexuality and 'sexual purity.' In the past, men effectively owned their kids and controlled daughters' sexuality. They are assuming authority over their daughters' sexuality as if it were a fetish -- as if that sexuality belonged to them, not to their daughters. The fact that the same isn't being expected of sons demonstrates that the program is misogynistic: it's not about reigning in premarital sex generally but about controlling the choices of women. Women's sexuality needs to be controlled because women need to be controlled.

 

Read Article: Protecting their Daughter's Precious Sexual Purity: Placing Responsibility for Women's Virginity with Fathers, Husbands

It's easy to find examples of evangelical Christians misrepresenting atheism in their apologetics, and even Catholic misrepresentations aren't uncommon. Orthodox Christians, however, don't seem to have as much to say. Maybe they are more secure in their beliefs than other Christians? Maybe their minority status in the West means they aren't as threatened by atheist critiques of religion?

I'm not sure that this means that Orthodox Christians have any better understanding of atheism; more likely, it's just that if they have no reason to think about atheism then they have no starting point to develop or express misconceptions. So what happens when an Orthodox Christian does try to engage in apologetics against atheism? Well, it's not a pretty sight.

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As part of their battles against all things secular and all things pagan, Christian Right activists have been working to eliminate Halloween celebrations in public schools. They don't like the idea that Halloween appears to be promoting witchcraft and think that they have a church/state separation case to make. They think that Halloween should be banned just like Christian religious celebrations aren't celebrated anymore.

Do they have a point? Halloween celebrations can be traced back to ancient religious practices, so it sounds like there could be a point there. On the other hand, there's little connection anymore between Halloween celebrations we know today and any current religious practices or religions -- not no connection at all, but awfully little. So what's the problem?

There are several myths here, all tightly intertwined for the apparent purpose of getting atheists to cease making uncomfortable and unwelcome criticisms of religion and theism. Religious believers, mostly Christians, are responding to atheistic critiques of religion by claiming that vocal, unapologetic atheists are analogous to religious terrorists and that criticism of religion is a form of religious intolerance. The implication is that believers shouldn't have to be faced with criticism.

 

Read Article: Atheists are Intolerant for Criticizing Religion, Theism