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Tag Archives: Religious Freedom
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METRO | Some questions for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
Where do you draw the line on accommodating the religious beliefs of public officials? By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | June 30, 2015 SAN MARCOS — In his official opinion as the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton … Continue reading
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When conscience rules…
There may be a silver lining to religion-based attacks on the ACA. By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | January 28, 2014 The legal cases filed against the Affordable Care Act requirements that health insurance include contraceptive coverage … Continue reading
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Women vs. the Catholic Church, Round 2
Just whose rights was the Constitution written to protect? It is women, not institutions, who are at the center of this debate. By Marilyn Katz | The Rag Blog | January 20, 2014 Exactly whom — or what — do … Continue reading
Lamar W. Hankins : Alcoholics Anonymous, Nonbelievers, and the Constitution
Alcoholics Anonymous “praying hands” medallion. Image from Alternatives in Treatment. Alcoholics Anonymous, nonbelievers, and the Constitution AA proponents argue that the ‘higher power’ found in its steps can be whatever one wants it to be. Yet plainly religious practices go on … Continue reading
Lamar W. Hankins : Texas Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott’s ‘Demagoduery’
Kountze cheerleaders. Screen grab from ABC News. Image from Austinist.com. Gimme a ‘G’: Texas Atty. Gen. Abbott’s ‘demagoduery’ It is beyond conjecture or opinion: the Kountze cheerleader banners expressing religious views are government speech. By Lamar W. Hankins | The … Continue reading
Lamar W. Hankins : City Council and Religious Liberty in Central Texas
San Marcos, Texas, City Hall. Image from Wikimedia Commons.Nearly half of Austin-area citycouncils violate religious liberty It doesn’t take clergy to remind council members of their duties, and there is little evidence that clergy provide any more moral authority than … Continue reading
Lamar W. Hankins : Government Plus Religion is No-Win Situation
Image from Change Comes Slow.No one wins when governmentforces religion on everyone If public officials believe that religious worship is important, perhaps they should meet in a conference room before the meeting and pray together with their chosen clergy. By … Continue reading
Lamar W. Hankins : Texas Cheerleaders for Jesus
Kountze High School cheerleaders with banner at football game. Image from Atheist Camel.Cheerleaders for Jesus:Texas politicians jumpon religion bandwagon Can cheerleaders who represent the Kountze Independent School District, while acting in their official capacities as school cheerleaders, promote their personal … Continue reading
Marilyn Katz : What Every Woman Should Know (About Paul Ryan)
Rep. Paul Ryan faces moderator Martha Raddatz in the vice presidential debate. Photo by Saul Loeb / AFP / GettyImages.One sure thing:What every woman should know Paul Ryan has voted 59 times to support legislation that ranges from declaring a … Continue reading
Lamar W. Hankins : Playing Politics with Religion in Hays County, Texas
Photo by Alamy / The Telegraph.Hays County officials play politicswith religious invocation Individual rights of conscience and religious diversity cannot be maintained when the government promotes one religion over others. By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | October … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Hays County, Lamar W. Hankins, Public Prayer, Religious Freedom, Separation of Church and State
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Lamar W. Hankins : Religious Unrest, Violence, and Intolerance
Demonstrators outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, September 11, 2012. Photo from Reuters / MarketWatch.Religious unrest, violence, and intolerance A society where great umbrage is taken by large numbers of people to criticism of a particular religion and that umbrage … Continue reading
Lamar W. Hankins : Jessica Ahlquist and the Modern Day Puritans
Sixteen-year-old Jessica Ahlquist sued Cranston High School in Cranston, Rhode Island, for displaying an eight-foot tall prayer banner in the school gym. Photo by Gretchen Ertl / NYT / Facebook.‘City upon a hill’:Our modern-day Puritans andthe saga of Jessica Ahlquist … Continue reading
