Barrier Methods: The Church’s Ceaseless Opposition to Birth Control

I recently found myself on the air at FoxNews.com where I argued with a staff member from the Family Research Council about birth control and its availability. I pointed out that the pill had emancipated... Read More
Stuck in the Belly of the Beast: My Trip to the Values Voter Summit

Every fall I attend a large gathering of religious right activists in Washington, DC. Launched in 2006 and sponsored by the Family Research Council and other far-right groups, the Values Voter Summit has become the... Read More
Standing Up for Science: Taking the Evolution Debate to the Next Level

I recently received an email with a headline that made me do a double-take. It read: “Science Education Triumphs in Texas.” These days, I’m not used to science education triumphing anywhere—but in Texas? The Lone... Read More
Medical Emergency: Catholic Hospitals Usurp Patients’ Rights

You can’t expect that every hospital will provide all of the medical services you’ll need. Some procedures are so specialized that you might have to travel to get them done. Conversely, some procedures are so... Read More
The Religious Right and the Tea Party: Marriage of Convenience or Just a Passing Fling?

I spent two weekends in September attending conferences sponsored by religious right groups in Washington, DC. They were nothing if not eye-opening. The first gathering was sponsored by a new group called the Faith &... Read More
Messin’ With Texas: What We Can Learn from theTextbook Debacle

Texas has been in the news lately, and not in a good way. Its State Board of Education, which is firmly in the grip of the religious right, just took a meat axe to statewide... Read More
Of Declarations and Tea Parties: A New Birth for the Religious Right?

Late last year a collection of far-right religious leaders gathered in Washington, DC, to unveil something called the “Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience.” Named for the borough of New York City where it... Read More