Roman Catholic bishops in Illinois have shuttered most of the Catholic Charities affiliates in the state rather than comply with a new requirement that says they must consider same-sex couples as potential foster-care and adoptive parents if they want to receive state money.

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Naama Margolese has become the face of a conflict over the influence of extremists in Israel after her story of being accosted by ultra-Orthodox men was reported in the media.

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Despite Supreme Court rulings in 1962 and ’63, prayer and Christian symbols are still present in some schools.

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When people find out I’m an atheist, the question often comes up about what I do during the Christmas holidays. There is an assumption that atheists don’t ‘do Christmas,’ so they are surprised when I say how much I love it.

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Christopher Hitchens died Thursday at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He was 62.

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Richard Dawkins will suggest this week that David Cameron is “not really” a Christian in an open letter to the Prime Minister attacking faith schools.

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Philosopher Alvin Plantinga argues that theism is compatible with science in his new book.

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The Roman Catholic Church in Italy is under growing pressure to start paying taxes on its massive property portfolio, in a move that could raise up to 800 million euros (£680 million) a year and help bail the country out of its economic crisis.

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A Saudi woman was beheaded after being convicted of practicing “witchcraft and sorcery,” according to the Saudi Interior Ministry, at least the second such execution for sorcery this year.

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Article discusses the tax exemption status of religion in the USA and in European nations; detailing the wide variety of financial opportunities that the clerics enjoy and exploit. The financial loss in revenue to the nations is calculated, and the conclusion opines that the money would gained would be useful in alleviating hunger and improving education.

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The fastest growing religious demographic is the “Nones”, with no religious affiliation.

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A new study finds that atheists are among society’s most distrusted group, comparable even to rapists in certain circumstances.

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Billboard campaign hopes to dispel atheist stereotypes by showing atheist families.

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Atheist bloggers have shown their charitable side by swarming to donate money to Doctors Without Borders, in what turned into the humanitarian agency’s biggest online fundraiser.

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Rick Perry’s new campaign ad attacks Obama’s “war on religion”.

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A growing number of biology and medical students are rejecting the very basis of their chosen subject in favour of creationism.

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A small Bronx evangelical church on Monday lost the final round of its 16-year legal battle to force New York City to permit religious worship services in public schools, setting the stage for the city to eject dozens of churches and religious organizations that have been using schools for prayer.

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The International Freethought Film Festival is a niche film festival for the bold. Promoting reason through film is its mission. Season two of the International Freethought Film Festival is now underway, and the Call for Submissions is open for IFFF 2012.

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A small Pike County church has voted not to accept interracial couples as members or let them take part in some worship activities.

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