Commentary

Thirteen state attorneys general are urging the federal government to broaden religious exemptions for private businesses under the White House’s contraception mandate, claiming the policy violates religious freedoms.

Put simply, the group believes any employer who says he or she objects to contraception should not have to provide contraceptive coverage.

Community. It’s a buzz word churches throw around and strive to manifest. Here are some examples:
‘We’re a community church!’
‘Have you been to one of our community groups?’
‘We have community outreach programs!’
‘Community prayer is open to everyone, join in!’
‘Community service projects, we do them!’

Prosecutors announced Monday that they would seek the death penalty against James Holmes, who is accused of shooting 12 people dead at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. last year.

“For James Eagan Holmes, justice is death,” the district attorney for Arapahoe County, George Brauchler, said in court.

One normally does not expect to hear a political attack during a sermon on Easter Sunday, but that's exactly what the congregation of St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., received this weekend.

"The captains of the religious right are always calling us back, back, back. For blacks to be back in the back of the bus, for women to be back in the kitchen, for gays to be in the closet and for immigrants  to be on their side of the border," Rev. Dr. Luis Leon said.

Andrea Lieber, associate professor of religious studies at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., will lecture and lead a discussion in two events at Gonzaga University on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins the evening of April 7 and ends the evening of April 8.

Lieber will speak on and invite discussion on the topic, “What Does the Holocaust Mean to You?” — starting at 5:30 p.m., April 7 in the Foley Center Library, Teleconference Room.

Please welcome Jim Downard to our team of contributors.

Downard replaces Thomas J. Brown as our Atheist writer and currently serves as a member of the Spokane Secular Society.

Story and parable are potent teaching tools. So far, Arlo picks up on all sorts of stories we tell, including biblical ones.