Category Archives: Uncategorized

Preaching from reason: a contradiction in terms?

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

I was sympathetically reading this profile of the preacher of what the New York Times claims is New York’s largest church.  The Rev. A.R. Bernard has built his ministry around the responsibility of men, according to the Times, a message … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Religion and rights

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

A review of a new book by Simon Schama about American culture makes the usual argument that religion, not Enlightenment values, was responsible for abolishing slavery and expanding civil rights for blacks: The main weapon in both the fight against … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Mary avoids consubstantiation with a tortilla

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

The Virgin Mary has been spotted in a California restaurant griddle, which has since been retired from use and turned into a shrine.  No word yet from the Church about the authenticity of the sighting, though a local associate pastor … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 36 Comments

Gay marriage and unintended consequences

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

The biggest social problem in the U.S. today is the crime and academic achievement gap between blacks and whites. The academic achievement gap (several grade levels and 200 SAT points (old system)) distorts our pedagogy, academic hiring and admissions, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 245 Comments

Back to the Paleolithic

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Thanks to Mr. Stuttaford & Mr. Hume for their responses. A few points at random. •  (1) Is conservatism coextensive with libertarianism? You’d think so from reading the exchanges here. However, it seems to me there ought to be political room … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics, Uncategorized | 51 Comments

The Gay Marriage Thing

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Goodness, John, talk about jumping into a minefield… Anyway, FWIW, here are my two cents. To start with, it’s worth saying that if anyone had asked me for my views on gay marriage a decade or so ago, I would … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 45 Comments

The Search for Transcendence, or Whatever

Posted on May 2, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

The New York Times is running a piece today by Charles Blow in which he asks why so many of the children of the “religiously unaffiliated” turn to religion. It’s a mildly interesting question, but the answer is straightforward: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 40 Comments

SR Case Against Gay Marriage (cont.)

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Bradlaugh

The comment thread here has me wondering how many conservatives we actually have reading Secular Right. •  The 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868. The idea of gay marriage emerged from the lunatic fringe around 10 years ago, I think. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 174 Comments

Religious Left

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Why do we need a secular right blog? Well for one thing, because institutional religion, and religious institutions, are all too often cheerleaders for the multicultural Left. Case in point: Providence College. From a friend: Congressman Tom Tancredo will be making … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Gay marriage attitudes by the numbers

Posted on April 29, 2009 by David Hume

I know there are plenty of polls in regards to gay marriage, but I don’t ever see them broken out by religious attitudes. So I looked at the GSS at the MARHOMO, “Homosexuals should have right to marry,” variable for … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 10 Comments