As the U.S. Supreme Court today considers whether requiring employer-provided health insurance to include coverage for birth control violates employers’ religious freedom, Talking Points Memo looks at what right-wing Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in an earlier case: In 1990, Scalia wrote the majority opinion in Employment Division v. Smith, concluding that the First Amendment “does not require” […]
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The Day My Son Was Taught 'Bible' in a Public School
What happens when public schools cross the line by promoting personal religious views in their classrooms? One Texas parent — a religious studies scholar — explains what happened to her family in this cross-post (with permission) from Scribalishess. Susan M. Pigott is a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at a small, liberal arts university […]
High Court to Decide Whether an Employer's Religious Beliefs May Limit Women's Access to Birth Control
On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court will take up two key cases about whether employers’ religious beliefs give them the right to deny coverage for birth control in their workers’ health insurance plans. The two cases are Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., and Sebelius v. Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. The two for-profit companies in the cases are challenging […]
Tea Party Victor in Texas Senate Race Supports Private School Vouchers, Teaching Creationism in Public Schools
You might think it would be difficult for the Texas Republican Party to lurch even further to the political right. But you would be wrong, especially when it comes to public education. Wealthy real estate and car dealership magnate Don Huffines’ narrow defeat of incumbent state Sen. John Carona in their Republican Primary last month […]
Public Education Hater Rick Santorum to Speak at Texas Home School Coalition Gala
It’s one thing to support the right of parents to educate their own children at home. But are right-wing groups like the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) simply hostile to the concept of public education altogether? Sure seems like it considering that former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum will be the […]
