These Mississippi Christians Are Absolutely Right on Immigration Law

I don't get to highlight my agreement with Christians in Mississippi very often, so why not take advantage of one such opportunity? According to the Clarion-Ledger leaders from four Christian denominations in our state are asking legislators to reject the immigration bill (Senate Bill 2179) modeled after the "papers please" law in Arizona. I agree completely. The rest of the country already regards Mississippi as a hotbed of intolerance. This law is the last thing we need.

In an open letter to legislators and Gov. Haley Barbour, the bishops said the U.S. immigration system is "broken and outdated," but should be reformed by the federal government, not by states.

I couldn't help noticing that the Southern Baptists are not among the denominations opposing this bill. Since it seems like they run this state, that is not particularly encouraging. Still, it is nice to see an issue on which I can agree with some of my Christian neighbors.

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Louisiana High School Student Takes Stand Against Creationism

As far too many adults in Louisiana seem determined to push their fundamentalist Christianity on the state's children, it has fallen to a high school student to fight for reality-based science education. Zack Kopplin, a senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, is at the forefront on efforts to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA). Passed in 2008, the LSEA encourages public school science teachers to include creationism in their classes.

It is great to see that efforts are underway to repeal this absurd law. We are facing similar legislation here in Mississippi, and while efforts to derail it have been successful so far, I will be surprised if we do not see it return.

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Mississippi's Student Religious Liberties Act of 2011 Dies in Committee

Remember the Student Religious Liberties Act of 2011? When we called for action from those wanting to protect reality-based science education in our state, SB2151 had been referred to the Senate Education Committee. I am pleased to report that SB2151 has died in committee.

I will be surprised if it doesn't return in the next legislative session, but at least we can enjoy a bit of a reprieve for now.

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Does the Klan Have a Friend in Haley?

In spite of mounting pressure, Gov. Haley Barbour has refused to denounce the proposal of a local group to get a state-issued license plate honoring Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was an early Klan leader and already has a county named after him. Frankly, Barbour's position does not surprise me at all. It is exactly what I would expect from him.

Along with our state flag, this is the sort of thing that tells the rest of the nation that we still have a long way to go. Combined with the sorry state of our education system, is it any wonder that businesses are reluctant to locate in Mississippi?

Mississippi has a PR problem, but there are some easy fixes that would make a big difference. It would be nice to have leadership at the state level with the political will to improve our image for the good of all Mississippians.

It is too bad that Christianity in our state seems so heavily dominated by a particularly intolerant strain of evangelical fundamentalism. I suspect that this is an important part of why we remain so stuck.

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Homeless Family Won't Cross God Off Their Sign for Money

The following video from the Religious Antagonist is sure to be controversial. Somehow, the idea of offering money to homeless people to do something they don't want to do makes me uncomfortable. And yet, the message is valuable even while being provacative.



I'm still trying to sort out what I think about this. How about you? Good idea, bad idea, what?

H/T to Friendly Atheist

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Mississippi Constitution Excludes Atheists From Holding Public Office

Not surprisingly, Mississippi is one of a handful of states with a provision in our state constitution requiring god belief as a qualification for public office. This is about as clear cut a violation of separation of church and state as one could find. I suspect that it remains mostly because there has been insufficient public pressure to remove it. I also suspect that it is not actually enforced. But that does not mean it should be ignored, does it?

Article 14, Section 265 of the Mississippi constitution reads:

No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state.

This provision must be repealed.

H/T to Haden Odom

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Baptist Prayer Warriors to Cover Mississippi in Prayer

The state of Mississippi has a number of problems. Obesity, poverty, illiteracy, anti-intellectualism, Christian extremism, unemployment, teen pregnancy, and so on. You name it, and we seem to have a problem with it. But perhaps the most important problem of all is that our usual solution rarely involves trying anything new. We prefer to meet these challenges by simply doing more of what has been so thoroughly ineffective. As a perfect example, prominent Baptists around our state are now suggesting that Mississippi needs to be "covered in prayer."

Why is Alabama So Far Ahead of Us in Atheism?

Alabama may not have a significantly better reputation than Mississippi around the rest of the country, but I often find myself feeling envious of those who live there. For reasons I still don't understand, Alabama seems to be far ahead of Mississippi when it comes to organized atheism.

They seem to have more atheist groups than we do and to be far ahead of us in terms of organization at the state level. Now I learn that they have become the second state to have a state chapter of the Secular Coalition for America, a national advocacy group for atheists, agnostics, and humanists. Check out the Secular Coalition for Alabama.

I understand that we'll seem fairly backward compared to say New York or California, but why do we seem so far behind Alabama when it comes to atheism? And more to the point, what can we do about it?

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