Religiosity is waning in the U.S. Non-belief has almost doubled since 1990.

A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

Non belief (not the same as atheism) is still a distinct minority, but I’m heartened with the trend line, since I think religion is mostly a negative influence on society. Some of my best friends are progressive Christians, but they are the exception, not the rule.

The number of people who say they have no religion rose in every state. In Oklahoma, the percentage went from 7% to 11% since 1990.

Overall, the study shows there is more variety in religious belief than media discourse and political grandstanding would indicate.

So, Oklahoma progressive thinker, did you think you could not possibly be more embarrassed by duly elected representatives in your state, after the Sally Kerns affair of last year, and the Scott Jones/gay prayer protest last month? Oh, ye of little imagination — the authoritarian right is running rings around you, thinking of stupid things to do on the public’s dime.

On Monday, in anticipation of the public lecture of scientist and avowed atheist Richard Dawkins at OU tomorrow (which I plan to attend), Rep. Todd Thomsen filed a resolution demanding that his invitation be retracted, and in so many words, that 5000 years of collective human wisdom be shitcanned, and that all activity that could ever conceivably be considered “thinking” cease in this state immediately and permanently.

WHEREAS, the University of Oklahoma is a publicly funded institution which should be open to all ideas and should train students in all disciplines of study and research and to use independent thinking and free inquiry; and

WHEREAS, the University of Oklahoma has planned a year-long celebration of the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s theory of evolution, called the “Darwin 2009 Project”, which includes a series of lectures, public speakers, and a course on the history of evolution; and

WHEREAS, the University of Oklahoma, as a part of the Darwin 2009 Project, has invited as a public speaker on campus, Richard Dawkins of Oxford University, whose published opinions, as represented in his 2006 book “The God Delusion”, and public statements on the theory of evolution demonstrate an intolerance for cultural diversity and diversity of thinking and are views that are not shared and are not representative of the thinking of a majority of the citizens of Oklahoma; and

WHEREAS, the invitation for Richard Dawkins to speak on the campus of the University of Oklahoma on Friday, March 6, 2009, will only serve to present a biased philosophy on the theory of evolution to the exclusion of all other divergent considerations rather than teaching a scientific concept.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 1ST SESSION OF THE 52ND OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:

THAT the Oklahoma House of Representative strongly opposes the invitation to speak on the campus of the University of Oklahoma to Richard Dawkins of Oxford University, whose published statements on the theory of evolution and opinion about those who do not believe in the theory are contrary and offensive to the views and opinions of most citizens of Oklahoma.

THAT the Oklahoma House of Representatives encourages the University of Oklahoma to engage in an open, dignified, and fair discussion of the Darwinian theory of evolution and all other scientific theories which is the approach that a public institution should be engaged in and which represents the desire and interest of the citizens of Oklahoma.

THAT a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the University of Oklahoma, the Dean of the College of Arts and Science at the University of Oklahoma, and the Chair of the Department of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma.

Naturally, this has once again made Oklahoma the laughingstock of Western civilization. Even Utah — freaking Utah! — shuts up its crazy-ass politicians so the rest of the state doesn’t have to be associated with such ignorant fundamentalism.

Calvin Rees of the Democrats of Oklahoma Forum has obtained and posted the contents of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) newsletter written and distributed by one Charlie Meadows.

A section deals with the recent flap at the Oklahoma state capitol over a prayer said by an openly gay pastor, which was preceded by an introduction of his family and partner/fiance. 20 legislators voted not to allow the prayer entered into the record.

Meadows does the Democratic Party of Oklahoma the big favor of dividing the GOP members into two distinct groups, one of which it condemns not “true” conservatives, and thus not worthy of OCPAC member’s votes.

I say, Yay! splinter away!

Members and friends of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC)

[...]

– HOMOSEXUAL PREACHER BRINGS ABOMINATION TO STATE CAPITOL

This past Tuesday State Representative Al McAffrey (D-inner city OKC) had the opportunity to invite a pastor to be the Chaplin for the day and open the session with prayer. McAffrey is the only openly homosexual member of the legislature. The “pastor” he asked to give the prayer was the “Reverend” Scott Jones, also an openly homosexual who introduced his “fiancee” Michael, who was sitting in the gallery.
McAffrey asked that Jones’ prayer be recorded in the official minutes of the day, (this is normally only done on Thursdays) Representative John Wright (R-Broken Arrow) objected and called for a vote on the issue.

In my opinion, this was just another cleverly planned skirmish by the homosexuals in the culture war. Radical homosexuals are trying to force society to accept their perverted lifestyle as normal, equal or perhaps superior. Then of course, when normal folks disagree with them, or express that their perversion is “sin” in the eye’s of God as well as all Bible believing Christians (the only real Christians), then the homosexuals play the victim role and accuse those in opposition to their agenda as being haters, bigots, intolerant, narrow minded, red necks and on and on and on. Actually, you don’t have to read many of their notes to people who disagree with them to see that they are the ones that have their hearts full of hate for people who refuse to accept their behavior.

I believe that unless the content of Jones’ prayer was that of confession for his sinful behavior regarding homosexuality and an expression of repentance toward God for his rebellion and perversion, then his being there to give the prayer for the day was an abomination. Based on my reading of God’s Word (The Bible) Jones’
belief that he is a man of God and anyone else who try to justify homosexuality as acceptable, they serve a “god of their own making or their imagination.” They are not serving the God of the Bible and they do not have a relationship with the one and only true God.

Some of the Republican House members walked out, perhaps that was their way to protest the charade, 20 of them voted against allowing the prayer to be recorded and 24 Republicans voted to allow the exception to the norm and have the prayer recorded. May I suggest several possible reasons for the 24 who decided to go along with the desires of McAffrey and the homosexual community.

While most, if not all, Republican House members claim a Christian church affiliation, certainly with some it is more of a social relationship rather than Biblical Christianity. Some may think this is not an important issue and wish it would go away so they could deal with “important” business like determining how they will re-distribute other people’s money. Others may have family members or friends who are homosexuals and have decided to compromise God’s Word and the truth on the subject for their emotional attachments. Perhaps they aren’t mature enough in their Christianity to be able to take a stand against sin, yet at the same time be able to express Christian love toward homosexuals, hoping to see them set free from the bondage of homosexuality. Others might not want to be on the receiving end of the intimidation, hatred, and perhaps death threats from the homosexual community by standing up against their agenda. Just 24 hours in the shoes of State Representative Sally Kern would make the cowardly never want to be in that position. I have already seen some of the e-mails sent to the lawmakers who voted no, and believe me the hateful responses are typical.

Following are the names of those who voted to go along with the homosexual agenda. I will break them into two groups, Those I am not surprised about and those that I am. I am not surprised about Don Armes-Lawton, Eddie Fields-Pawhuska, Steve Martin-Bartlesville, Colby Schwartz-Yukon, Earl Sears-Tulsa, Lee Denney-Cushing, Fred Jordan- Tulsa, Charlie Joyner-Midwest City, Ron Peters-Tulsa, Doug Cox-Grove, David Derby-Owasso, Dale DeWitt-Braman, or Phil Richardson-Minco. With the exception of Eddie Fields, a freshman, every one of these lawmakers have been on the RINO nominee list at one time or another, or in the case of Lee Denney and Doug Cox, they have been the winners of the RINO award.

Following are the names of the lawmakers who did surprise me, Gary Banz-Midwest City, Lisa Billy-Purcell, Cory Holland-Marlow, T.W.
Shannon-Lawton, Ken Miller-Edmond (this guy is a professor at Oklahoma Christian. This is certainly not the perspective of the members of the Churches of Christ that I know), Marian Cooksey-Edmond, Pam Peterson- Tulsa (the biggest surprise of all to me), Chris Steele-Shawnee, David Derby-Owasso, Mike Thompson-OKC, Scott Martin-Norman and Speaker Chris Benge-Tulsa, a person who is supposed to be a social conservative. Of these 24, OCPAC has supported only 4 of them in the past.

Following are the names of the 20 brave lawmakers who voted against the homosexual agenda: Gus Blackwell-Goodwell, George Faught-Muskogee, Lewis Moore-Arcadia, Mike Ritze-Broken Arrow, Mike Christian-OKC, Dennis Johnson-Duncan, Jason Murphey-Guthrie, Mike Sanders-Kinfisher, Ann Coody-Lawton, Sally Kern-OKC, Leslie Osborne-Blanchard, Randy Terrill-Moore, Rex Duncan-Sand Springs, Charles Key-OKC, Pat Ownbey- Ardmore, Todd Thomsen-Ada, John Enns-Enid, Guy Liebmann-OKC, Mike Reynolds-OKC and John Wright-Broken Arrow. Of these 20, OCPAC has supported 13 of them in the past. Only 1 of the 7 who voted the right way on this issue, but did not receive our support, appeared before OCPAC. Had the other 6 appeared for their interview process, I believe we would have supported 5 of them. I believe there is 1 of the 6 who would not have received our support.

Following are the names of the ones who walked out or were absent.
Paul Wesselhoft-Moore, David Dank-OKC, Mark McCullough-Sapulpa, Dan Sullivan-Tulsa, Harold Wright-Weatherford, Jeff Hickman-Woodward, Randy McDaniel-OKC, Sue Tibbs-Tulsa, Mike Jackson-Enid, John Trebilcock-Tulsa, Shane Jett-Tecumseh, and Charles Ortega-Altus. Of those in this list, OCPAC has only supported one.

If one of these lawmakers happens to be your state representative and voted the right way, contact them and thank them for opposing the homosexual agenda. If they took a hike or voted the wrong way, remember that on the next election day, along with their scores on the conservative index..

One final thought. It is very easy to see that the OCPAC interview process, while not perfect, has done a very good job of determining candidates who are CONSISTENTLY conservative vs. those who claim to be conservative when they want our votes and our money, then turn out to govern more like a liberal Democrat, rather than a conservative Republican. Therefore, I invite folks to become a dues paying member of OCPAC so we can continue to elect true conservatives to the legislature. To join, please follow the instructions following my sine off.

Charlie Meadows

[In other news, Meadows announced he has stopped using PeoplePC as his email provider. 1996 is heartbroken at the loss of its last resident.]

The Rev. Dr. Scott Jones of Oklahoma City, pastor of Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ, is certainly having an interesting week.

The Oklahoma Gazette of 2/11/2009 has a column written by Jones, The real ‘gay agenda’ in which he responds to the latest nonsense by Sally Kern — her recent jaw-droppingly stupid speech to the John Birch Society citing a 20+ year old bestselling book After the Ball as the top secret “gay agenda” for obtaining equal rights.

Jones explains about the thousands of rights, large and small, that are denied to GLBT people, and that the only agenda they desire is to be regarded equally under the law.

That would be an accomplishment, and a good week’s work, for most folks, but wait … there’s more.

Invited by Rep. Al McAffrey to give the prayer in the legislature, Rev. Jones was there today and gave a Christian call to community.

… So, today, with abiding faith and calm assurance
We invoke your presence on these precedings.
You are the Creator and Parent of us all.
In your divine majesty you have made us each and every one an image of you,
Our splendid diversity reflecting your infinite glories.
You are our Redeemer and Liberator.
Companion to the poor,
You have promised to
Lift up the powerless and cast down the powerful,
To gather the outcasts,
Heal the brokenhearted,
And bind up their wounds.
You have proclaimed release to the captives,
Recovery of sight to the blind,
And to let the oppressed go free.
You Sustain and Comfort us
Filling us with your Holy Spirit
And thereby uniting us with all creation in every time and place
A fellowship of solidarity
A beloved community
Reminding us that what we have done unto the least of us, we have done unto thee. …

Much to my consternation, official prayers like this are a daily occurrence in the halls of our government, from local to national. They are, it seems to me, mostly ignored, maybe even unheard, by those present.

But that wasn’t the case today in Oklahoma, though. Because Scott Jones is a gay man and in introducing his prayer, he made that fact clear — although I am sure the remark about his family, and “loving partner, Michael Cich” did not come as a shock to the legislators, who get wind of these symbolic invitations in advance, and you know they have a gossip mill just like any other workplace.

Anyway, after giving his fairly inoffensive prayer (we’re not anywhere near Jeremiah Wright territory here, we’re not even rocking the boat on civil rights a la MLK in ‘67), one Republican legislator objected to adding the prayer to the record — just a stupid bit of parliamentary business — and called for a vote on it, and then 20 voted against.

20 of our finest citizens, ladies and gentlemen. See, this is Oklahoma, and these are rightwing conservative Christians we are talking about. They are proudly ignorant, mean-spirited and childish, and they think their faith calls them to that kind of thinking and behavior.

Stand up proud now, y’all, because history will not be kind to you:

NAYS: 20
Blackwell
Faught
Moore
Ritze
Christian
Johnson
Murphey
Sanders
Coody
Kern (yeah, what’d you expect?)
Osborn
Terrill
Duncan
Key
Ownbey
Thomsen
Enns
Liebmann
Reynolds
Wright, J.

Maybe, in 48 years, these people will be ashamed of themselves as Elwin Wilson was earlier this month when he tearfully apologized to John Lewis, now a U.S. Representative, for being a bigoted shithead in 1961 when he beat Lewis up for violating a Whites Only sign.

Jones didn’t get beat up today, not physically, but the rude and disgusting behavior of 20 Oklahoma congresspersons was a public statement of hate and intolerance, and they meant for Jones to feel it with the same force as a physical attack. They may consider their vote a symbol of their Christian faith, but in fact it only represents their own smallness, and Oklahoma’s major problem

They better hope their god is one of mercy, because they will need a lot of it.

Cross posted at Pam’s House Blend

Here’s a story that reveal the real person inside Obama’s new BFF, Rick Warren.

It’s gotta be more than donuts and a soul-less hug, Rick. Reach down and find that Christ-centeredness you claim to promote — if you’ve got it in you. A little humility wouldn’t hurt either.

People for the American Way

… the sad truth is that this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans.

Rick Warren gets plenty of attention through his books and media appearances. He doesn’t need or deserve this position of honor. There is no shortage of religious leaders who reflect the values on which President-elect Obama campaigned and who are working to advance the common good.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

President-elect Obama campaigned on a theme of inclusiveness, yet the selection of Rick Warren to give the invocation is a direct affront to that very principle.

Human Rights Campaign

by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table

Right Wing Watch

… (Warren’s) media-driven reputation as some sort of “moderate” evangelical preacher continues to win out …

John Aravosis (guest posting at Huffington Post)

(in Obama’s voice) … devastating my own supporters on what was supposed to be a day of celebration and national rebirth …

Melissa McEwan

… a sharp stick in the eye to progressive women and GBTQ men, and all their allies …

Andrew Sullivan

… More evidence that a civil rights movement needs to realize that no politician can deliver for us what we have to deliver on our own.

John Amato (Crooks and Liars)

… Obama’s decision on this one is highly insulting.

Booman

… Obama will be roundly and loudly criticized for this decision, and rightly so. He should listen to what so many of his supporters will be saying about this. Obama says he values those with the ability to listen. If he hears, he will reverse this decision and apologize for hurting good people for no good reason.

Ann at Feministing

I can’t even handle the irony that Warren’s appearance will be immediately followed by Aretha singing “Respect” and “Someday We’ll All Be Free.”

And, as previously noted, Atrios dubbed Obama Wanker of the Day.

Well, that was a brief hiatus, when I didn’t feel like crying or screaming every time I heard about the latest political news.

The inauguration hasn’t even taken place yet, and already, folks like me have been slapped in the face. At least with Clinton, it came after he was in office a few days.

So here’s my first complaint letter to Obama (yes, I let the selection of Emmanuel go – figuring I’d trust the guy to know what he was doing – Ha!).

Rather than choose one of many religious figures who could have
embodied the “post-partisan” atmosphere that President-elect Obama
says he wants to promote, a divisive and hurtful one has been given a
very meaningful role. It is a grave insult to many, many people who
worked hard to elect Obama.

Rick Warren and his fanatic followers may like to think of themselves
as moderate Christians, but they are no such thing. They would like to
keep gays and lesbians as second class citizens, deny women the right
to control their own bodies, keep torture as an American value(stet — see Update 2 below) promote assassination, and
foster some more illegal wars around the world. These are public
positions that they don’t try to hide. So I can only assume that Obama
now means to embrace them too, in the name of “unity”– while
millions of Americans who believed words about “change” can now feel
used and discarded.

Putting Warren on that stage is no less than a loud “F*** you” to ALL
gay and lesbian Americans and their allies, pro-choice folks, civil
rights and antiwar activists. Obama obviously has no use for them
anymore, and will cast his lot with those who hate, divide and
discriminate. Good luck with that in 2012.

What a huge disappointment.

There are other reactions, and an email address for your own letter, at Pam’s House Blend, Americablog and Daily Kos.

Updated to fix error: Apparently Rick Warren supports assassination, not torture. My bad.

Update 2: Ah, I remembered correctly reading about his willingness to allow torture, so stet on that, just add assassination cheerleading to the original list. What a man of God, eh?

Grassroots power. The Oklahoma Democratic Party is trying to keep funding the staff people that were part of Howard Dean’s 50-state grassroots party-building strategy. That program is being laid down, apparently — despite its demonstrable success for the past two campaign cycles. I could go off on that tangent for a rant, but back to Oklahoma — Oklahoma Dems would like to keep this now experienced staff around to help the party continue to build and, I dunno, do better next time. So if you’re inclined, donate here

Inhofe back to business. The Oklahoma Gazette reports that Inhofe is going to focus his time and energy on dismantling the 527s that he thinks did him dirty in his recent reelection campaign. He won by a considerable margin, but no matter, he’s on the warpath. I’m sure this new mission he’s taken on will do lots of good things for the people of Oklahoma.

Little Axe Case remembered. In 1981, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State came to the aid of two Little Axe, OK, families who were being attacked for their objections to denominational prayers in the local school. Oklahoma City minister, and blogger at Mainstream Baptists, Dr. Bruce Prescott, interviewed one of the victims on his radio program, and AU picked it up on their site, and prominent science blogger and atheist PZ Myers noted it at Pharyngula as well. Both posts generated lots of comments.

And therein I learned that Joann Bell, the longtime director of the Oklahoma ACLU was one of those Little Axe women who fought the school board and the whole town. I’d heard about the Little Axe story, even saw it detailed in a documentary, but never realized that it was that Joann Bell that was involved.

Keeping it wild. In the Gazette I also see news that The Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma is initiating a new project in OKC and Tulsa to get more young professionals and families involved in their work to save wilderness areas.

Waiting for justice. A documentary has been made about the survivors of the Tulsa Race Riot (thought to be the worst racist massacre in U.S. history in which a successful black community was destroyed) and their desire for reparations Before They Die. I’m not sure when this film was released, but it’s been shown in Tulsa, and recently in New York City. If it hasn’t been shown publicly in OKC, it should be.

Look, I’m not married. I’ve never been married. I never wanted to be married — okay, maybe when I was five I played house or something, but once I was out of early childhood, I always knew I would never get married.

No, my parents weren’t divorced, married for over 60 years.

In a way, I was a feminist before I even knew there was such a thing. I rejected marriage before I knew I was gay, before I got overtly political, before I finally called myself an atheist. As a feminist, I think marriage is an archaic institution, and contemporary divorce statistics prove my point while those entering both conditions, serially, nonetheless disagree with my analysis.

I look at marriage as a social contract that was designed to control women and insure paternity of children. It’s the 21st Century, let’s just throw the whole thing out. However, mine is clearly a minority view. Despite the cognitive dissonance, marriage doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Folks just seem to like it (again and again!). I’ve come to tolerate this strange need to get state sanction of relationships. )And unlike some, I don’t feel the need to force my opinion and practice on everyone else.)

In the gay community, the marriage equality movement has been around for quite a while. Lots of gay people would like to get officially married to their beloved, and not just for those rather important legal perks like hospital visitation. It means something to them, just as it does to the serially married heterosexuals. Most gay and lesbian citizens are really more like the Nelsons, the Cleavers or the Huxtables than they are like me. That is the great irony of this whole brouhaha.

So what to do? I think some language adjustments would be helpful. Gays (the lucky ones in progressive states) have been thrown the “civil union” bone as a separate but unequal alternative. In most cases, as I understand it, this takes care of most of the legal ramifications of partnerships in our society. But, in order that some paranoid so-called religious nutcases don’t get their panties in a twist, there have to be two forms available from the state, one for straight couples, one for gays and lesbians. One labeled “marriage certificate” and one labeled “civil union.”

Of course the distinction is ridiculous. Where are those fiscally responsible, small-government conservatives when you need them?

Just have the state — and here I mean government, in every fucking state of the U.S. — provide civil unions for consenting adults, which are easy to get and easy to abolish. It’s a legal and social contract and has nothing to do with anyone’s god or any church dogma.

Frankly, I think it should be available to partnerships of two or more. What’s it to ya? Throughout human history, societies have formed different kinds of affinity groups, and yes, the sacred task of raising children might have been performed by entities other than just the biological mother and father. In fact, I got news for Focus on the Family: the latter system, the “nuclear family,” is NOT the norm, not even close. Somehow, despite this crazy behavior of social elasticity and community building, culture has progressed even to the zenith of producing James Dobson.

With this arrangement, religious groups can then choose to provide an additional imprimatur to the partnerships that fit whatever little corner of humanity they approve of. No one forces them to do anything they don’t want to do. Give these neanderthals the legal exclusions for their cultdoms so they won’t have to employ or give communion to someone that makes them feel icky (or involuntarily and inexplicably horny). Let’s see how that works out for them in the long run. Not well, I suspect. With affirming alternatives, sane people will gravitate away from hate and toward love naturally.