Review: Masking Hegemony: A Genealogy of Liberalism, Religion and the Private Sphere, by Craig Martin (Equinox Pub. 2010)
“Separation of church and state.”
It is revealing that this phrase, a shibboleth of sorts, means so many things to so many different people. In law, there are endless arguments over the extent to which government may entangle itself [...]
Tags:Christian hegemony·Craig Martin·Establishment Clause·First Amendment·Genealogy of Liberalism·John Locke·Martin Luther·Masking Hegemony·public-private·secular-religious·separation of church and state·wall of separation
There is much controversy, as there should be, about the (unwise) removal of a video art clip from a privately funded exhibit at the publicly funded Smithsonian. The clip briefly shows ants crawling on a cross. An ambiguous image to be sure, but leave it to the righteous to cry blasphemy. It is a sad [...]
Tags:ants·blasphemy·cross·David Wojnarowicz·Fire in My Belly·First Amendment·sacrilege·Smithsonian
Contrary to Mayor Bloomberg’s statement that the Gainesville evangelicals have a First Amendment right to burn Korans, it appears that Gainesville’s ordinance against book burning will prevent it. Although the Gainesville ordinance might, at first blush, appear to violate the First Amendment because it prohibits conduct that has long been recognized for its symbolic value, [...]
Tags:book burning·content neutral·First Amendment·Fourteenth Amendment·Gainesville Fire Marshal·general applicability·General Petraeus·Jim Jones·Jonestown·Koran burning·Mayor Bloomberg·rationally related·strict scrutiny·Terry Jones
The inaptly named Dove World Outreach Center (an evangelical church) in Gainesville, Florida wants to create a bonfire of Korans but has been denied a permit by the fire marshal. Incredibly, Gainesville’s “burning ordinance” prohibits the open air torching of books — either some city councilman was worried about global warming or wanted to prevent [...]
Tags:apostasy·book burning·burning ordinance·Christian Bible·Christian colonialism·Christian history·Christian imperialism·content neutral·Crusades·Dove World Outreach Center·First Amendment·Florida·Gainesville·heresy·Inquisition·intolerance·Islam·Islamic colonialism·Islamic imperialism·Koran·Koran bonfire·Muslims·Nazis·Ten Reasons to Burn a Koran·Thirty Years War·zealotry
The First Amendment Center reports that a high school senior believes his speech has been censored by school authorities:
Once a week, Surber wears a black T-shirt featuring the 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s take on religion. In block letters, the shirt reads “GOD IS DEAD.” No one has told him he can’t wear the shirt to [...]
Tags:Catholic scholarship·First Amendment·John Haught·Nietzsche
