People regularly get away with crimes, even homicide, yet escape justice because the harm was caused in the name of religion or superstition. Civil society needs to treat these actions as the crimes against innocents that they are.

As the late, great Christopher Hitchens put it, “Religion Poisons Everything.” The Earth shrinks in the eyes of the faithful – you may be relative newcomers like the Lhotshampa or residents older than the usurpers, like the Hindus of Pakistan or Parsis of Iran, or its just that you had a new idea, like the Baha'is or Ahmadis. Only a secular republic will recognize every single inhabitant as its own.

Christian hatred for homosexuality goes well beyond the bigots of the Westboro Baptist Church. It is rooted in a blind obedience to an outdated code of conduct which states if any homosexual dare be anything other than celibate, they should be put to death. This religious hatred is responsible for some of the most devastating tragedies of our times, and it is time for it to end.

Built into Christian theology and praxis, is a celebration of persecution for one’s beliefs. Christians claim a long history of martyrs, and a quick scan of the New Testament alone reveals at least a dozen verses extolling the value of persecution and encouraging the faithful to endure. However, some claims of persecution have popped up lately that I think warrant a response. Disagreement does not equate to persecution.

Some theists just don’t get it. Why can’t skeptics just believe the same way they do? There’s a reason they’re called tall tales and sometimes people need to be reminded of the tall tales they don’t believe in, and why the don’t believe in them. It is also important to understand why the desire to believe can be so alluring.