Atheist Republic News Summary: Sheriff Refuses to Remove ‘In God We Trust’

1. Sheriff refuses to remove ‘in God we trust’ from squad cars after atheist groups protest
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2772107442876097
Location: Florida, USA

2. More than half of people in India would refuse a life-saving donated organ from an LGBT person
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2778168158936692
Location: India

3. Hate-Preacher: Girls Who Look Like Rachel Maddow Are “Repulsive” to “Normal” Men
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2776718562414985
Location: Illinois, USA

4. Couple With 2 Children, Stoned To Death For Inter-Caste Marriage. Who Will Take Care Of Their Kids Now?
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2778042512282590
Location: Karnataka, India

5. Sikhs third most targeted religious group in US after Jews, Muslims: FBI report
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2781997471887094
Location: USA

6. Ohio lawmakers clear bill critics say could expand religion in public schools
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2780584328695075
Location: Ohio, USA

7. Blood For The First Night: Amazon Is Selling Product To Fake Virginity & People Can't Digest It
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2782566225163552
Location: India

8. Saudi Ad Refers to Feminism, Atheism, and Homosexuality as “Forms of Extremism”
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2779350168818491
Location: Saudi Arabia

9. Sydney Sikh community treats exhausted firefighters to home-cooked meal
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2781574281929413
Location: Sydney, Australia

10. Pastor Puts $4.4 Million Mansion Up for Auction After Being Forced to Pay Taxes
https://www.facebook.com/130148817071986/posts/2782661665154008
Location: Florida, USA

1. A Florida sheriff declined to remove “in God we trust” decals from squad cars despite complaints from the atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation. FFRF co-President Anne Laurie Gaylor claimed the decals are “beyond the scope of secular government” and a waste of taxpayer funding. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey countered Gaylor’s claim and said he would not be taking the phrase off law enforcement vehicles. Ivey said he believes America is at a “tipping point” and giving in to the FFRF would be ceding his values.

2. A survey by the Mumbai-based Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance asked 1,565 respondents across 12 cities in India about their opinions on organ donation. Because of widespread belief in reincarnation, many Indians are concerned about donating organs because they think they will need them in future lives. The study also found that "antagonistic sentiment" against LGBT+ people was "pervasive" when it came to attitudes on organ donation. 54% said they do not think LGBT+ people should be able to donate organs. 56% said they would not want to receive a donated organ from an LGBT+ person.

3. Pastor Tommy McMurtry of Liberty Baptist Church in Illinois is one of those New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist preachers whose every sermon seems to be a hate-filled diatribe against LGBTQ people. In a sermon about how the men in the church should raise their daughters, he offered all sorts of stereotypically sexist pieces of advice: Keep her pure, make sure she’s dressing conservatively, etc. He said, "You know, we talk about Rachel Maddow, and we talk about how hideous she is. ....She actually, at one time, was pretty decent looking! But then liberalism, feminism, turned her into Rachel Mad Cow.”

4. Ramesh Madar and Gangamma had married Gangamma, belonging to the Lambani community, disregarding the opposition from her family members four years ago. Fearing backlash from the family, they fled their village but returned their on Nov 6. Spotting them on the road, some people from the Lambani community attacked the couple and later stoned them to death, police said. The couple had two children.

5. The Sikh community is the third most commonly targeted religious group after Jews and Muslims in the US, according to an annual report released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), reported PTI. The data, submitted by 16,039 law enforcement agencies, provides information about crimes motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity. Sikh Coalition, a New York-based think tank that defends Sikh civil rights, said in a statement that it remains a “disheartening” fact that hate crimes remain systematically underreported across the US.

6. The Ohio House sent to the Senate on Wednesday a measure that would prohibit public schools from penalizing students for some work that contains religious beliefs. Critics have called the bill unnecessary or valuing religion over secularism. One critic said under the bill, if a student turned in homework saying the earth is 10,000 years old – a belief held by some creationists -- they couldn’t get docked in their grade. However, the bill’s sponsor said it was more nuanced than that. Rep. Catherine Ingram, a Cincinnati Democrat, also questioned whether the bill simply repeated religious expression freedoms in the Constitution, or if it violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment, separating church and state.

7. Some people in India just discovered that Amazon sells product to fake virginity. Not being a virgin on the first night of marriage is a taboo not only in India but in multiple countries of the world. Women have grown up being taught that the entire family’s izzat is upheld by her vagina. That is why when a woman is raped in our country the news is ‘ladki ki izzat looti’ because that is all what a woman is - her virginity. So when girl from middle class conservative family has sex before marriage, even consensual sex and by mistake reveals it to anyone - she is a branded ‘unsanskari ladki’.

8. A few days ago, a Saudi Arabian security agency — with a verified checkmark — tweeted a promotional video that listed feminism, homosexuality, and atheism as examples of extremism that must be opposed at all costs. Under Saudi law, supporting groups classified as extremist organizations can lead to imprisonment. Homosexuality and atheism have long been illegal and punishable by death in the absolute monarchy, where public protests and political parties are banned and the media is tightly controlled.

9. A group of Sydney volunteer firefighters got to enjoy a much-needed break over a home cooked meal courtesy of their local Sikh community, amid the battle to contain major bushfires this week. Volunteers from the Hornsby Rural Fire Brigade had just finished containing a fire in South Turramurra on Sydney's North Shore on Tuesday afternoon when members of the Guru Nanak Gurudwara Turramurra Sikh Temple dropped by with food by way of a thank you. They brought along two types of curry and water, and other residents also brought out water, juice and soft drinks.

10. A controversial megachurch pastor known for hosting “spring break” lingerie and sleepover parties put his mansion, valued at $4.4 million, up for auction after he lost a legal battle over a tax-exempt status that was revoked after the parties came to light. Last year, Florida Pastor Markus Bishop lost an appeal over the tax-exempt status of his property, which was removed alongside others after it was revealed that Faith Christian Family Church allowed its property to be taken over during Spring Break by a nightclub called “Amnesia” that hosted foam and “anything but clothes” parties. The pastor hopes to make at least $2 million from the impending sale.

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