And the award for the year’s best analogy goes to some rando on Yahoo Answers.

Yahoo Answers Tackles Religion, Atheism is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jay Leno has used his platform as the host of The Tonight Show on NBC to poke fun at just about every religion, politician, celebrity and public figure known to man but apparently a joke regarding the Sikh religion of India has put him in hot water or more specifically court.

During a recent segment on his talk show Jay Leno was poking fun at members of the Republican party when he basically said that rich politicians such as Mitt Romney spend their summers in a solid gold palace. Following the jokes punchline a picture of India’s Harmandir Sahib (aka the Golden Temple of Amritar) was shown. The building is considered by the Sikh people to be one of the most holy spots in the world.

In responding to the joke a Sikh follower in Bakersfield, California filed a lawsuit against Jay Leno claiming libel. Apparently Dr. Randeep Dhillon believes that the joke has caused some unseen and deep hatred and ridicule of his religion.

In a funny moment in the court filing Dr. Dhillon says the Romney joke:

“Falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned by a non-Sikh”

Randeep is suing for general and punitive damages. Ironically his lawsuit regarding the ridicule of his religion is probably going to do more damage to the Sikh faith and what people think of the religion then the joke told by Jay Leno.

Given that the punchline was an obvious joke the case is likely to stall before it ever reaches trial.

Do you think Jay Leno’s joke has led to deep hatred and ridicule geared towards the Sikh religion?

Jay Leno Sued For Telling Sikh Religion Joke, Lawsuit Likely To Be Thrown Out Of Court is a post from: The Inquisitr

Katy Perry’s father Keith Hudson, an evangelist preacher based in Ohio, has been accused of delivering an anti-semitic rant to his congregation.

Papa Perry apparently offended Jews in a recent sermon at the Church on the Rise in Westlake, Ohio. His weapon of choice? One of the most tiresome, cheapest stereotypes going:

“You know how to make the Jew jealous? Have some money, honey. You go to L.A. and they own all the Rolex and diamond places. Walk down a part of L.A. where we live and it is so rich it smells. You ever smell rich? They are all Jews, hallelujah! Amen.”

I get that all fathers are meant to be a bit embarrassing – it’s in the job description you sign immediately after the birth, I understand – but this goes a bit beyond baby photos and flirting with waitresses. Alas, we don’t know what Katy Perry herself thinks of this yet. I hope she’s cringing.

Critics were quick to round on Hudson’s remarks, with the Anti-Defamation League condemning Hudson’s “anti-Semitic” words, and declaring his speech:

“[...] a reminder that the age-old stereotypes are alive and well and continue to bubble up to the surface in many segments of society.”

Hudson recently called his daughter’s divorce from Russell Brand a “blessing from God.” His wife joined in, telling a congregation: “I’m sure Katy is trending on the Internet just to get you to church tonight.”

Yeah, that’s the real reason. Nothing to do with a recovered drug abuser and an evangelical Christian not being all that compatible. Nosirree.

Katy Perry’s Father in Anti-Semitic Rant is a post from: The Inquisitr

Katy Perry’s parents this week chose to do what any good church pastor does and use the suffering of their daughter to fill the seats of their congregation.

At their first service Perry’s mom, who is a pastor told a packed crowd of 300 worshippers at Ohio’s Church on the Rise:

“I’m sure Katy is trending on the Internet just to get you to church tonight.” Her mom then goes on to add, “I mean, all over the world, who knows how God is bringing them in? The most important thing is you are here and God wants to put the fire in you in 2012.”

It wasn’t just momma Perry getting in on the action, her dad Kieth, also a pastor, talked about how his daughter strayed from her beliefs. Keith talked about her hit “I Kissed a Girl” and then said of Katy Perry:

 ”I love my daughter and I will always love her.”

Keith then added:

“Stop being judgmental and critical. Do not close the doors to your loved ones, especially your children. Just because they do not like what you do or what you are, they are still praying that you stay in the race.”

In the meantime friends close to Katy Perry tell the Sun that Russell Brand wasn’t a welcomed addition to the Perry clan because he would constantly make lewd jokes at the dinner table with Perry’s uber-religious parents. In fact several insiders say part of the divorces reasoning came about because of family differences.

Do you think Katy Perry’s parents on using her divorce to capitalize publicity for their religious beliefs?

Katy Perry’s Parents Call Her Divorce A Message From God is a post from: The Inquisitr

While the practice of file sharing may not be condoned by the Sweden government they have allowed a group of more than 3,000 file-sharer to start a religion based around the practice.

In a humor turn of events the church has been named “The Missionary Church of Kopimism” which is pronounced “Copy-me-ism.”

At first Swedish lawmakers fought the religious request, in fact the group has been attempting to be recognized since 2010. Rejections first occurred according to TorrentFreak because authorities wants Kopimism to define their prayer practices.

In my head I see the group praying to their gods Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker (Napster‘s co-creators if you weren’t aware) while punishing those against the practices by promising to send them to a hell run by copyright protector Lars Ulrich of Metallica fame.

Speaking to Wired the churches founder Isak Gerson said:

“Our main ritual is the act of copying and connecting with each other by sharing information.”

He goes on to note:

“More people will have the courage to step out as Kopimists. Maybe not in the public, but at least to their close ones.”

In the meantime the group hopes that by gaining a unified voice with open “worship” of their practice they can gain the voices needed to work for and against certain legislation.

In speaking to their fellow believers they say: “Keep copying. Maintain hardline Kopimi.”

Will you be joining the Missionary Church of Kopimism anytime soon? I know plenty of people who have been unwitting members for years.

Sweden’s New Recognized Religion Is ‘File Sharing’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

With Christmas just two day’s away a new Associated Press-GfK poll reveals that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in Angels, 77 percent of adults to be exact.

The survey did find that the belief in Angels is deeply rooted in Christian belief with 95 percent of evangelical Christians saying they belief in angels while 94 percent of those who attend weekly religious services of any sort said they also believed.

The study also found that even the “less religious” of people tend to believe on a fairly large scale, for example 4 in 10 people who never attend religious services say they believe angels exist.

The study also found that women believe in angels more than men while that belief increases in people 30 years and older.

The polling comes close to a similar AP-AOL poll in 2006 which found that 81 percent of Americans believe in angels. Throw in a standard deviation for error and the polls appear to show a consistent trend in the number of Angel believe folks.

In another poll that examined a belief in god that number among Gallup pollsters was even higher at 92 percent.

Harder to buy into was an AP-Ipsos poll in 2007 that found just 34 percent of people believed in ghosts and UFOs.

This most recent angel belief poll was conducted from Dec. 8-12 and involved 1,000 adults nationally with a 4 percent margin of error.

Now take our unofficial poll and use our comments sections to tell us if you believe in the exists of god, angeles, UFOs or ghosts, perhaps even all the above.

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

77 Percent Of American’s Believe In Angels [Polling] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Well known Atheist, author and intellectual Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62, Hitchens had been in a long fight with esophageal cancer.

A British-born writer Hitchens moved to Washington DC in 1982 where he was best known for attacking the likes of Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger and even Mother Theresa with his caustic insight.

During one interview during his fight against cancer Hitchens scoffed at the idea that he would change his mind about religion.

During his career Hitchens authors 17 books, starting as a left wing supporter until the September 11 attacks at which time he jumped to the conservative right and spent the rest of his life fighting against the left.

In describing his life friends told the Los Angeles Times that he loved to talk politics, start arguments, drink and smoke.

Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair where Hitchens wrote a column for nearly 20 years said of her co-worker and friend:

“There will never be another like Christopher,” and “A man of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar. Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls.’”

According to friends Christopher Hitchens remained true to his ideals until the day he died.

Atheist Promoter Christopher Hitchens Dead At 62 is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Brigham Young University’s Idaho affiliate has taken on a war against attire, specifically a war against students who choose to wear the form fitting pants known as “skinny jeans.”

The Mormon campus recently launched a campaign against the jeans through university’s testing center in which they posted a flier that reads:

 ”The ‘Skinny Jeans’ style is NOT appropriate attire.”

While the posted notice may have implied that the jeans are now being targeted school officials at BYU-Idaho says that’s not the case and in fact their honor code has always banned “form-fitting clothes.” It turns out that it just took until now for school officials to determine that skinny jeans were form-fitting.

As the schools VP reviews in an email to Gawker:

 ”We have not identified ‘skinny jeans’ as a specific violation of the dress and grooming standard.”

According to one student she wasn’t able to take a test at the school’s testing center last month because she chose to wear skinny jeans. The test banned student told BYU paper the Scroll:

“I got in line and the guy said that I couldn’t take a test because my pants were too tight,” while adding, “I thought he was joking at first.”

Realizing the error of their ways another university VP has said that the jeans ban has been loosened so to speak, noting:

“It’s useful for us to realize that fashions will come and go. There will always be some tempting new style.”

Do you think the skinny jeans ban was warranted or a bit silly given some of the more revealing attire available to girls these days?

Mormon University Battles Students Over Skinny Jeans is a post from: The Inquisitr

In yet another social commentary on the hatred religion has the potential to breed a recent study out of the University of British Columbia has revealed that religious followers find atheists to be nearly as untrustworthy as rapists.

In one of the study’s six parts respondents said that atheists were the “archetypal freerider” who perform selfish or even illegal acts with no worry about the consequences that might follow their actions.

According to CTV atheists were found to be less trustworthy than Christians, Muslims, gay men and feminists.

In the study it was determined that religious “people did not significantly differentiate atheists from rapists.”

In a show of even more hatred spread by some “religious” people, they said discriminating against an atheist during the hiring process for a job is fine.

The study’s lead author told the Vancouver Sun:

“When hiring for a high-trust job like daycare worker, they were like, nope, not going to hire an atheist.”

The researcher went on to note:

“They seem to think that religion is not an important signal for who you can trust.”

Remember that war that was started by a group of atheists? Yeah me either. It sickens me to think that various religious group members who spout out at the mouth about their own practices and their love for their god and fellow religious men and women in their own church can show such outward directed hatred towards someone who disagrees with their view of the world.

I’m reminded of a quote by Stephen Roberts:

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours”

What amazes me the most is that given the churches less than stellar record involving cases of child sexual abuse respondents still found that religious people could be better trusted to watch over their own children. Don’t get me wrong I am in no way attempting to claim that all people in the Catholic church want to molest children however to place a higher disregard on a group of people who have never been brought into the international spotlight for vast networks of childhood abuse when your own religious practice has is both ignorant and callous.

I’m almost afraid to ask this question for fear of hate filled comments but where do you stand on the scale of trusting atheists?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

Religious Believers Find Atheists As Untrustworthy As Rapists [Study] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Forget Jesus in your toast – an art historian is claiming to have found the face of the devil in a Giotto fresco.

The fresco in question is on display in a basilica in Umbria, Italy, and was painted by Giotto di Bondone. The satanic mug is said to appear in the corner of a cloud depicted in the 700-year-old fresco. It was spotted by medievalist (and expert on St. Francis, who appears in the image) Chiara Frugoni. Here’s what she wrote in a forthcoming edition of the St. Francis art history periodical:

“It’s a powerful portrait, with a hooked nose, sunken eyes and two dark horns. The significance of the image still needs to be delved into. In the Middle Ages it was believed that demons lived in the sky and that they could impede the ascension of human souls to Heaven. Until now it was thought that the first painter to use clouds in this way was Andrea Mantegna, with a painting of St Sebastian from 1460, in which high up in the sky there’s a cloud from which a knight on horseback emerges. Now we know that Giotto was the first (to use this technique).”

Others appear happy to echo her observation. Claudio Strinati, an art historian, points out it was quite ordinary for hidden meanings to appear in Renaissance works: “Paintings often had two facets, an explicit one and an implicit one.”

Personally, I find it dubious – it seems like it could easily be a few coincidental brushtrokes, and the face hardly leaps out at you. In fact, it took me a couple of minutes to detect the alleged face, so I drew an outline in the image below:

What say you, readers?

Face of Devil Discovered in Giotto Fresco is a post from: The Inquisitr

Perhaps one of the biggest critiques of the Evangelical Right in the US is a tendency to creatively interpret Scripture to support or prohibit activities deemed desirable or less so by the party citing the Bible or its chosen interpretation. (This may be best illustrated by a pro-gay marriage protest sign last year that read, “Leviticus also said no haircuts, but I guess we are skipping that one.”)

Case in point- noted Bible thumper Pat Robertson’s contention that divorce is permissible in cases where one spouse becomes ill with Alzheimer’s. While divorce is generally not considered acceptable among conservative Christians, Robertson likened the crippling form of dementia generally found in older people to be “like a death,” thus legitimizing a divorce morally.

At least some Christian leaders have a problem with this. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, Florida, spoke out against the creative interpretation of what he believes to be God’s word, saying the slope Robertson approached was a slippery one:

“I’m just flabbergasted… I just don’t know how anyone who is reading Scripture or is even familiar with the traditional wedding vows can come out with a statement like that. Obviously, we can all rationalize the legitimacy for our own comfort that would somehow make it OK to divorce our spouse if circumstances become very different or inconvenient.”

Hunter continued:

“Obviously, you could do this for anything. … My husband watches and plays video games, and so he has left the marriage and it’s kind of like a death… It’s not death, and so we can’t start describing things as death that are really not death, and we have to stop trying to mischaracterize what Scripture says for our own convenience.”

Amusingly, this debate is an issue in which both religion and science converge against Robertson’s controversial assessment. While church leaders have condemned the statements, so too do medical professionals who see the ravages of the devastating disease each day. Dr. Amanda Smith, medical director at the University of South Florida Health Alzheimer’s Center in Tampa, Florida had this to say about Robertson’s assertion:

“To condone abandoning one’s spouse in the throes of this mind-robbing illness is absurd. While Alzheimer’s certainly affects the dynamic of relationships, marriage vows are taken in sickness and in health.”

Have you witnessed the effects of Alzheimer’s? Do you think abandoning a terminally ill spouse is morally or spiritually redeemable? Does it follow the teachings of Jesus?

Alzheimer’s Justifies Divorce, Pat Robertson Says is a post from: The Inquisitr

Who woulda thunk it it eh; but it seems that the Pope, yes that Pope, is all cool and down with this thing called Social Media. Even though he warns against becoming obsessed or addicted to all those shiny doodads his message for the Church’s World Day of Social Communications was surprisingly warm toward Social Media.

From Pope Benedict XVI’s speech:

In the digital world, transmitting information increasingly means making it known within a social network where knowledge is shared in the context of personal exchanges. The clear distinction between the producer and consumer of information is relativized and communication appears not only as an exchange of data, but also as a form of sharing. This dynamic has contributed to a new appreciation of communication itself, which is seen first of all as dialogue, exchange, solidarity and the creation of positive relations. On the other hand, this is contrasted with the limits typical of digital communication: the one-sidedness of the interaction, the tendency to communicate only some parts of one’s interior world, the risk of constructing a false image of oneself, which can become a form of self-indulgence.

Young people in particular are experiencing this change in communication, with all the anxieties, challenges and creativity typical of those open with enthusiasm and curiosity to new experiences in life. Their ever greater involvement in the public digital forum, created by the so-called social networks, helps to establish new forms of interpersonal relations, influences self-awareness and therefore inevitably poses questions not only of how to act properly, but also about the authenticity of one’s own being. Entering cyberspace can be a sign of an authentic search for personal encounters with others, provided that attention is paid to avoiding dangers such as enclosing oneself in a sort of parallel existence, or excessive exposure to the virtual world. In the search for sharing, for “friends”, there is the challenge to be authentic and faithful, and not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile for oneself.

…It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives.

The Pope is cool with Social Media is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Philadelphia newspaper has warned its readers that videogames are becoming more and more “satanic.” According to The Bulletin, there has been “a rise in the number of satanically-themed video games that target God and Christianity, invite players to make pacts with the devil, and elevate Satan to hero status.”

To prove its point (or not), the newspaper consults Lance Christian (a name, not an instruction), a “32-year-old Christian and avid gamer.” Because he’s already a gamer, his views CAN’T POSSIBLY be biased, y’see? We gamers can take Lance seriously, for sure. Here’s his totally balanced take on the matter:

“This has been going on for the last 10 years, but especially in the most recent games. I feel that the devil has a new tool to work with in this age of technology, and the majority of adults in a position of responsibility are left in the dark.”

After that, the paper attacks numerous recent titles for promoting Satan, including Shadow Hearts, Dragon Age: Origins, Dante’s Inferno (a pretty ironic target if you ask me), Devil Summoner, Bayonetta, Darksiders and Guitar Hero (yeah, seriously – I assume this is because Satan is an unlockable character in the game, but if I remember rightly, the player actually has to beat him).

If there’s one thing I hate more than the media getting frothed up on behalf of the silent millions (many of whom are secular, like myself), it’s the way religion has a right not to be offended.

Theists, I’ll never question your right to worship whichever invisible skyface you follow. In return, I’d quite like the right to see a joke or two made at religion’s expense from time to time.

[The Bulletin, via Eurogamer]

Here we go again: Christian paper blasts “satanic” videogames is a post from: The Inquisitr

So Bible Navigator X … what is it? Basically, it’s the entire Bible … BUT ON YOUR XBOX 360.

And that’s it, really. No minigames with bread or fish or lepers, but a straight text port from the real Bible. Frankly, the lack of pictures soon lost my attention, but if this is your thing, it’ll cost you 400 Microsoft Points, which is about $4 in earth money. A sequel is reportedly unlikely.

My old colleague Dave Hinkle has a great video walkthrough of this over at Joystiq – head here to see it in ‘action.’

[Via Joystiq]

Read the Bible on your Xbox 360 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Hit “play” below to watch the Son of God kick the entire Mushroom Kingdom’s ass before delicately punting the Princess.

P.S: Really am dreadfully sorry, God. Please spare soul. KTHX.

[YouTube, via Geekologie]

[VIDEO] Sorry, God: A Super Mario Jesus flipbook is a post from: The Inquisitr

You know Pokémon, right? Nintendo franchise. Lots of games. Lucrative. Cute, cuddly, scrappy little monsters, adored by teh kiddiez (and me)?

Well, get this: they are SATAN’S OWN SPAWN.

This footage of a preacher ranting about the evils of Pikachu and co. is probably the scariest/nuttiest/hilarious… est thing I’ve seen this year. Our man here actually manages to sound relatively sane for about the first 1.4 seconds, before his whole spiel rapidly devolves into a towering, fog-brained, bullshit-propelled vehicle of blockheaded idiocy. Enjoy:

[YouTube, via Go Nintendo]

[VIDEO] I don’t even know: religious nutjob brands Pokémon “satanic” is a post from: The Inquisitr

[UPDATE: Aaand suspicions about fakery are confirmed: Joystiq has exposed this as an amusing spot of viral marketing for EA's Dante's Inferno.]

Game developer Prayer Works Interactive just released a press release and debut trailer for Mass: We Pray, a new religion-themed minigame collection that will ship with motion-sensing crucifix-shaped controllers and pressure-sensitive kneeling pads. Holy crap. Literally.

The 24 minigames that will come on the disc include Holy Water sprinkling, conducting the choir, and lighting prayer candles.

It’s designed to ensure that “a family won’t have to wait until Sunday to worship the Lord,” and preorders for the title are available from November 20, some months ahead of its Easter 2010 release date.

If you hadn’t already guessed, Mass: We Pray is almost certainly a fake, but a rather good one all the same. As well as the WASP-filled trailer you see below (which boasts respectable production values), there’s a whole site, complete with image gallery.

Well, it made me chuckle. Bravo, mystery creator!

[MassWePray.com, via Destructoid]

[VIDEO] Worship the Lord while playing videogames [UPDATE] is a post from: The Inquisitr

It would seem that the Vatican is carrying out two investigations of American nuns and whether their drive to live in the modern world is being carried too far.

At a time when the number of nuns has dropped to 60,000 from a high of 180,000 forty years ago the American nuns have started entering professions like: teaching, law, and social work. Part of that modernization as well has been the eschewing of the typical nun garments for regular clothes, which also includes blue jeans.

The pressure on nuns from the Vatican has been increasing since the launch of a Vatican ordered Apostolic Visitation, a formal inquiry into the activities of women’s religious institutions that is being lead by Mother Mary Clare Millea. Mother Mary is an American nun living in Rome. As well a doctrinal assessment has been ordered by the Vatican to look into the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group of women’s religious orders in the US, for not toeing the line on issues such as the primacy of the Vatican.

Other nuns are also expressing disquiet about the new scrutiny from Rome. Sister Mary Traupman of Pittsburgh long ago left the convent but remains loyal to her faith as a lawyer. She still remembers the years of struggling with the long restrictive habits. "All this for the church," she said this week. "And now we’re being investigated."

Some nuns are refusing to cooperate. Sister Sandra Schneiders, who teaches theology at Berkeley, told The New York Times that the Vatican authorities are out of touch. "Our vision of our lives and their vision of us as a workforce are just not on the same planet," she said. And in a leaked email to colleagues she said investigators should be treated as "uninvited guests".

Source: The Independent :: US nuns on the run from Vatican inquiry

American nuns too modern for the Vatican is a post from: The Inquisitr

A proposed bill in Connecticut would strip Vatican control over the finances of local Catholic Churches, a suggestion that not surprisingly has Catholic clergy up in arms.

CT Bill 1098 would replace an existing law that defines Catholic churches and congregations as nonprofit corporations operated by a five-member board of three clergy and two laypeople. Instead, the board would be made up of seven to 13 laypeople elected by parishioners. The pastor would not be a member of the board and the bishop would serve as an ex officio nonvoting member, reports Catholic News.

The legislation, proposed by two Catholic members of the Connecticut State Legislature, was in response to an embezzlement conviction of a Connecticut priest. By removing church control over financial affairs, clergy wouldn’t be able to fiddle the books.

The Catholic Church naturally opposes the bill, saying that it was an infringement of their constitutional rights, and went against the apostolic nature of the Catholic Church. Oh, and it’s a conspiracy by gay marriage activists, writes Bridgeport Bishop William Lori: “This bill, moreover, is a thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church on the important issues of the day, such as same-sex marriage.”

The bill has been pulled for now, and tabled for the rest of the legislative session, although could return in the future.

Connecticut Bill proposes to take the Vatican out of Church finances is a post from: The Inquisitr