In Praise of Religious People Doing the Right Thing

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I criticize religion (and Christian extremism in particular) quite a bit here. Frankly, I believe that doing so is a moral obligation given that religious belief is both irrational and dangerous. However, I also try to credit those religious groups who do have the courage to speak out against religious extremism and the many abuses committed in the name of religion. They are unfortunately rare, but that makes it all the more important to hold them up as models to remind us that some religious people agree with us on many issues.

I'd like to commend the Interfaith Alliance for their willingness to call out Louisiana Governor Piyush "Bobby" Jindal for spending taxpayer money to visit Protestant churches throughout his state. This is a church-state issue, and the Alliance is calling on Jindal to reimburse Louisiana taxpayers the $45,000 he has spent so far.

We atheists would do well to remember that there are religious groups who seek to maintain clear separation between church and state just as we do. I applaud the Interfaith Alliance for their work in this case.

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Tags: religion, Christian extremism, Interfaith Alliance, Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, church-state