Category: Religious Insanity

This is our collection of religion-related news stories about some of the dumbest, silliest, or evil acts committed in the name of religion.

You may prefer to read the light-hearted fare in our offbeat religion news section.

Westboro hate group is a no-show

The radical Westboro Baptist Church, famous both for their virulent homophobia and for picketing the funerals of U.S. soldiers, had indicated on their website they planned to rally outside a play in Old Strathcona, Canada on Saturday night.

The hate group — which masquerades as a Baptist Christian church, but is neither Baptist nor Christian –failed to show up. Instead, hundreds of gay rights supporters met outside the play, a production of The Laramie Project, to wave signs and speak out against the American church.

Supreme Court appears inclined to rule against funeral protesters

Westboro Baptist Church The US Supreme Court weighed whether the Westboro Baptist Church — anti-gay religious group that pickets military funerals with signs that read “Thank God for dead soldiers” — is exercising its right to free speech or invading a grieving family’s privacy.

The Supreme Court seemed to have trouble putting aside the ugliness of the message to focus on the rights of the messenger Wednesday, as justices tried to balance free speech against the privacy owed a grieving family burying a son.

Saudi cleric slammed over fatwa on women cashiers

Saudi Arabia’s most senior religious leader has ordered a conservative cleric to stop giving unauthorized edicts after his call for boycotting a supermarket chain that employs women as cashiers.

Sheik Youssef al-Ahmed had urged people not to shop at Panda Supermarket because women there work in jobs that allow for the mingling of the sexes. Al-Ahmed says this is a violation of Islamic law.

RNB: Can you believe that story is datelined August, 2010…?

Pastor says armed militia to protect church during Quran-burning event

From our Religious Insanity file: An armed Christian organization, Right Wing Extreme, will protect a church that is planning to host an “International Burn a Quran Day” on the ninth anniversary of September 11, the church’s pastor said on Tuesday.

The Dove World Outreach Center, in Gainesville, Florida, says it is hosting the event to remember 9/11 victims and to take a stand against Islam. With promotions on its website and Facebook page, the nondenominational church invites Christians to burn the Muslim holy book.

Dove World Outreach Center Pastor Terry Jones has accepted the support of Right Wing Extreme, which he said offered to come to the church with between 500 and 2,000 men on September 11. He described the organization as an armed civilian militia group.

“There is a need for this protection. It is absolutely necessary in light of the death and terror threats we have received,” Jones said in an e-mail to CNN.

Muslims and many other Christians, including some evangelicals, are fighting the church’s plan to burn the Quran.

We can be sure of this: ‘Pastor’ Terry Jones might as well burn his Bible — since he either has not read it or does not intent to obey its teachings.

Church vows to burn Qurans on 9/11, despite fire department objection

A Florida church says it will go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite the city refusing to issue a burn permit, Orlando’s Fox35 TV reports.

We think this kind of behavior is so ill-advised that we feel comfortable slapping this news item with the ‘religious insanity‘ tag.