Cheerleaders are at the center of a growing controversy concerning Bible verses on football banners. Now, they're receiving support from the Texas Attorney General, who argued that the court's previous ruling violated their freedom of speech.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott spoke out Wednesday, revealing that he would argue the case on behalf of the high school cheerleaders who put Bible verses on banners at football games.

Cheerleaders at Kountze High School had previously filed a lawsuit against the school district because of a policy attacking their religious freedoms. The rule prevented them from using Bible verses on banners during football games, and they claim it violates their free speech. more >>

"If there is no God watching us, why be good?" poses the description on a new television series by evolutionary scientist Richard Dawkins on Britain's Channel 4. The program, running through October and taking Dawkins from a London inner-city to America's Bible Belt, examines the argument that "religion's absolutist moral codes fuel lies and guilt".

The three-part series, which is titled "Sex, Death And The Meaning Of Life" and promises to explore "what happens if we leave religion behind", has the renowned evolutionary biologist and atheist exploring how reason and science might replace religion in helping to guide human lives. "Can science bring understanding in the face of death, help us tell right from wrong, or reveal the meaning of life?" are just some of the questions the Channel 4 program plans to explore.

In the first episode made available online this week, Dawkins explores issues related to sex and the idea of sin. The episode opens with The God Delusion author declaring,"More and more of us realize there is no god, and yet religion still has a hold over us. I think ideas of saints and sinners, heaven and hell, still shape our thinking. I want to give you a scientific alternative." more >>

A national atheist/agnostic organization has recently implemented an initiative to establish lobby groups in all 50 U.S. states by the end of 2012 in an effort to combat what it calls a "false definition of religious freedom."

As of this week, the Secular Coalition for America (SCA) is attempting to establish lobby groups in Oklahoma and Wyoming by holding conference calls for those interested in joining the state coalition.

According to Lauren Anderson Youngblood, spokeswoman for the SCA, the goal of the organization is to lobby state lawmakers to pass legislation that advocates a separation of church and state, as well as stop state governments from using taxpayer money to fund any particular religious initiative. more >>

A video of a Christian apologist who "Eastwooded" atheist author Richard Dawkins in response to Dawkins' refusal to debate him over the existence of God will soon be posted to YouTube.

The video features Dr. William Lane Craig, a research professor of Philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, delivering remarks at Contending with Christianity's Critics Conference held at Watermark Community Church in Dallas on Sept. 29.

During his remarks, Craig places an empty chair opposite his podium and has a dialogue with it, a la Clint Eastwood's much talked about speech at the 2012 GOP Convention. more >>

The leader of a chaplains alliance group says he hopes the U.S. military will dismiss an atheist group's request to eliminate "personal religious expressions" during a long-standing suicide prevention program that includes chaplains counseling service members.

"Why would anyone not want every resource available to help our military personnel? This press release is one more example of intolerance toward faith that runs counter to everything we hold dear in this nation," Chaplain (Col.) USAR retired Ron Crews, executive director for the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, told The Christian Post on Tuesday. "I sincerely hope that military leaders will not bow toward this intolerance."

Crews responded to the statements of Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers President Jason Torpy by saying that chaplains have been rightly one of the primary resources the military has used in their suicide prevention program. more >>

In response to a nearby city deciding to drop invocation prayers from its council meeting agenda, a Colorado city has doubled down on its support for invocation prayers at its city council meetings.

The City Council of Colorado Springs has stated that they intend to keep their invocation prayers, even as Pueblo City Council agreed to discontinue the practice in response to criticism from an atheist organization.

"The inclusiveness of our invocations is designed specifically to be respectful of the religious freedoms of our community," said Council President Pro-tem Jan Martin, in a statement. "We welcome the diversity of invocations at our meetings and we find the few minutes taken before our meetings sets a very thoughtful and respectful tone." more >>