Religion

Hell no: Election of “anti-Christ” Obama fails to spike Rapture Index

Some on the far right, including local rightwing radio’s Chris Baker, have likened Barack Obama to the anti-Christ, while others have feared the election of the now-president-elect would hearken “the Obamageddon.” (Snopes.com even has an entry debunking the Obama/anti-Christ claim.) So, is the election of America’s first African-American president bringing on the Second Coming, as [...]

Religious Right Watch: Waning influence, assigning blame and praising Palin

The religious right had a bad day on Tuesday. The election of Barack Obama and Democratic gains in the U.S. Senate and House put support for religious right policies further out of reach, and there’s plenty of blame to go around. Some say Republican John McCain coddled Obama on the issues, and others point to President Bush’s noncommittal attitude for issues the religious right cares about the most: gay marriage and abortion. The one bit of post-election hope seems to be the ascension of Sarah Palin as a religious right figurehead.

Religious Right Watch: ‘Values voters’ would vote for Satan before Obama

In the final days of the election, the anti-Obama rhetoric from the religious right has reached a fevered pitch. One religious right leader says that conservative evangelicals would rather vote for the devil than Barack Obama and a religious right author says Obama could be the anti-Christ, but Obama doesn’t know it yet.

Religious right leader James Dobson embraces Erik Paulsen for Congress

Erik Paulsen has diminished his record on a number of issues and present himself as moderate, so much so that any mention that he’s running as a Republican is absent from his campaign website. But his past is catching up with him: Focus on the Family’s James Dobson is throwing his support behind the candidate based on Paulsen’s conservative record on controversial wedge issues.

Chamber of Commerce funnels money to Norm Coleman to protect banks, thwart unionizing

National businesses and banks have been feeding Norm Coleman major sums of cash this last quarter, despite the fact that corporations and, especially the financial sector, are withering in a crippling economy and asking taxpayers for bailouts. According to a story in L.A. Times last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $30 million on lobbying in the third quarter of this year, more than twice as much as it spent for the same purpose in the previous quarter. And a chunk of that change is going to Minnesota senator Norm Coleman.

Religious Right Watch: Obamageddon is nigh!

The religious right never goes down without a fight, and given the dwindling chance that their candidates, Sarah Palin and John McCain, can win the White House, they’re taking the fight to extreme new levels. Prominent figures are comparing supporters of Sen. Barack Obama to the Nazis, warning that God will condemn Americans if they don’t vote for McCain, accusing Obama’s family of witchcraft and foretelling a future when Christianity is criminalized by an Obama administration. Are you prepared for Obamageddon?

Evangelicals abandon McCain, Obama backers target Christian airwaves

Results released by the Christian polling outfit, Barna Group, shows that Sen. John McCain has failed to hold on to a critical part of the Republican base: born-again evangelical Christians. Even with Gov. Sarah Palin on the ticket, support from the key constituency has floundered compared to Bush’s numbers in 2004.

Meanwhile, independent groups are hitting the airwaves on Christian talk radio with ads featuring Sen. Barack Obama talking about his faith and prominent “pro-lifers” explaining — and supporting — Obama’s position on abortion.

Minnesota Religious Right: Mattel’s new dolls support radical Islam

Jan Markell of the end-times movement Olive Tree Ministries in Maple Grove, Minn., says a doll marketed by toy-making giant Mattel is indoctrinating children into Islam. The Little Mommy Cuddle ‘n Coo dolls are designed to make baby sounds — cooing, giggling, and baby babble. But that’s not what the Minnesota’s religious right is hearing. Listen for yourself.

Religious Right Watch: Bachmann allies slam Republican committee

With a week to go until the election, Minnesota is seeing a flurry of activity by religious right figures. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is blasting Republicans for not standing up for their favored candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, while the Council is using MnIndy’s reporting to attack DFL candidates. Right-wing bloggers are up in arms over the cancellation of a speech by pro-life activist Bay Buchanan at the College of St. Catherine, and a national anti-abortion group is flooding Minnesota mailboxes with anti-Obama literature.

Minnesota judicial races: Evangelical Supreme Court candidate tells anti-Muslim correspondent ‘We speak the same language’

Deborah Hedlund, a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, received an anti-Muslim email from a campaign vendor, Matt Look, that said, “Can Muslims Be Good Americans?” the Pioneer Press reports. The email continued, “Perhaps we should be suspicious of all Muslims in this country. They obviously cannot be both ‘good’ Muslims and good Americans. … [...]