Minnesota Independent

Pastor who gave controversial Senate prayer bought anti-Muslim ads

By Andy Birkey | 03.15.11 | 4:30 pm

The Associated Press reports that a Christian prayer on the Minnesota Senate floor on Monday made non-Christian members of that body uncomfortable. Pastor Dennis Campbell’s prayer was highly Christian, as opposed to the nonsectarian prayers that were commonplace under DFL control. It’s not Campbell’s first controversy; last summer he took out ads in the St. Cloud Times that were viewed as anti-Muslim.

Bachmann will ‘look to the Lord’ in deciding 2012 presidential bid

By Andy Birkey | 02.18.11 | 2:32 pm

Rep. Michele Bachmann told Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network Friday that she will “look to the Lord” for guidance on whether she’ll run for the Republican nomination for president in 2012. Bachmann, whose activism in the tea party movement and among conservative evangelical Christians has her visiting most parts of the country, has repeatedly said that her faith would guide her decision to seek higher office.

GOP’s Beard wants more coal plants because God will fix global warming

By Andy Birkey | 02.16.11 | 4:00 pm

Rep. Mike Beard (R-Shakopee) is pushing for more new coal-fired power plants in Minnesota, but the Shakopee Republican is undeterred by reports about the effects of carbon-emitting energy production on global warming. His reason: He believes God will prevent the planet from running out of fossil fuels while also eliminating the harms associated with climate change. While Beard speaks from his religious tradition, many others in Minnesota’s faith communities believe it’s dangerous to wait for divine intervention to solve our environmental problems — and they say it’s the duty of people of faith to preserve the planet for future generations.

Ellison: Egyptians gave strong rebuke to al-Qaeda and religious extremism

By Andy Birkey | 02.16.11 | 11:44 am

Rep. Keith Ellison says that the non-violent protests in Egypt delivered a strong rebuke of the tactics of al-Qaida and religious extremism. In an interview with the Voice of America, he also said that concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt were overblown, noting that the group’s popularity is low.

Wooing the religious right: Will it help or hurt Pawlenty’s 2012 bid?

By Andy Birkey | 02.10.11 | 10:15 am

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty has spent the past few weeks trying to curry favor with a slew of conservative religious figures, some so extreme they’ve been labeled “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He’s gone public about his plan to reinstate of the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers if elected president and claimed that America was founded “under God.” While Pawlenty has always been a social conservative, he hasn’t worn it on his sleeve this prominently. But will these new friends help or hamper his likely 2012 bid for president?

Kline sponsors bill to reaffirm ‘In God We Trust’

By Andy Birkey | 02.08.11 | 8:30 am

Republican Rep. John Kline is a sponsor of a resolution in the U.S. House that would reaffirm “In God We Trust” as the national motto and encourages the posting of the motto on government buildings and in public schools. The resolution has raised the ire of secular groups who say the resolution is unnecessary and that it is discriminatory against non-believers as well as faithful Americans whose religious traditions do not involve a Judeo-Christian god.

Kline, Bachmann sponsor bill that could allow hospitals to refuse emergency abortions

By Andy Birkey | 02.07.11 | 1:38 pm

Reps. John Kline and Michele Bachmann are cosponsors of a bill that would allow faith-based hospitals and health care clinics to deny women emergency abortions, pro-choice advocates say. The Protect Life Act would prevent private health insurance policies offered in the health exchanges set up by last year’s health care reform from paying for abortion. It also OKs a “conscience clause” which allows religious people to deny care for women seeking an abortion.

Obama appoints Pawlenty’s pastor to faith council

By Andy Birkey | 02.07.11 | 8:17 am

President Obama named a dozen faith leaders to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on Friday, and two of them hail from Minnesota. Leith Anderson of the National Association of Evangelicals, who is also Tim Pawlenty’s pastor, was appointed by Obama, as was fellow Minnesota Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The council, formerly known under President Bush as the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, has had a healthy number of Minnesotans under Obama.

Allen West. Photo: Gage Skidmore, Flickr

Religious leaders call on Rep. West to apologize over remarks about Rep. Ellison

By Andy Birkey | 02.03.11 | 9:33 am

Jewish and Baptist leaders are among those calling on Rep. Allen West to apologize for remarks he made about Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. West told a Florida radio station that Ellison represents the “antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established.” The faith leaders told West that his remarks were “neither appropriate, nor true to the American values that you reference.”

Family Council to spend $4.71 million to ‘ignite’ gay marriage battle

By Andy Birkey | 01.27.11 | 9:00 am

The Minnesota Family Council has launched its “Ignite” campaign to “achieve cultural transformation” over the next two years. According to a brochure put out by the group, MFC plans to spend $4.71 million with the main aim of getting a constitutional amendment banning relationship rights for same-sex couples onto the ballot and passed by Minnesota voters.