by Kate Shellnutt As teens, they start thinking that it just doesn’t make sense anymore, and for years, it’s their secret… then, in college, surrounded by more open-minded peers, they come out of the dark, still-stigmatized atheist closet. One in four adults under 30 are atheists, agnostics or unaffiliated, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (see chart), but the number of young people who outwardly identify as nonbelievers is much, much smaller, for fear that it could threaten their careers, social lives or familial relationships. Now, with the help of the Internet and the Obama administration , 2009 may start a more open age for America’s nonreligious" (Click here to read the entire article)

Image via Wikipedia A principal and an athletic director in Florida could be charged with crimes and spend six months in jail after they prayed before a meal at a school event, the Washington Times reported. Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and athletic director Robert Freeman will go on trial in federal district court Sept. 17. They're accused of violating the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil Liberties Union , according to the Times. Local pastors and some students and teachers are outraged that Lay and Freeman face criminal charges, and they have protested during graduation ceremonies, the newspaper said. "I have been defending religious freedom issues for 22 years, and I've never had to defend somebody who has been charged criminally for praying," said Mathew Staver , founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel , the Christian-based legal group that is defending the two school officials. But an ACLU official sa...

Image by nimrodcooper (gone for now) via Flickr Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. — Matthew 18:19 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. — James 5:15 A central Wisconsin man accused of killing his 11-year-old daughter by praying instead of seeking medical care was found guilty Saturday of second-degree reckless homicide. Dale Neumann , 47, was convicted in the March 23, 2008, death of his daughter, Madeline, from undiagnosed diabetes. Prosecutors contended he should have rushed the girl to a hospital because she couldn't walk, talk, eat or drink. Instead, Madeline died on the floor of the family's rural Weston home as people surrounded her and prayed. Someone called 911 when she stopped breathing. Sitting straight in his chair, Neumann stared at the jury as the verdict in a nearly empty courtroom was read. He declined comment as h...