Atheists want free thinking- as long as you're not thinking about God
Have you heard about the unholy row that's been going on in France this Advent season? Of all things, it is about the French tradition of displaying nativity scenes in public buildings. One French court has stirred up a hornet's nest by ordering a regional government office to take down the Christmas crib it set up in its lobby as usual this year. The western town of La Roche-sur-Yon, in the traditionally Catholic Vendée region, is appealing the order. Conservative politicians in other towns, especially those from the far-right National Front, have announced they will resist it. The nativity scene at Béziers city hall, which has also been the subject of demands for its removal. The court acted after a complaint from the ironically named atheist Freethinkers Federation , ( Fédération Nationale de la Libre Pensée ) which said the crib violated the 1905 laïcité law separating Church and state. A Federation official said the group pressed the issue in reaction to huge...