The Democratic National Committee passed a first-of-its-kind resolution Saturday recognizing the “ethical soundness” and “importance” of religiously unaffiliated Americans while contending such voters “share the Democratic Party’s values.”

The resolution – passed at the DNC’s summer meeting – was championed by the Secular Coalition of America, an organization that lobbies on behalf of atheists, agnostics and humanists in public policy. The coalition said it was the first time the party had “embraced American nonbelievers.” It passed unanimously absent one abstention, the coalition said. 

“[T]he religiously unaffiliated demographic represents the largest religious group within the Democratic Party, growing from 19% in 2007 to one in three today,” the resolution says. “… [T]he Democratic Party is an inclusive organization that recognizes that morals, values, and patriotism are not unique to any particular religion, and are not necessarily reliant on having a religious worldview at all.” 

The religiously unaffiliated, the resolution asserts, “overwhelmingly share the Democratic Party’s values,” with “70% voting for Democrats in 2018, 80% supporting same-sex marriage, and 61% saying immigrants make American society stronger.” 

The resolution says the DNC recognizes the “value, ethical soundness, and…

The head coach of the top-ranked college football team and the defending national champions says life isn’t all about sports.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said during his press conference this week he wants his team to focus on one word this year: purpose. But Swinney – whose team is ranked No. 1 in the major polls – defines “purpose” differently than many football fans would. 

“My word is ‘purpose’ this year – my purpose as a man, my purpose as a father, my purpose as a husband, and then our purpose as a program. …. And then also helping my staff and my players find and fulfill their purpose.

“[I’m] just really convicted on that. We’ve had a lot of success, I’m going into year 11, but we’ve stayed true to who we are the whole way. … I know what my purpose as a man is, and that’s to glorify God. That’s to be a great husband and father, and it’s to use the game of football to equip young people for life. That’s just that simple.”

Love this from Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.

“I know what my purpose as a man is. That’s to glorify God, be a great husband and father and use the game of football to equip young people for life.” pic.twitter.com/8a3Ex6qVp8

— Jason Romano (@JasonRomano) August 26, 2019

Swinney’s first full year as a head coach was 2009, one year after the Tigers finished 7-6. Since then, they’ve won two national…

Nearly 140 musicians from across the musical spectrum, including Lady Gaga, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus, are featured in a full-page ad supporting Planned Parenthood’s new “#Bans Off My Body” campaign.

The Aug. 24 Billboard ad, “Band Together, Bans Off,” asks fans to learn more about abortion restrictions and to use their social media accounts to promote the campaign by signing a national petition calling for the end of abortion bans. They hope to garner at least 500,000 signatures by next January’s anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade decision.

Planned Parenthood has enlisted the help of celebrities as it deals with the fallout of what it calls “draconian” restrictions to abortion access. Already this year, more than two-dozen laws have been implemented across the country to protect the lives of the unborn, including those covering informed consent, heartbeat detection, abortion clinic regulations and parental involvement. All of the laws impose new restrictions and none are outright bans, although the window allowing abortions has tightened significantly due to some of the bills.

The orchestrated campaign also includes a strategy by Planned Parenthood to use numerous music festivals, including Philadelphia’s Made in America and Music Midtown in Atlanta, to promote easy access to abortions, while some musicians also plan…

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria, August 27, 2019 (Morning Star News) – A brigade of gendarmerie showed up at an evangelical worship site in Algeria on Monday (Aug. 26) to execute the latest of several church closure orders from provincial authorities, but Christian leaders thwarted the attempt.

When Akbou gendarmerie parked their vehicles at 9:30 a.m. at the church courtyard in Ighzer Amokrane, 192 kilometers (119 miles) east of Algiers, the building was filled with about 200 Christians from different churches united in prayer and worship, and protest banners hung from the walls: “NO to the unjust closing of the churches,” and, “Abrogation of Law 03/06.”

Authorities had issued a warning earlier this month that the 300-member Ighzer Amokrane church would be closed.

The officers, armed with police weaponry, cautiously got out of their vehicles.

A church elder, a council member of the legally recognized umbrella group of Protestant churches in Algeria, the Protestant Church of Algeria (l’Église Protestante d’Algérie, or EPA) and their attorney greeted them, backed by Christians from 33 churches, sources said.

The attorney, Wahab Chiter, asked to see the closure order. After reading it, he told the brigade chief that it was invalid because the provincial chief was not empowered to sign such an order, sources said. A closure order for a place of worship, he explained, can come…