Last year the atheists and the Christians got into an entertaining billboard war around Christmastime, with the God-deniers putting up a billboard outside the Lincoln Tunnel calling Christ a "myth" and the God-vocates firing back with their own ad showing Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, with the copy "You Know It's Real." It's unclear how many souls were saved or minds liberated (depending on your preferences) but it was good for the billboard business. However, this year Team God isn't taking the bait... at least not yet. more ›

In an attempt to be a bit more politically correct about the holiday season, officials have removed a nativity scene from the St. George Ferry Terminal, leaving the more pagan-friendly Christmas tree to hold its own against Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and celebrations of the solstice. One commuter told CBS 2, "Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Christmas, everybody should be able to celebrate." And the Catholic League isn't too happy, especially because they can't counter the "attack" with a billboard. more ›

Atheists have been trying to get out their message, from city bus ads to the recent controversial billboard displayed at the Lincoln Tunnel which prompted a counter-billboard from the Catholic League. The latest: Co-opting rich billionaires into the act. Recently, the Illini Secular Student Alliance (ISSA), at the University of Illinois, launched a bus ad campaign to set the record straight when it comes to the charitable atheists of our world. more ›

The American Atheists insist they're not trying to anger anyone with their billboard calling Christmas a "myth" outside the Lincoln Tunnel in New Jersey, but emblazoning the word "myth" over a nativity scene has ruffled a few feathers. Among the angry is the Catholic League, who have countered with their own billboard on the New York side of the tunnel, theirs reading, "You know it's real. This season celebrate Jesus." The league writes in a statement, "Our approach is positive, and services the common good. Theirs is negative, and is designed to sow division. It's what they do...So after Christian motorists have had their sensibilities assaulted as they exit New Jersey, they will experience a sense of joy, and satisfaction, as they enter New York City." Sorry, but the joy of leaving Jersey has nothing to do with the billboards. more ›

A few months ago the Catholic League got angry at the Empire State Building planners for not agreeing to light up blue and white to honor Mother Teresa's 100th birthday. City Councilman Peter Vallone proposed a bill to force the building to light up, Brooklyn Borough Hall and the Intrepid both agreed to light, and Christine Quinn called ESB owner Anthony Malkin a hypocrite. But now, some Catholics are saying Mother Teresa wouldn't want her birthday in lights anyway. more ›

The Catholic League is planning a protest at the Empire State Building, because the city's tallest skyscraper won't pay tribute to the late Mother Teresa! The group asked that the building lights be blue and white (the colors of her congregation) on the 100th anniversary of her birthday, August 26, but the building refused. more ›

Model, actress and animal lover Joanna Krupa is the latest face (and body) to be splashed across a PETA ad. The "Angel for Animals" theme, which has Krupa bearing a cross against her bare body, isn't sitting too well with everyone, however. more ›

The NY Times has an entertaining profile of William Donohue, the head of the Catholic League: For Religious and Civil Rights. Locally, you may remember him from his support of putting nativity scenes back in public schools, condemning the Jerry Springer opera and getting Opie & Anthony fired, but he's a fixture on TV talk shows blasting movie adaptations of Dan Brown books—in Angels & Demons, "They even have a scene where rats eat a bunch of cardinals. Can you imagine any other religion where this would not be viewed as rank religious bias?"—and slamming Notre Dame's president for inviting President Obama to receive an honorary degree—"Here is a Catholic priest, bestowing an honor on someone who supports selective infanticide." The divorced father of two wants to end anti-Catholic bias, but he's not above embracing South Park's withering parody of Donohue by way of The Da Vinci Code, The Easter Bunny, and The Matrix—Donohue has a still from the episode and seemingly brags to the Times, "In the episode, they have me overthrow the pope because the pope is a wimp, and then I take over the church and give it some guts." more ›

Another clash of the art world and the religious reich is going down in the East Village. The AP reports that a "Roman Catholic watchdog group is protesting a student art exhibition that includes vulgar depictions of religious symbols including a crucifix and rosary." Just how does one depict a rosary as vulgar? There are ways:

The target of the protest is a series of paintings by Felipe Baeza. One of them depicts a man with his pants down and a crucifix in his rectum. A Latin caption says, "The day I became a Catholic." Another painting shows rosaries with male genitalia and a third, a man with a halo and erection.

Surely there is a difference between art, traditionally understood as conveying beauty, and junk. I have the sneaking suspicion that these paintings made the cut precisely because they were an assault on Catholic sensibilities. No, I can’t prove what the motive was, but I can be deadly certain that if even a reverential portrait of Muhammad had been offered, it would have been rejected. I hasten to add that if a reverential portrait of Jesus had been submitted, it too would have been rejected, but for entirely different reasons.”

The Equinox fitness club chain will soon be bringing a controversial ad campaign to New York City that features nuns sketching a male nude model. The ads are currently on display only in Boston, but will soon be shown in other cities, including NYC. The Boston Archdiocese feels that the ads are a slam against the Church and the Catholic faith. Keira McCaffrey of New York's Catholic League expressed less outrage than disdain. "It's gratuitous. It's of course … it's a slap at nuns, but you know what? It's trite. It's not even clever. This is an old cliché ... let's make fun of nuns." Bill Donahue, the head of the Catholic League, weighed in, calling the ad "patently stupid" and "sophomoric." C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League wasn't as dismissive, calling the ad "unfair and depraved." more ›

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League – a group that exists to promote Bill Donohue, er, prevent “virulent anti-Catholicism” – is leading a protest against Jerry Springer: The Opera, which will be performed at Carnegie Hall on January 29th and 30th and stars Harvey Keitel as Springer. The show chronicles Jerry Springer’s adventures in hell, where he's forced to host an outrageous talk show whose guests include Adam and Eve, Mary, Jesus, and, as his crowd “warm up” man, Satan. more ›

The holiday-time movie releases are starting to pile up with their usual feverish frequency. Some have Christmas themes, like the widely reviled Vince Vaughn vehicle Fred Claus that’s already roadkill on the lost highway of cinema history; others, like Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, are timed to make an impression as close to Academy Award-voting season as possible. Here are some of the biggest gorillas set to dominate New York’s screens in the next six... more ›

Oh, Catholic League - it isn't even Halloween and you're getting ready for Christmas already! The Sun reports that the Catholic League sent a letter to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein questioning why nativity scenes cannot be displayed in schools. more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg, Schools Chancellor Klein, City Council Speaker Quinn, and other city and school officials celebrated the first day of school yesterday with an appearance at P.S. 53 in the Bronx. P.S. 53 was selected because it will be receiving almost a half million dollars more in funding, due to Bloomberg's "fair student funding reforms." more ›

Aha! The Sun has some feedback from a number of organizations about the Manhattan Mini Storage billboard that proclaims "Your closet space is shrinking as fast as her right to choose" with a big hanger in the image. The ad, which on the storage company's West Side highway space, has been generating much controversy. more ›

The Catholic League had said it was highly offensive to display a sculpture of Jesus with "his genitals exposed" and invite the public to eat it. more ›

A six-foot tall chocolate sculpture of Jesus which will be displayed at a Midtown hotel next week is stirring up controversy. Catholics are calling Cosimo Cavallaro's "My Sweet Lord" an "all-out war on Christianity." more ›

Yesterday, the Department of Health handed out the new NYC Condom all over town (video, too), excitedly pointing out that NYC is the first city to brand its own condom! Woo! Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden explained the move towards a branded condom, "Branding condoms is a great way to encourage their use. You know it's good quality, and you know it's a name you can trust." Frieden was also punny, saying, "We are unveiling, unfurling, unrolling, if you will, rolling out the New York City condom." more ›