By Christy Barritt

Kirk Cameron Big Winner at 35th Golden Raspberry Awards

Kirk Cameron took home top prizes at the Golden Raspberry Awards this year. The Razzies are the opposite of the Oscars; awards are given for negative honors in Hollywood such as the worst movie and worst director.

Cameron earned a Razzie for Worst Screen Combo, Worst Screenplay, Worst Actor, and Worst Picture for his film Saving Christmas. The faith-based comedy was widely panned by critics and viewers alike, scoring only a 1.9 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review website. Some claimed the film did poorly simply because of a bias against faith-based entertainment.

Cameron’s film was intended to be a story about putting Christ back in Christmas. The movie focused heavily on where Christmas traditions originated but even alienated some groups of Christians because of several viewpoints on what constitutes pagan versus Christian traditions.

Atheist Says It’s Wrong to Saddle Kids with “Christian” Label

Evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins said recently that parents labeling young children by a religion such as “Christian children” or “Muslim children” is just as wrong as labeling a child “liberal” or “conservative.”

In an article for Time magazine, the author of The God Delusion said society is saddling children with religious labels. According to Dawkins, children are not old enough to have religious beliefs. He was quoted in response to a legal case in London concerning the ban of pork in primary schools so children of various religions don’t have to consume foods against their beliefs.

Dawkins also said that faith in God is responsible for many of the atrocities in the world today, such as the recent shooting in Pakistan. “Mental illness can drive a lone nutter to do it,” Dawson said. “But an organized group needs an extreme motivation—faith, in something like a god or Nazism.”

Labs Remain America’s Most Popular Dog

Labrador retrievers are still the top dog in the U.S., for the 24th year in a row. The American Kennel Club released its rankings in February, listing the most popular dog breeds in America. The list is derived from the number of dogs within each breed registered with the club.

“The Lab truly is America’s dog,” AKC Vice President Gina DiNardo said in a statement.

German shepherds, golden retrievers, bulldogs, and beagles rounded out the top five. Following behind them were Yorkshire terriers, poodles, boxers, French bulldogs, and Rottweilers. Dachshunds slipped this year from 10th to 11th.

Labrador retrievers are known not only as good house pets, but they’re also skilled in search-and-rescue police work, agility training, and as therapy dogs.

Christians, Gays, and Jews Band Together to Help Muslim

A Muslim girl who was denied a job at a popular clothing store received help from some unlikely allies.

When Samantha Elauf was 17, she applied to work at a clothing store. The interview went well and the manager was ready to hire her. However, the manager later said he couldn’t employ her because of the company’s strict dress code, which prohibits headscarves.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court on the basis of the Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal to “fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual . . . because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”

Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and gay rights groups all filed “friend of the court” briefs in support of Elauf. The clothing company argued that Elauf never expressed she wore the headscarf for religious reasons. As of press time, the court’s decision was pending.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband, Scott, have two sons (christybarritt.com).