Religion Dispatches
…ics had the same restrictions as Ambulatory Surgical Centers, which are much higher than those they are being inspected for right now.” Moreover, he said, “if you read the new law, the standards are not very restrictive—every medical facility could probably pass inspection.” KFL Legislative Director Kathy Ostrowski points out that the Kansas Health Department used other states’ licensure requirements as a guide, eventually following Arizona’s and…
Read More…men carry an economic cost that could reach $119.1 billion annually. Hannah Harris Green reports on the ongoing legal flight of LGBT refugees, taking note of a recent decision by the U.S. Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit that an immigration judge had erred in refusing to acknowledge an asylum seeker’s transgender identity. The article touches on those seeking asylum in Canada, Australia, and Europe. An excerpt: This decision means that transge…
Read More…ffington Post posted online shows the vice president striking the table with his palms as he spoke during the roundtable. “Culture never justifies rank, raw, discrimination or violation of human rights,” said Biden. “There is no cultural justification. None. None. None.” Biden also noted consensual same-sex sexual acts remain criminalized in more than 70 countries. “I have had some run ins with at least four heads of state already on this, making…
Read More…called Gomez’s open rebuke of Mahony “remarkable” given for “br[eaking] with the unspoken but nearly ironclad rule of the culture of Catholic hierarchy that bishops do not publicly criticize other bishops.” For his part, Mahony responded to Gomez with an open letter published at his personal blog which offered an apologetic account of his own evolving response to the abuse crisis, including his lack of training in how to handle abuse during his st…
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…borators have undertaken. There have been previous efforts to radically push the limits of the American Muslim community, especially around gender-inclusion—most notably Amina Wadud’s and Asra Nomani’s women-led mixed-gender prayer a decade ago. But the Women’s Mosque consciously frames and anchors the project not as groundbreaking, radical, or revolutionary, but as an one squarely within the orthodoxy of Islam, even if that claim is contested. Ed…
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…llution, because not only we humans have the right to live well, but also rivers, fish, animals, trees, and the Earth itself have the right to live in a healthy environment, free from poison and pollution. 4. The right to harmony and balance with everyone and among everyone Mother Earth has a right to be recognized as a part of a system in which all living creatures are interdependent. This implies the right to live in harmony with human beings….
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…to focus on my breathing for the umpteenth time, a loud snore ripped through the auditorium, jolting me out of my seconds-long quest for healing and transformation. An attendee several rows back continued to enjoy his nap until Dr. Kamlesh D. Patel, the keynote speaker at the University of Southern California’s Heartfulness conference ended the exercise. “I like to move beyond spirituality because this journey is infinite. It’s about moving from k…
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…quality video featuring activists from around the world. In partnership with Human Rights Campaign and Outright, Logo has launched Global Ally, “a year-long storytelling project” meant to “provide inside looks into the lives of international LGBTI people and feature ways to send direct messages of solidarity and support to activists around the world.” HRC has also launched a video series “highlighting global innovators in the fight to LGBTQ equali…
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On the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and said no. Pope John Paul II, in a definitive formulation, said that door is closed. –Pope Francis I, July 29, 2013 Boom. This is the same old same old theology—the Virgin Mary is more important than anyone else in the story, but living women cannot make ecclesial decisions, exercise sacramental ministry, or make ethical choices. Apparently, the question of women’s ordination is so yesterday in…
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…, and law. They were also motivated by private Protestant concerns. Although Hobson considered America to be authentically welcoming for people of other races or religions, such welcome was an extension of Christian charity from a Christian nation. God was forging a new White race out of the United States, which was destined to lead the world toward the promised Kingdom. American destiny was not a sure thing, however—it was God’s offer, not his gu…
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