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Suicide Leads to Calls for Improved Treatment of LGBT Mormons

By Joanna Brooks

…s, there is debate over whether focusing on gay suicides actually works to change Mormon hearts and minds. But in the wake of Bryan’s death, many Mormons—LGBT and otherwise—are reflecting on the kind of support our communities are capable of offering gay Mormons who feel they can no longer hide their sexuality. I’ve heard LDS Church members ask whether excommunication is the best institutional response to gay Mormons in acute spiritual struggle or…

Does Atheism Have a Misogyny Problem?

By Julia Galef

…th a stranger? How much of an imposition would it be on men to ask them to change their behavior? It’s obviously impossible to measure these quantities precisely, but even some rough estimates would have gone a long way toward determining which unofficial policy for situations like Elevatorgate would yield the best outcome. The philosopher J. L. Mackie offered a memorable thought experiment about how to choose your ethical views in his book Ethics…

Don’t Write Obit for Liberal Zionism Just Yet: A Conversation With Israeli MK Merav Michaeli

By Sarah Posner

…new calling as “the space in which there is power to create a reality, to change reality, to have an influence.” In a way, Michaeli invites comparison to Barack Obama: a writer and activist who saw an opening to make good on the promise of social justice and leadership in politics, one who doesn’t scold about inequality, but presents a hopeful vision for a more equitable future. But Michaeli—unlike Obama of the mid-2000s—does not offer up illusio…

LDS Apostle Says Same-Sex Attraction Can be Overcome

By Joanna Brooks

…” Elder Packer also reaffirmed opposition to same-sex marriage: “We cannot change; we will not change. We quickly lose our way when we disobey the laws of God. If we do not protect and foster the family, civilization and our liberties must needs perish.” As has been explored here on RD, Mormonism accords a unique theological priority to marriage as a spiritual rite necessary to salvation. In addition to being theologically orthodox, Packer’s messa…

Taqwacore Roundtable: On Punks, the Media, and the Meaning of “Muslim”

By Shahjehan Khan

…ly] the same story has been circulating for a while, and it is up to us to change it now, to be responsible with this media attention. I think that the next year will be the true test of what TQ is really all about (if anything more than a group of friends). One would hope that more bands are started, I think we would all agree on that. HR: There seems to be a long history of immigrant South Asians writing resistive poetry in the US and England. A…

Can Art Save Us From Fundamentalism?

By Philip S. Francis

…vealed as we—and our fellow human beings—negotiate experiences of profound change and redirection. There are few life events that represent more of an individual sea-change than a religious conversion or de-conversion. I think the book captures at least glimpses of how much life is in the transitions—and how multi-facted the role of the arts can be in navigating our way to other shores. Is there anything you had to leave out? I left out sex, and h…

Will Sisters Save the Catholic Church?

By Mary E. Hunt

…bishops speak for the whole Church, is not very helpful. I agree it would change the aesthetics, and that might be nice, but without structural change, without empowering the many voices of Catholics to speak as Catholics, replacing one small group for another, gender notwithstanding, is dubious. To answer Maureen Dowd directly, to have a woman Pope who would presume to speak for the whole Church would not be much of a step forward. One has only…

Rising Influence of New Apostolic Reformation Teachings is Ominous Sign For the US — Especially For LGBTQ Students

By Jonathon Sawyer

…istine Robinson have even referred to as “genocidal.” In 2016 conservative policymakers, who today push anti-LGBTQ legislation at an alarming rate, were not prepared to implement some of the most revolutionary elements of the MAGA movement. Enter Project 2025. With eerie echoes of the NAR’s Seven Mountain Mandate, Project 2025 unabashedly seeks to take the reins of government via policies that would drastically change the landscape of American gov…

Christian Responses to COVID-19 Raise Old Religion v. Science Questions

By Chrissy Stroop

…Church that communion is magic. The miracle of transubstantiation does not change the material properties of the bread and wine. That is the miracle.” When pressed on how she can state that the Orthodox Church has never taught “that communion is magic” when some of its leaders are clearly doing so, Kelaidis clarified, “It’s not the historical consensus of the Church. And I would argue it’s not the Orthodox position that a single bishop can overrid…

Back to School at The First Public School In the Country To Require a World Religions Course

By Joseph Laycock

…(including Diane Moore, Stephen Prothero, and myself) have suggested that change must begin in the schools. The establishment clause does not forbid teaching about religion from a non-devotional perspective and, in theory, students are already required to learn about world religions as part of world history. But whenever someone proposes a high school world religion course, naysayers chime in: “Conservative Christian parents will never allow it!,…