Religion Dispatches
…tion, saying in 2010, “Up north, they think it was like the K.K.K. Where I come from, it was an organization of town leaders.” (Barbour is also not offended by the Confederate flag.) Moore has elicited comparisons to Alabama’s segregationist governor George Wallace, following his pledge to defy a federal court ruling invalidating Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage earlier this year. Moore ordered probate court clerks, who issue marriage licenses i…
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…ldhood religious group for the Anglican/Episcopal tradition), it is fairly common among evangelical writers and intellectuals. From the historian Randall Balmer and the author Ian Morgan Cron, to the poet Luci Shaw and even Bono of U2 — evangelicalism’s creative class is loaded with Anglicans.” This quest for wholeness leads her to the doors of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland, Tenn. Organizing her memoir around the sacraments of baptism,…
Read More…has absorbed millions of refugees, among them sexual minorities who have become outcasts from their own communities. In a Middle East that is becoming increasingly divided along political, religious, and ethnic lines, eclectic Istanbul offers a rare chance to cut across these invisible borders – the type of opportunity the recently formed group LGBT Arabie has jumped on. “There are hundreds of us here,” says the group’s co-founder, Nader, a 25-yea…
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…going on. For those who genuinely ask “What can we do to help?” the answer is simple: Muslim women need allies. But allies are not saviors, disparagers, or dictators. Allies listen with depth, humility and compassion. Allies amplify the voices of others, rather than their own. And allies come to the table with a respect for the humanity, diversity and agency of those they wish to support….
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…hich helps inmates move back into society. After a profile appeared on npr.com, a commenter with the handle Janis Spotts wrote, “I spent 4 years working in the MDOC as a nurse. I’m not naive about the evil that many had performed, but the treatment in prison only degrades the remains of the soul. Thank you for sharing this story-it gave me hope that change is possible-especially if it happens inside the soul.” She was joined by dozens of others wh…
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…magines Newton first heard it—all feeling, no words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uknMdAlVN4I#t=4m48s The only problem with the moving backstory that inspired this evocative rendition is that is probably not true. The melody now known and beloved as “Amazing Grace” joined Newton’s verses decades after he composed them. Without a doubt, many spirituals do have their melodic roots in pre-Christian traditions the enslaved brought with them acros…
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…ecognize that the “messy middle” is making a genuine effort to listen with compassion. Whether this middle space will end up becoming a transitional halfway house to full LGBTQ affirmation remains unclear. While I genuinely do not know the extent to which evangelicalism is capable of a thorough sea change, I do know that even if that day is coming, there’s something more than a little off-putting about the gleeful amens shouted by more progressive…
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…the prevalence of abuse in any church environment lacking adequate accountability structures. Even though the church formally dissolved in January 2015, the distribution of their assets remains buried beneath a myriad of LLCs. (For more on that, go to wenatcheethehatchet.blogspot.com.) Even should a church be reported for financial misconduct it would hardly matter since the IRS hasn’t investigated a single church case in over five years. Furtherm…
Read More…ces!” he said. “What great richness this diversity is, a diversity which becomes complimentary, but also reciprocal. It binds them, one to the other.” “Children mature seeing their father and mother like this; their identity matures being confronted with the love their father and mother have, confronted with this difference,” he said. Italy: Large protest in Rome against marriage equality Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Rome on Sat…
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…thy-training system that people don’t even realize they’re a part of. They come into a community concert, and hopefully they leave feeling more connected to other people. They’re more aware, they’ve experienced this emotional moment, which is really rare. I don’t know where else you do that. Even in a movie theater, you’re going to have that moment with a good movie, but you’re going to be sitting in the dark, you’re not going to talk to anyone, a…
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