Religion Dispatches
…nced the presence of the previously underground group, which does not have official recognition at the Christian school. School officials had the flyers removed almost immediately. But the next day, they issued a statement clarifying the school’s stance on human sexuality and assuring students struggling with same-sex attraction that they are welcome in the Biola community. This is Biola’s version of “welcome:” Biola students are required to sign…
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…e central government publishes national population targets and holds local officials accountable for meeting them. Some officials resort to illegal and coercive tactics to meet their quotas. These abuses happen primarily in rural areas where families want more children to work the land. In the cities, most couples voluntarily limit the size of their families. The central government disavows responsibility for the actions of these officials, but it…
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…ellectual one-stop-shop for all things Christian Nation, and his role as unofficial (and official) vetter of history textbooks. Like a one-man think tank, he steamrolls opponents with position papers, textbooks, blog posts, talking head appearances, and footnotes. In his work on the Christian origins of the United States, at least he has a modicum of evidence to produce, given the Christian proclivities of certain of the founders. In the war again…
Read More…ty firm. Just last week, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that an LDS Church official with the same last name mistakenly used a church email account to fundraise for Romney 2012. Pay attention to the names. Mormons do. I cite these two recent stories not to suggest any kind of wrongdoing. What I am saying is that to understand the Mormon world that Mitt Romney moves in, the world that has shaped his perspective and priorities, journalists need to st…
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…socialist-leaning and politically pragmatic Labor Zionists, broke with the official Zionist movement and formed their own organization. Eventually, the Revisionists would form their own military organization, the Irgun—led in the mid-1940s by Menachem Begin. As one of the intellectuals of the movement Netanyahu fell out of favor with the people who were to lead Israel in the first three decades of statehood. Though an accomplished historian and fl…
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…Have you heard anything from Cardinal Dolan or the archdiocese? Not in an official capacity. I have heard unofficially from friends who are priests that we needed to keep having this conversation, that if we keep talking the Church may respond in a good way. There is an opportunity for Cardinal Dolan to exercise a teachable moment, meet and talk with these young people, hear their stories, to show that they have dignity that should be respected….
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…is found guilty, it will set a legal precedent to go after Catholic Church officials who moved pedophiles and abusers without notifying legal authorities. The case is the first time that a diocesan official has been prosecuted for doing what the majority of bishops told them to do: bury the sexual abuse stories to protect the Church, or to move perpetrators to an undesirable parish. I am fervently hoping for a conviction in this trial. While the U…
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…ferred to as “the university,” by students, parents, and even a university official giving a speech. The unnamed hospital has a sign that says “Hospital.” But it isn’t really universal, is it? It depicts what abortion would be like if women were all beautiful, tragic figures, living in a world run by men who treated them with, not respect, but a kind of indulgent kindness. Well, okay. In the real world of policy, poverty, pregnancy complications,…
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…immolated in eastern Tibet. India has responded to the unrest by placing a number of Tibetan refugees under what they term “house arrest.” Below, Megan Sweas reports from India on the latest wave of protests. –Eds.] DELHI—Shibayan Raha had worried that this would happen. At a protest against the upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao, a 27-year-old Tibetan exile lit himself on fire and ran past the podium before police and other activists c…
Read More…it promotes a respect for religion by refusing to single out any creed for official favor at the expense of all others.” Last year, Republicans and conservative activists contended that HHS’s decision not to renew the Bishops’ contract under the TVPA amounted to anti-Catholic bias by the Obama administration. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who also did the Bishops’ bidding by holding hearing…
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