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Jeffress’ Statement About Trump’s God-Given Authority is Nonsense

By Rosalind C. Hughes

…wn to him by a higher power—but that is not the same as saying that he was using that authority properly. It was not the ordained role of the religious adviser, even before the separation of church and state, to grease every decision of a ruler with the oil of divine approval—and to claim that those who have political power are always acting on behalf of God’s good judgement is arrant nonsense. Jeffress does Trump no favors by pretending that when…

East Lansing Demonstrates How Not to Respond to Anti-LGBT “Christian” Businesses

By Sunnivie Brydum

…akes to apple cider, the nation’s best-funded Christian legal nonprofit is using “religious” foodservice vendors to undermine state and local non-discrimination laws. Typically, as I’ve previously reported here at RD, the Alliance Defending Freedom’s M.O. is to carve out special—and absolute—protections for anti-LGBT views and conduct when framed as “sincerely held religious beliefs.” But in one of the ADF’s latest cases, the well-meaning Michigan…

Steve Bannon and the Conservative “Cafeteria Catholics”

By Patricia Miller

…f undocumented immigrants. Bannon’s answer, after slamming the bishops for using “illegal aliens to fill the churches,” was a masterpiece of the type of pick-and-choose Catholicism that conservatives usually decry: As much as I respect Cardinal Dolan and the bishops on doctrine, this is not doctrine. This is not doctrine at all. I totally respect the pope and I totally respect the Catholic bishops and cardinals on doctrine. This is not about doctr…

Leave Your Stereotypes at the Door: 10Q on “Keeping it Halal”

By John O'Brien

…ld say Eli Anderson’s Code of the Street. It’s such a wonderful example of using the ethnographic method to dig beneath common stereotypes and reveal the social dynamics underlying a supposedly well-understood phenomenon. In his case, he’s looking at the situation of inner-city violence among young African American men. By carefully observing, listening, documenting, and then analyzing, he is able to show that what is really going on with these os…

Advice from a Disaster Pastor: Open Your Wallet, Not Your Closet

By Carlos Wilton

…ntributed directly to a house of worship or relief agency than there is in using the same greenback to buy dog food or diapers. The cost of transportation must always be factored in. Besides that, empowering local non-profits to do the shopping close to the distribution-point helps jump-start the storm-ravaged local economy. But there’s another, more ominous reason why, for so many donors, gifts of stuff trump gifts of money. Money’s not only abst…

Soft Supremacy: When “Liking” Love Is Not Enough

By Peter Laarman

…class white people alike, albeit in different ways and albeit by cleverly using race itself to maintain and reinforce economic and political domination. Yes, that’s right: even at this point of crisis, I’m proposing that would-be white allies study how real power works. Pay attention to Robert Mercer, not Steven Bannon. Get a clue about the white working class rather than consigning all non-elite whites to a “deplorables” basket. Joan Williams’ b…

White Supremacy and Orthodox Christianity: A Dangerous Connection Rears Its Head in Charlottesville

By Katherine Kelaidis

…thodoxy. While the Neo-Nazis and Neo-Confederates may be relatively few in number, there is increasing evidence that Orthodoxy has become an integral part of the ideological and recruitment apparatus within some segments of the white supremacist movement. Importantly, these ideas and the converts to them are being tolerated, and frequently exploited, by much more powerful voices. This growing attachment to Eastern Orthodox Christianity among a seg…

Pat Robertson: No Longer a Relevant Player

By Becky Garrison

…show or a tape of that segment know exactly what he said—that it would be cheaper to assassinate Chavez than to wage a costly war against him. But no matter how you slice this baloney, God makes it pretty clear that vengeance is his business and not ours. (See Romans 12:19–21). In a few brief moments, Robertson managed to flush over two thousand years of Judeo-Christian teachings down the toilet. As I witnessed that notorious segment on The 700 C…

“The Slut Assumption”: Myths About Jewelry Reveal Diamonds Aren’t Always A Girl’s Best Friend

By Wendy Doniger

…olutely essential to spend $10,000 on a diamond engagement ring instead of using the money for a down payment on a condo. This is a great example of the power of myth! Did you have a specific audience in mind when writing? I wrote this book for all the women who are fascinated by jewelry, and for some men too. It has a feminist sub-text, showing how men in most cultures have kept women from owning any property but jewelry, and how men told these s…

Federal Appeals Court Finds Wisconsin School’s Transphobic Policy Unconstitutional Days Before Plaintiff Graduates

By Sunnivie Brydum

…forcing the gender essentialist policy it implemented after Whitaker began using the boys’ restroom at school last year. The defendant, Kenosha Unified School District, could appeal the decision to the full Seventh Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court, but attorneys for the plaintiffs are hopeful that, with two rulings in their favor and Whitaker’s imminent graduation, the district will let Tuesday’s ruling stand. If that happens, presiding case law…