Religion Dispatches
…casions said that Islam is an “evil and wicked religion,” which prompted a cancellation of the Pentagon National Day of Prayer event in 2010, generating even more polemic about Obama’s supposedly insufficient Christian-ness. At that time, Graham not only dug his heels in on Islam, but told USA Today that Obama only listened to black religious figures: “Obama pays attention only to black charismatic and Pentecostal pastors, such as his spiritual ad…
Read More…d McMillen, who was harassed so badly by students blaming her for the prom cancellation that she had to transfer to another high school to finish her senior year. “I hope this means that in the future students at my school will be treated fairly. I know there are students and teachers who want to start a gay-straight alliance club, and they should be able to do that without being treated like I was by the school.” Even though the school cancelled…
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…much more support from the European states than it does from America. In a number of countries, Catholic schools are subsidized by the state and in some Catholic agencies even receive a defined share of taxes for overseas development projects. The European Union and the Overseas Development agencies also provide large amounts of money for Catholic projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. There have been sporadic attempts to cut off such funds…
Read More…indus are often left out of the conversation about the future of the Hindu American community, and few Hindu organizations—often more tuned into the concerns of the generally more affluent and educated Indian American Hindu community—have been able to effectively advocate on their behalf. As a result, they have been marginalized. For thousands of Nepalis, that’s likely to mean being sent back to devastation. Barring a last-minute change of heart b…
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…ts in Australian society. Opposition was concentrated in suburbs with high numbers of working-class immigrants on the suburban fringes, including locations popular with Islamic communities. Brazil: Conservative Christian activists protest gender theorist Judith Butler At Inside Higher Ed, philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler describes to Scott Jaschik her experience earlier this month in Brazil, where “she faced an ugly protest at which s…
Read More…orks throughout the region, told the Blade earlier this month during a telephone interview from Buenos Aires there have been “setbacks in regards to human rights” in Argentina and other countries in “which the LGBT community has gained very strong visibility and (trans-friendly) laws.” Romero added the Roman Catholic Church, gangs, conservative lawmakers and governments and other groups continue to influence people’s transphobic attitudes that she…
Read More…indus are often left out of the conversation about the future of the Hindu American community, and few Hindu organizations—often more tuned into the concerns of the generally more affluent and educated Indian American Hindu community—have been able to effectively advocate on their behalf. As a result, they have been marginalized. For thousands of Nepalis, that’s likely to mean being sent back to devastation. Barring a last-minute change of heart b…
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…ls that aired on Halloween 1977. Faced with faltering ratings and imminent cancellation, host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) takes a chance by bringing on a series of spooky guests, including “Lilly,” a girl who was rescued from a Satanic cult and is allegedly possessed. The story is a bizarre mashup of The Exorcist (1973) and Network (1976)—with a touch of the Faust legend thrown in—that perfectly captures the mood and style that surrounded med…
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…ious intolerance. While HGTV did not announce the reasons for their show’s cancellation, it was clearly not, as the Benhams and their fans suggest, because the majority-Christian society cannot tolerate Christians. It wasn’t the Benhams’ faith, or even their belief that homosexual activity is sinful, that caused the controversy. It was their anti-gay, anti-choice, anti-Muslim rhetoric and public activism, which included explicit public calls for c…
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…wal of institutional and financial support for the panel, and its eventual cancellation. Here, we see a misunderstanding as to what scholars of religion do. Critiques often fell into (or, at least, close to) the rhetoric of the “Palestinian exception” to free speech. As Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights have argued, “decision makers cloak their disfavor for Palestine rights advocacy through reference to ‘balance,’ ‘dialogue,…
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