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7 Religion Stories to Watch in the 2012 Battleground States

By Joanna Brooks

…oof that not all Southern evangelicals dislike Romney. Everyone’s favorite Florida religion storyline fixates on older Jewish voters who perennially threaten to ditch Democrats for not being strong enough on Israel. Jews may make up only 3% of Florida, but margins are tight enough—Obama now leads by .4%—that their votes matter. An emerging storyline is that Latino evangelicals (who lean conservative on social issues but prioritize immigration refo…

Public Prayer Verdict Shows Its True Colors

By Brook Wilensky-Lanford

…isely not just another sect. The Board of Commissioners in Brevard County, Florida, recently voted unanimously not to allow a representative of the Central Florida Freethought Community to give an invocation. Such invocations are “…presented by members of our faith community….The prayer is delivered during the ceremonial portion of the county’s meeting, and typically invokes guidance for the County Commission from the highest spiritual authority,…

Religious Affiliation, ‘Mankind’: India’s Anti-Corruption Activist Leads Second Freedom Struggle

By April L. Bogle

…good move. When I got to the lobby another something told me to dig out my phone and check it for messages. Sure enough, I had one from an unfamiliar number. A woman’s voice said Bedi was still sleeping, exhausted from the previous day’s overseas flight, and needed to reschedule our interview for that afternoon. I called the number back, convinced the opportunity was lost. “I’m here at the hotel now, but I’m booked solid this afternoon—” “Hold on,…

Creeping Shari’ah… Ahem, Excuse Me… Biblical Law

By Julie Ingersoll

…te about a similar move with regard to public education here). There are a number of dimensions to the Florida plan but those that interest me are the plans to “privatize” the system by turning even more of it over to “faith based” prison ministries and to reshape the system as whole with a model put forth over 40 years ago by none other than RJ Rushdoony, the founder of Christian Reconstructionism. Governor Rick Scott wants to move prisoners from…

2016 Was the Year Queer and Trans Muslims Entered the Public Consciousness: Mahdia Lynn On This New Era

By The Editors

…will win. The other thing that happened in 2016 was the Pulse shooting in Orlando. And that was the first time queer and trans Muslims were an idea in the public consciousness. There’s just a big change in the way that we perceive our community and the way the outside world perceived us. And so it was like the one-two punch of Orlando—suddenly all cameras are on us—and then (the election) a few months later affirmed the thing that we’ve been sayi…

What ‘Faith Groups Do X’ Journalism Reveals About the Press’s Priorities

By Chrissy Stroop

…t sends is that religious people, categorically, are doing good. Take this Orlando Sentinel headline from October: “Orlando-area Faith Leaders Grapple With Far-Right Views After Capitol Riot Puts Spotlight on Christian Nationalism.” If faith leaders are “grappling” with the far-right in their midst, then they can’t be complicit, right? And surely there aren’t faith leaders who are fomenting Christian nationalism? (To be clear, yes, yes there are.)…

What Did ISIS Have to Do With Nice?

By Mark Juergensmeyer

…ts of terrorist violence—in Baghdad, Dacca, Istanbul, Paris, Brussels, and Orlando—to shore up its credibility as a global player and give the illusion of power. Its followers are taking credit for anything that might be construed as an ISIS-related assault. Branding a terrorist act has become as important as what motivates it. Even if it turns out that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel did in fact have some jihadi connections, the initial evidence is that his mo…

#SorryNotSorry: What U.S. Christian Denominations Teach About Homosexuality

By Stephanie Russell-Kraft

The massacre of 49 individuals in an Orlando gay nightclub on June 12 has ignited a fierce and ongoing public debate about whether anti-LGBT laws and rhetoric lead to violence. Yesterday’s New York Times lists some of the more horrific statements made by Christian pastors, like Tempe, Arizona’s Steven L. Anderson, whose only objection to the tragedy was that “they should have been executed by a righteous government.” Both conservative religious f…

The Loneliness of Men: A Father’s Day Reflection

By Rita Nakashima-Brock

This year, Father’s Day comes just a week after the Orlando tragedy—seven days of mourning, of national self-searching, and of urgent effort to understand how the Orlando shooter became who he was. I believe I have seen that same toxic mix of homophobia, militant right-wing religion, and self-hatred before. And I’ve seen it transformed by unflinching truth and wise love. While I was working on a doctorate in theology I volunteered in a high schoo…

Updated: Netflix’s Gay Jesus Upsetting Brazilian Christians Has a Centuries-Old History

By Bernard Schweizer

…dos depict Jesus as a gay man who introduces his cross-dressing boyfriend, Orlando, to his family. Incongruities abound when Orlando, who wears massive amounts of makeup and a blonde wig, performs ‘Jingle Bells’ on a digital keyboard in Judea ca. 30 A.D., endearing himself to the holy family (and his relationship with Jesus).1 Of course, this is merely the nth iteration of the irreverent Jesus motif, with countless gay-Jesus memes being the most o…