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Marriage equality and ‘the end of Catholic Ireland’; Gambian Prez vows to slit gays’ throats; Colombian govt affirms support for marriage and adoption; global LGBT recap

By Peter Montgomery

…countries like Slovenia in 2012 or Croatia in 2013, where referendums were passed curtailing partnership rights for same-sex couples…. But the No camp has gotten some input from veterans of the California campaign and other marriage fights abroad. Frank Schubert, the conservative political consultant credited with the Proposition 8 victory, told BuzzFeed News before an NOM rally in Washington earlier this month that he has sent private polling, fo…

An American Muslim Abroad, Or, Things I Saw in Dubai

By Haroon Moghul

…hitecture and owes far less to traditionally Arab-Islamic architecture. Compare to the Taj Mahal, and Badshahi and Jama’ Mosques of South Asia (India and Pakistan.) Another argument for Shah Rukh Khan as Caliph. ⬆ The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower), anchors the misleadingly-named ‘Old Town’ of Dubai, which is a new development made to look like a traditional Arab neighborhood. That is next to the world’s largest m…

World Congress of Families Blessed By Georgian Orthodox Patriarch and George W. Bush; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…attack on LGBT rights activists by a mob led by Orthodox priests. “Vasadze participated and is alleged to have helped organize the 2013 attack that relegated Georgia’s nascent LGBTQ-rights movement to the periphery of national discourse,” Lomsadze writes. The Christian Broadcasting Network featured a preview of the conference, with televangelist Pat Robertson saying “the fact that the European Union and the U.S. is trying to impose this lifestyle…

Beware of Yoga, Taking the Jesus Out of AA, Atheist Billboard Wars—The Sequel

By Michael J. Altman

…logized for allowing students on a field trip to a local Islamic center to participate in midday prayers. The city of King, North Carolina has decided to remove a Christian flag from a public Veterans Memorial. The ACLU of New Jersey is suing the city of Point Pleasant Beach over the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at city council meetings. Oh, and by the way, Hitler invented the phrase “separation of church and state.” At least, that’s what Tea P…

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

By April L. Bogle

…ountry’s infrastructure: schools, universities, roads, and bridges. The Lokpal Bill was set to come up for parliamentary vote, but ministers and reformers had drafted separate versions. The “mischievous minister” we were watching on the laptop was being questioned about the status of a joint bill. It really felt like I’d joined Bedi at a tennis match. Rapt in the competition, she swung hard at the minister’s most egregious statements. “Hear that?”…

‘Rising Global Tide’ Of Anti-Gay Crackdowns; More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…Ha-young. “Voices against sexual minorities are nothing new but they have palpably grown and unified.” As the National Assembly moves to revise the Constitution, Christian groups have convened in nationwide protests. The controversial part of the proposed constitutional revision is the change to the phrase “gender equality” from “equal rights for both sexes.” Anti-homosexuality activists believe the change will institute same-sex marriage and cha…

Global Anti-Gay Forces Plot Against ‘Satanic’ Equality Movement

By Peter Montgomery

…ian parliament’s approval of new anti-gay laws. (Brown had been invited to participate in the event by “Russian activists working with the World Congress of Families“). In a BBC interview, former Health Secretary Sir Norman Fowler said the world is “going backwards” in the fight against HIV in part because anti-gay laws make people afraid of being tested for the virus. Fowler’s new book, AIDS: Don’t Die of Prejudice, is due to be released next wee…

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Men “Stand Up” for “Religious Freedom”… On a Plane

By Kara Loewentheil

…sy for female employees affected by the numerous lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage requirement to find a better job. *Correction: This post originally indicated that gender separation was due to concerns about women’s menstrual cycles. To read more about gender separation among Haredi Jews in Israel and in the U.S. read the Forward’s excellent piece from 2011….

The Religious Implications of Nudity

By Steve A. Wiggins

…durable clothing? He personally slew the animals to cover those bits that Paul called “our uncomely parts.” No one was to see them—and that included the owner—unless absolutely necessary. Showing your privates to a stranger was a sin. Now conservative Christian political interests have modified their position: anonymous government employees are allowed to look, to violate your embodiment theology. As the man’s latex-gloved hands reach for my crot…

What the Lost Finale is Really About

By S. Brent Rodriguez Plate

…Dante. Finding a lost island, especially this one, somewhere in the South Pacific, is not far from that—particularly when the island seems to contain the very light of heaven and hell, making it more of a purgatory. Taking and Shaking Having said all that, here are some connections between Lost and religion that are worth checking out, even if only for the sake of teaching a “religion and popular culture” course. Lost lushly abounds in religious…