Religion Dispatches
…olleague Hussein Rashid pointed out in this must-read piece), Mormons, the number two most disliked religion in America, have no business contributing to public rage against the number one most disliked religion in America. Nor in trafficking in falsehoods like “Islam is an ideology, not a religion,” a line I’ve been hearing from a few Mormons in recent days. Islam is in fact a religion for which Mormon leaders from the time of George A. Smith…
Read More…bbis pushing for more inclusiveness, and what I assume to be a significant number of modern Orthodox (as opposed to ultra-Orthodox) Jews who have plenty of sympathy for gays and lesbians, and probably number many of them among their friends, but can’t yet see a way to harmonize this personal sentiment with their larger religious commitments. It’s important to bear this denominational scorecard in mind when considering Eger’s appointment, because a…
Read More…of discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of sex,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said at the opening of the 57th Session of Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) being held in Geneva until 28 February. Democracy Council launches global LGBT initiative The Democracy Council, an organization “that helps grassroots organizations around the world support civil society…
Read More…, a woman could shower in each toilet stall. Therefore, these elements all combine to make this a place of complete wetness. I’m trusting that it was mostly just water, but I erred here when I chose to bring my purse with my iPad, camera, and money and to leave my water bottle, shoes, and prayer rug as markers to my Iranian neighbors that I was returning. As it was, I did still find my space had been invaded a bit, mostly by the sleeping husband o…
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…d their support for the restrictive law during a period for submissions of comments. Among the groups commenting, according to La Estrella, are the Panamanian Alliance for Life and Family and the Evangelical Alliance. Australia: Commenter cites Ireland example for embracing marriage equality over church objections In a commentary at The Guardian, Kristina Keneally calls on the government of Malcolm Turnbull to “kill the zombie plebiscite on same-s…
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…terested in religion. They are spread fairly evenly across education and income levels. And they’re politically diverse when it comes to economic ideas. But they do seem to largely agree on one thing: that mixing religion with politics is a bad idea. Which brings me back to the recent election. If the statistical data seem unreliable, just think back on the extraordinary nature of the debate in 2012. Never before have the culture wars been fought…
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…egic mistake,” Baskin said, an error “which will cost the lives of quite a number of innocent people on both sides.” Baskin is clear-eyed about Jabari, noting he was “not an angel and not a righteous man of peace,” but that “his assassination also killed the possibility of achieving a truce.” Dimi Reider notes at +972 that by assassinating Jabari, “Barak and Netanyahu knocked one of the central pillars of the pragmatist camp within Hamas, the camp…
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…Penal Code is a fair balance between conservative public opinion and an uncompromising international community on the protection of minorities.” Russia: Muslim ‘morality’ vigilante pushing for purge of LGBT teachers Timur Bulatov, a self-described pious Muslim is waging a campaign to out LGBT teachers and get them fired, according to BBC: He wages his “morality” campaign from St Petersburg. On vKontakte he claims to head a movement called “First…
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…ce even publishes an entire column dedicated to statistical data on Nones, compiled by the sociologist Ryan Burge—and a growing number of books exploring the narrative stories of Nones have appeared in recent years, including a book of my own. Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal Epiphany Publishing November 29, 2019 What many of these articles and books share in common is a sense of confusion or despair….
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…norities the same protection as other minorities. The Times notes that the comments come at a time when human rights advocates have charged the South Korean military with a campaign against gay servicemembers: The army declined to provide details of its investigation. It insisted that it was not cracking down on gay soldiers; instead it said that it was trying to root out sodomy and other homosexual activities, which right-wing Christian groups ha…
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