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State Department Finds Religion, But Whose?

By Melani McAlister

…ersecuted Christian” was a good idea if you wanted to get asylum status or help from UN programs. Finally, when people talk about religion and international affairs, they sometimes mean that religious people in the US should play a leading role in developing foreign policy on religious issues. Since, as advocates are very fond of saying, the diplomats at State don’t really know how to handle religion, then somebody needs to teach them. The new Sta…

Marriage is for Everybody, Says Former Anti-Gay Evangelical

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…idea fits all through the New Testament, where God’s central purpose is to help people grow into Christ’s image of self-giving love. Marriage serves that purpose in a very special and powerful way. It turns out there’s nothing that prevents a same-sex relationship from helping people grow into this same kind of Christ-like self-giving love. This positive picture coming from the Bible is that God wants to form people in the image of Christ’s self-g…

Americans Lose Faith, Sinning with Transfats, the Elusive God Particle

By Michael J. Altman

…divorce rate than the Northeast, researchers say. Some rabbis are getting help from comedy writers for their High Holy Day sermons. Glenn Beck (remember him?) held his rally in Jerusalem on Wednesday. More than 1,000 folks (mostly Christians) showed up. For personal use when the comments section makes you want to swear: litany for the conversion of internet thugs. First it was protesters, then it was rain that complicated the pope’s appearance at…

“Ex-Gay” Gospel Star Donnie McClurkin and the Decline of Public Theology

By Joshua L. Lazard

…y, there were pitiably few people that the mainstream media called upon to help parse Wright’s brand of black liberation theology. Instead the conversation circled around political commentators rather than theologians. Personally, I felt the ball was grievously fumbled and the history will write off Jeremiah Wright as a cult leader and those who espouse liberation theology as a non-orthodox heresy and more importantly, as a personal figure who sou…

In This Week’s LGBT Recap: Are Gay Priests Overdue for a Stonewall Moment?

By Peter Montgomery

…ipated in World Congress of Families summits. Also listed as signers are a number of religious leaders, including Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America; Catholic Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Ojo, Nigeria; Lawrence Khongy, pastor of Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore; and Josiah Trenham, an Orthodox priest who has spoken repeatedly at World Congress of Families gatherings. Vatican: Commentary on gay priest ban; tim…

How Mario Cuomo Made the World Safe for Pro-Choice Catholics

By Patricia Miller

…hierarchy at a critical moment for pro-choice Catholicism and in doing so help ensure that that designation wasn’t an oxymoron. In the summer of 1984, during the run-up to the presidential election pitting President Ronald Reagan against former VP Walter Mondale, conservative elements of the Catholic hierarchy, most notably New York Archbishop John O’Connor, started to push back against attempts by Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin to remove abor…

Telling the World a ‘Big Story’: RD in Conversation with Karen Armstrong

By Laurie Patton

…ou explain something to them about, say, the early days of Islam. All this helps them put things in their place and put to rest those niggling worries they may have about their faith, or someone else’s faith, can be laid to rest. This knowledge helps to put things in perspective. During one interview, you call yourself a “freelance monotheist,” and this is certainly evident in your writings on the saints in the Western tradition, on great religiou…

Authoritarian SCOTUS Didn’t ‘Just Happen’: As Roe Hangs By a Thread the Press Struggles with Context and Framing

By Chrissy Stroop

…“as former President Donald Trump nominated three justices” does little to help. Time starts out here by telling us, more or less, that the Supreme Court’s authoritarian politicization just sort of happened, making the whole thing seem tamer by referring to it as a process of becoming merely “more conservative.” And while the mention of Trump’s Supreme Court nominations may slightly mitigate the impact of this passive language, what’s omitted is e…

Anti-Gay Activism Falling Victim to Capitalism?

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…is down dramatically. In the next 30 days, I need to raise $2.3 million to help close the gap, or our ability to act on your behalf will be severly (sic), and perhaps irreparably, hurt,” writes CitizenLink Executive Director Tom Minnery. CitizenLink has spent the millions of dollars it has raised over the years to fight against the rights of gays and lesbians. Their pet project is “True Tolerance” which advocates for the rights of bullies in schoo…

‘Manufactured’ Smear Campaign Attempts to Intimidate Church ‘Fasting From Whiteness’— It Didn’t Work

By Frederick Clarkson

…UCC churches that have been the targets of extremism. It’s been extremely helpful. I knew right away to take this very seriously. I knew right away to document every message that came in. I knew right away to contact both our local law enforcement as well as federal law enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. I’ve learned a lot from this experience, and our work to help prepare other congregations will be much stronger bec…