Religion Dispatches
…sy details of sectarian schism), McCain’s terse description of North Phoenix does not supply nearly enough explanation for what is a jolting swap, like trading the Jetta for a Suburban. Yet McCain supplies no wake-up call, no re-awakening of his spirit to explicate his substitution of Sunday affections. He offers no specifications of the kind of Christ that pressed him from a the Book of Common Prayer to the Baptist Faith and Message. Nor, as ment…
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…ress: Around two-thirds of African countries criminalize consensual same-sex sexual conduct, according to Amnesty International. In the handful of countries that enforce their anti-gay laws, local groups have emerged to push for access to health care and to combat extortion, assaults and other forms of discrimination. In Jammeh’s Gambia, however, such work was all but impossible, and many would-be activists made the painful decision to leave. No A…
Read More…tudents could possibly exist at his school: “It’s simple, really. Homosexuals can’t exist at Patrick Henry College because the students sign an honor code,” Farris claimed. “[Homosexuals] could not sign our honor code,” Farris said, adding that he considers the actions of gay men and women “sinful.” “Part of the honor code is to be sexually pure,” he added. Baratko speaks to a couple of the bloggers, who say they were inspired by other blogs at…
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…ally and they haven’t done well financially. Churches that stick to orthodoxy do better over time because in part it’s only those churches that tend to create families that can be of size and carry on the Christian tradition. This harkens back to Dean Kelley’s 1972 book, Why Conservative Churches Are Growing, which argued that liberal denominations were losing a battle of ideas to stricter, more conservative communions. The new twist here is Ebers…
Read More…e original ruling by the judge stated that satire in its own right did not promote enmity between groups. In fact, satire of religious actions and beliefs right is a long tradition in India. The 11th century Kashmiri Sanskrit poet Kshemendra, in works such as Samaya Matrika, Kalavilasa, and Narmamala, satirizes brahminical and Buddhist norms with rapier wit. (Kshemendra, by the way, also wrote serious devotional and poetic works.) My colleagues in…
Read More…sure that an equal age of consent applies to both same-sex and different-sex sexual activity,” which could be the lead in to overturn Section 377 of the Indian Penal code that still criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct, a remnant from an 1860 British Colonial Era law that exists in many constitutions across the Commonwealth countries even today. Malta: Civil Union & Adoption Law, Trans Protections in Constitution This week the parliament of M…
Read More…ial legacy, including the mention of “vices against nature”. Now not even the most contorted of arguments could claim that acts of gay sex between consenting adults are somehow illegal….
Read More…stead regulated by uncodified Muslim Sharia law, which criminalises same-sex sexual acts between both men and between women. For men, the punishment is banishment for nine months to one year or a whipping of 10 to 30 strokes, while the punishment for women is house arrest for nine months to one year.” According to Stewart, the country rejected international recommendations to improve its treatment of LGBTI people expressed in its 2010 and 2015 U.N…
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…ch had gravely erred in annulling a Delhi HC verdict decriminalising gay sex between consenting adults. “Sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual. Equality demands that the sexual orientation of each individual in society must be protected on an even platform. The right to privacy and the prote…
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…s of being gay to report to police for questioning—or risk arrest.” Same-sex sexual activity is forbidden and punishable by life imprisonment under a section of the criminal code forbidding “offences against morality.” South Korea: Activists denounce LGBT-free education guidelines LGBT equality activists called on the Education Ministry to do away with new sex education guidelines that exclude LGBT topics. According to the Korea Herald, “The gover…
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