Sister Wives Star Now Under Investigation for Bigamy
…the enforcement of Utah’s stringent anti-bigamy laws? Stay tuned….
Read Moreairline tickets from mex to utah cheap phone number 1-800-299-7264
What’s Behind a Conservative Mormon’s Call For “Religious Freedom” Advocates to “Stand Down” on LGBT Rights
…ildings. Indeed, the trans-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance passed in Utah (with the endorsement of the LDS Church) contains a broad religious exemption, which Mero believes is “proper,” even as he questions the wisdom of the legal strategy that produced the “Utah Compromise.” Nevertheless, Mero is critical of the since-rescinded Obama Administration guidance relating to equal access for trans students, and suggests that “these issues” should…
Read More
Mitt Romney, the Public Face of Mormonism, Reckons with His Alienation From a Radicalized GOP and His Role in Enabling it
…hetypal role, many of his fellow congregants are choosing another. Touring Utah as a senate candidate in 2018, Romney struggled to recognize the growing embrace of the far-right in the crowds, including from those of his own faith. (At one event he literally had to hide in a closet to avoid a picture with Ammon Bundy.) This disappointment turned to fear after the January 6, 2021, insurrection, when he spent $5,000 a day to protect his family from…
Read More
Robbing Peter to Give Charity to Paul: The Dirty Secret Behind American ‘Giving’
…while barely mentioning that by far the biggest charitable organization in Utah is the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church), which mandates both tithing and robust volunteer activity from all adherents. Ludicrous to treat such “who is most charitable?” ratings as a meaningful measure of anything. If we really want to measure generosity, let’s not look at private charity. Let’s look instead at comparative levels of public support for policie…
Read More
Religious Affiliation, ‘Mankind’: India’s Anti-Corruption Activist Leads Second Freedom Struggle
…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,…
Read MoreMore Mixed Signals from Pope Francis; Church of England Wrestles with Rifts; Faith Groups Lobby Pro & Con on Irish Referendum; Global LGBT Recap
…ment announced that it would issue passports with a third gender category. Mexico: Marriage spreads via federal court orders The first same-sex marriage in the state of Tabasco was registered this week. Marriage continues to expand in Mexico, with couples in several states requesting and/or receiving “amaparos” from the federal courts. An amparo is essentially a couple-by-couple order to local elected officials to follow federal court rulings in f…
Read More
The Sacred and the Dead: The Trouble with Sugar Magnolia
…omething-year-old Deadhead guys hit on my teenage friends by offering them tickets to shows. Deadheads were anathema to my chosen subculture of socially conscious punks. East Bay punks were aggro and in your face about social justice, feminism, human rights; Deadheads, in our eyes, were too stoned and obsessed with their god Jerry to care. Sometimes, I’d be out in Berkeley at night, coming out of a punk show in some basement or garage, and I’d hea…
Read More
Religion and Reality TV: Is God Watching?
…king place when running late for a conference, and the ability to convince airline employees to bend regulations so he could store camera equipment in overhead compartments. Oh, and God also helped Osteen in some Texas real estate ventures that, even on Osteen’s superficial account, sound kind of shady. Perhaps a God concerned with lateness and luggage does get invested in televised talent competitions. One final religious dimension to reality tel…
Read More
God Makes an Independent Film
…ginning of a journey that will have them owning a Christian theme park, an airline, a series of television stations; they will be the first to colonize another planet. Each new revelation is greeted with enthusiastic shouts and frenzied applause. Throughout it all, Jacobs’ camera captures, with stark verité detachment, the trials of the small community making the film, and dwells on the character of its leader. Who is Pastor Richard Gazowsky? Is h…
Read More
‘Have a Blessed Day’ May Not Be a Sign of Christian Nationalism, But it’s Not Innocuous Either
…ngers with “salaam aleikum” rather than “have a blessed day,” we’d be having a very different discussion now—one most likely involving threats of Islamophobic violence and perhaps violence itself, as well as severe backlash against the airline. Christians, in other words, retain a highly privileged place in the American social hierarchy, and it seems to be that our best option for achieving a functional democratic future is to call out and work to…
Read More