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LGBT Victories at Olympics, Struggles in Brazil; Catholic Bishops Organizing Anti-Marriage Equality Protests in Mexico; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…t affects social development, he noted: People in poor areas live in such close quarters in Uganda—“there’s no privacy if your bedroom is my sitting room”—and communities are so tightly knit, there is no privacy for LGBTI people to pursue their lives. After the Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed (and before it was quashed), the number of cases of violence against LGBTI people increased, Jjuuko said. “Trans people are at particular risk of violence:…

Shari’ah Creeps into Outer Space

By Hussein Rashid

…to build a space-launch complex in Canada. All of these stories coming in close proximity to one another can only mean one thing: the stealth jihad to creep shari’ah into space is starting. Following the mental gymnastics of one Minister Bradlee Dean, I will prove that Muslims are attempting to subvert not just the Constitution of the United States, but the natural order of the universe. They are trying put shari’ah in space. You see, if you belie…

TED-Evangelism Harkens Back to a Forgotten 19th-Century Tradition

By Michael Schulson

…opular could hit upwards of 30 million. These aren’t exactly Justin Bieber numbers, but for 18 minute-long lectures about science, management, creativity, design, and technology, they’re extraordinary. The TED brand has become synonymous with a certain kind of hip, Silicon Valley-style wonkishness. A viral talk, like Cuddy’s, can launch public careers and drive books onto the bestseller list. Newness is part of TED’s vibe, but the genre it represe…

Religious Resistance to Bolivian Gender Law; US Religious Right Celebrates Court OK For Romanian Marriage Initiative; Will LGBTs Be Banned from Indonesian TV?; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ly clear that transgender people are covered, reports Kim Pemberton at the Vancouver Sun. Moldova: US Members of Congress urge rejection of Russian-style ‘propaganda’ law Twenty-four members of the US Congress urged lawmakers in Moldova to reject legislation modeled after Russia’s anti-gay “propaganda” law. More from Human Rights First: In a letter organized by Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) in close coordination with Human Rights First, 2…

Waiting for Lightning to Strike: A Wobbly Agnostic among the Atheists

By Carolyn S. Briggs

…applaud this news, a murmur through the convention hall, Blackberries and iPhones tweeting on all sides of me. “When you come out of the closet, shut the door behind you because you won’t need it anymore,” he continues. (Who’s he talking to? He’s preaching to the choir, isn’t he? As far as he knows?) “If you don’t have a deity,” he says, “you are an atheist.” I’m an English teacher and I agree this may indeed define an atheist—someone without a g…

The Sacred and the Dead: The Trouble with Sugar Magnolia

By Kaya Oakes

…y mostly older colleagues was sometimes a challenge. In my late 20s, I was lost in the sea of 40,000 students from all over the world. One afternoon, desperate for advice, I went to the office of my colleague Steve Tollefson, and we had one of those long, rambling conversations about teaching that inevitably forks into other topics. Steve was in his 50s, but he could talk to anyone, from 18-year-old freshmen to emeriti faculty in their 70s and 80s…

More Mixed Signals from Pope Francis; Church of England Wrestles with Rifts; Faith Groups Lobby Pro & Con on Irish Referendum; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…e group did not get a private meeting with Pope Francis, but was given VIP tickets to the pope’s weekly audience in St. Peter’s square. Religion News Service reports that several bishops, including “San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone – point man or the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ battle against gay marriage – had written a letter to the Vatican on their behalf.” A group of LGBT Catholics from London who met up with the New Ways…

The Religious Mourning of ‘Saint’ Kobe Bryant Continues

By Terry Shoemaker

…wore number 2, Gianna’s uniform number. The MVP award, given this year to Los Angeles Clippers’ star forward Kawhi Leonard, was renamed permanently for Kobe Bryant. Pregame and half-time shows centered on Kobe, his family, and his impact on the sport of basketball and society. The collective grief and bereavement displayed by fans and players alike not only demonstrate the power of sports in American society, they’re indications of the sacrality…

Wichita, the Sequel: A Clinic Reopens at Ground Zero in America’s Fight over Abortion

By Kathryn Joyce

…worked for nearly a decade as Dr. Tiller’s spokesperson, the clinic never closed, but instead snuck inside a number of late-term patients who couldn’t delay their abortions, and kept them there, sleeping on cots and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for several days until everyone’s procedures were done. But the belief that the clinic had closed only encouraged the protesters to stay and escalate their tactics, declaring they would make Wi…

Death in the Desert: Riding With the Samaritans

By Lauri Lebo

…grants from their homes. They are pulled to the U.S. because of demand for cheap labor. One of the major pushes came in the ’90s with the passage of NAFTA, which opened the door to many agri-businesses to move farms down to Mexico, putting small farmers out of business. And while the number of undocumented border crossers is down, Brother David says, it will be virtually impossible to eliminate them as long as the opportunities for jobs exist. As…