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Conservative Anglican Bishops Threaten To Split Communion; Malawi Opposition Leader Says Gays Should Be Killed; Anti-Marriage Effort Makes European Union Question Initiative Process; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…olitics, laws aside — we apply human dignity to be respected.” “God is the best judge and whatever we’re doing on this,” Viola said. “It’s not good to apply punitive laws on people.” But at Pink News Nick Duffy reports that Ken Msconda, a spokesperson for the opposition People’s Party, responded with violent anti-gay vitriol: “Arresting them won’t address this problem because sooner or later they are being released on bail. “The best way to deal w…

COVID-Denying Father Sergei is Just the Latest Example of the Russian Orthodox Church’s ‘Holy Man’ Problem

By Katherine Kelaidis

…can desert. When the Patriarch refused, the monk did something that is, at best, a violation of the Orthodox Church’s arcane canon law, and at worst an indication of a character so certain of his own righteousness that he was unlikely to ever be restrained in any case. Denied permission by his own hierarch, Ephraim looked for friendlier faces, which he found among the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). Begun as a breakaway sect in…

Why is the State Department Opening an Office of “Religious Engagement”?

By Austin Dacey

…e of law, and minority rights in their societies. When the U.S. government bestows high-level diplomatic attention instead on select (typically male, adult, and non-democratically appointed) spokespersons, it aids them in consolidating their own power and authority within their communities. The Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group does not ignore this potential for discrimination. It writes of the importance of partnering with “women religiou…

The Accidental Worshiper: Following the Music

By Tripp Hudgins

…incerity of purpose that cannot be ignored. I would argue that some of the best theology right now is being done by ethnomusicologists. Haynes’ feminist critique of Mars Hill is absolutely inspired and inspiring. Navigating the fine line reflects a certain theological or ethical stance as well. It’s an ambiguous set of practices. One does not simply borrow. One reflects one’s theological or ethical convictions in the process. In Secular Music and…

Did Pope Francis Just End the Religion and Science Conflict?

By Donovan Schaefer

…focus on their common problems. Winning theological fights may not be the best use of time and resources when the health of the planet is on the line. This shift may never happen. The shadow of the ongoing debates about Darwinism—especially among American Protestants—may be too long and too dark to challenge popular acceptance of the Conflict Thesis anytime soon. It would also require an enhanced commitment on the part of the Catholic Church itse…

Book Burning and the Scapegoating of Islam

By Eric Reitan

…. Mark Heim—has taken up Girardian themes to argue that the crucifixion is best understood as a potent repudiation of sacrificial scapegoating. In Saved From Sacrifice: A Theology of the Cross, Heim points out that the crucifixion, while a story of sacrificial scapegoating, deliberately exposes the scapegoat for what he is: an innocent. More significantly, the crucifixion gives to the victim the very voice of God: The passion narratives tell the o…

Is It the Job of Religion Journalists to Define “Religion”?

By Ann Taves

…t establishes a comprehensive way of life that is held out as the right or best way of life for those who adhere to it.” The key term is “comprehensive.” CrossFit, football, Star Trek, and dieting fads are insufficiently comprehensive to count as religion. Linker, recognizing that his definition would encompass philosophy, distinguishes between them based on the source of their knowledge regarding the best way of life: “religion,” he claims, “is t…

The Night of Power: Laylatul Qadri

By Amina Wadud

…try remembering to humble myself before the throne of the All mighty, the Bestower of favors, and go right on ahead and ask for what I want. That too shows love and trust. I trust that Allah will bring some repose, or grant a favor. I also have a little bit of concern over that: “be careful what you pray for.” Sometimes the consequences of one prayer’s answer are more troubles than you were facing. So, better to be prudent. I used to have a stick…

Meet the ‘Bronze Age Zionists’ — Far-Right Jews Embracing Fascism in the Wake of October 7

By Ben Lorber

…st Jews, your resentment towards historic [White Christian] America, or at best your starry-eyed idiotic utopianism, has unleashed mischief upon both America and America’s Jews. Time to fall on your knees and repent. Another blogger—writing in his ‘Post-Kahanism’ Substack, which seeks to revitalize the “sweeping and noble” goals of the Kahanist movement for the 21st-century—rails against liberal Jewish activists as a “nefarious…cabal,” a “squid” w…

Ummah: Solitude and Connection

By Amina Wadud

…off last year after my accident.) You know what they say about saving the best for last?! So it is appropriate, I think, that in my reading I came across several discussions about the ummah, which gave me additional food for thought. The word ummah comes from the same root as the word for mother, umm, in Arabic. So, with such a root, you should get the picture already. It’s about intimate connections. But it is never used for family nor even for…