Religion Dispatches
…raising similar objections include Concerned Women for American, Americans United for Life, and the American Center for Law and Justice. As to private employers, the proposed rule takes note of the fact that private employers are not entitled to religious exemptions under other federal laws, such as Title VII, prohibiting discrimination in employment. Based on that precedent, the administration declined to extend an exemption to private employers…
Read More…ntribute $250 million to the region’s economy in the first year. Americans United for Separation of Church and State blasted the decision. “The state of Kentucky should not be promoting the spread of fundamentalist Christianity or any other religious viewpoint,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Let these folks build their fundamentalist Disneyland without government help.” Of course, building the Ark according…
Read More…ng the organizations endorsing the march were the Communist Party USA, the United Church of Christ, Jewish Funds for Justice, the National Urban League, the National Baptist Convention, People for the American Way and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. My first reaction to this was to wonder why the Times is acting as Glenn Beck’s hatchet man. About the only thing these groups have in common is that they endorsed this rally. What, exactly, i…
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…Islamic Cooperation, which is leading attacks on LGBT human rights at the United Nations. “In Congress, Pence said that ‘in embracing the advocacy of changes in laws regarding homosexuality around the world, [this legislation] advocates a set of values that are at odds with the majority of the American people.’” United Nations: Independent Expert on SOGI Addresses ILGA World Conference Thai diplomat Vitit Muntarbhorn, who is filling the independe…
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…, there’s a self-described “progressive Christian” congregation, Fountains United Methodist Church. Fountains’ pastor, the Rev. David Felten, is the author of a book on progressive Christianity, and the church proudly advertises its welcome of the “LGBTQ community,” support for science, and interfaith dialogue. The conservative church leaders are equally proud of their traditionalism. In a letter to the editor published in the Fountain Hills Times…
Read More…etch to argue that ability to hire co-religionists means you can exclude a class of people [here, LGBT people] based on religion.” The religious exemption under Title VII, he said, does not permit employers “to discriminate on the basis of another protected category,” such as discrimination based on race, but couched in religious terms. Similarly, the co-religionist exemption “does not allow employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orienta…
Read More…Church between 1950 and 2010. The report, initiated and authorized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, investigated a number of potential factors contributing to a sharp peak of reported and documented abuse cases in the 1960s and 1970s, including social trends among ordination cohorts, changes in seminary curriculum, and psychological pathologies and social behaviors of abusive priests. Its conclusion? The sixties—social movemen…
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…rights standards. Cooperation with a multiplicity of actors, including the business sector, the medical/scientific sector, religious and faith groups and the media, including social networks, should be fostered on the basis of international human rights law… Australia: Church leaders see marriage vote as battle for country’s soul, decry ‘Faithophobic’ rhetoric As the nonbinding mail vote on marriage equality continues—voting closes on November 7—t…
Read More…romoting anti-gay policies in his country: Caleb Orozco, co-founder of the United Belize Advocacy Movement, an HIV/AIDS advocacy group, told the Blade he hopes the gathering will allow him to highlight U.S. religious organizations that support efforts defending the English-speaking Central American country’s anti-sodomy law. Orozco added the conference also provides an opportunity to raise awareness of efforts to extend rights to LGBT people in Be…
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…ing on to Glenn Beck’s scheduled keynote speech to the upcoming Christians United for Israel conference, and his “Restoring Courage” rally in Jerusalem in August, CUFI founder John Hagee is hosting Beck for a conference call tomorrow so he can “address the mounting threats to Israel and what we can do to stand with Israel today.” This comes on the heels of Sen. Joe Lieberman endorsement of Beck’s Jerusalem event. Lieberman once compared Hagee to M…
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