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Why Even Progressive Christianity Must Own Its Complicity in Anti-LGBT Violence

By Layton E. Williams

…, self-harm, and suicide among LGBT youth and adults. Of course, a growing number of churches and denominations today have rejected such a destructive understanding of human sexuality. Religion Dispatches recently compiled a list of the official positions on LGBT issues currently taught by various Christian denominations. According to this list, mainline Protestant denominations such as the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church claim th…

6 Overlooked Takeaways From a Reviewer of Controversial Texas Textbooks

By David R. Brockman

…endorse ‘free market’ economics, and pushing for a Christianization of textbooks.” One way they control textbook content is through their handling of the public comments phase of the review process. Any member of the public can comment on the textbooks, either in writing or in person at the public hearings, and publishers are obliged to respond to what members of the public have to say. The small-“d” democrat in me celebrates the fact that all sor…

Scottish Episcopal Church Angers Conservative Anglicans With Embrace of Same-Sex Marriage; and more in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…tation is wrong. Bulgaria: Pride activists, protected by police, vastly outnumber far-right protesters The leader of the neo-Nazi National Resistance planned a counter-protest to Saturday’s Pride march; last week he urged people to bring “brooms and shovels with wooden handles” to “cleanse Sofia from garbage.” Human Rights Watch has some history: Sofia Pride marchers have faced hateful rhetoric and violence in the past, and only tepid police prote…

Right Wingers Say “Gay” is Out, But Try Putting “Unnatural Vice” On a Bumper Sticker

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…eny minority of people may take away their right to tell gays and lesbians that God will send them to hell for all eternity — out of love, mind you. But, then again, anti-gay Evangelicals have a right to be afraid. After all, researchers say the actual number of Evangelicals may well be “as small as 7 percent of the total adult population.” Which means Evangelicals know just how effective a small number of people can be at taking away the rights o…

How a Ruling for Masterpiece Cakeshop Could Embolden White Nationalists

By Sunnivie Brydum

…or even federal—protections aimed at combatting discrimination against any number of marginalized populations. “The cultural and political prominence of religious freedom as an American ideal draws people to it,” Wenger said. “The reason people appeal to it for all sorts of purposes is because it’s so culturally, politically, and legally powerful.” Indeed, as Wenger’s book documents in deep historical detail, the bedrock American principle has alr…

Glenn Beck Hijacks It’s a Wonderful Life

By Lauri Lebo

…njoy together. Yes, Beck is now trying to steal the great 1946 Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful Life and turn it into a rallying cry for the conservative anti-government Christian right. This week on his radio show, he announced he was going to do his show from the town of Wilmington, Ohio on December 15. Of the countless towns across the country hard hit by the recession, Wilmington, which has only about 12,000 people, may be one of the worst…

Homeschooling and American Exceptionalism

By Julie Ingersoll

…t the Bible is the ONLY inerrant Word of God. It is our authoritative “handbook” for Christian living . . . the ONLY book that is necessary for our faith. We believe that man is in rebellion against God because of Adam’s sin. Man’s very nature is evil and all are bound for hell, a place of eternal darkness and torment, unless the Father calls him. The Holy Scripture (the Bible or the Word) consists of all of the books of the Old and New Testaments…

Note to Religious Liberals: God Does Take Sides

By Daniel Schultz

…or you can go to hell. There’s nothing nice about that. But then there’s nothing nice about the absurd, reactionary, vicious and apparently successful class war the rich and powerful are waging on the rest of the nation, either….

Hajj Journal: Makkah as the Most Romantic City

By Amina Wadud

…! And nowhere and no how can they be separated from this act into ranks of class, race, and gender. Well, then again, there are some gendered ascriptions: Lines are ad hoc gendered, plus or minus. Priority seating on the first floor of the Haram is given to the men, with male and female security guards shuffling women out of their spots to give way to men, creating men’s sections in a way that is more intrusive or abrasive than what I’ve observed…

Teacher Who Burned Cross into Student’s Arm Finally Settles Suit

By Lauri Lebo

…independent investigator’s report that said that Freshwater had been using class time to witness to students, teaching intelligent design and displaying numerous Christian materials around the classroom for more than a decade. The district settled with the family in July 2009, but the settlement with Freshwater had dragged on, due to Freshwater and his attorney’s obfuscation and refusal to produce evidence. I’ve written about this case numerous ti…