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Transgender and Christian: Finding Identity

By Jori Lewis

…founders of a transgender group called the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, says that people often feel it’s one or the other—LGBTs vs. Christians. “In other words, if you’re for LGBT rights, you must be an atheist and have nothing whatsoever to do with organized religion, and you’re probably inclined to want to burn down the nearest church. Conversely, if you are a person of faith, that means you are an evangelical Christian and a…

As New Poll Finds “Increased Xenophobic Streak,” Republicans Heighten Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

By Sarah Posner

…ndous surveillance going on in and around the mosques of New York City and right now that has been totally cut out.” The NYPD spying program, which came to light when the Associated Press reported on it in 2011, was suspended in 2014; the NYPD admitted that it produced no terrorism leads. While authorities have not confirmed that a Syrian passport found in Paris belonged to one of the perpetrators, initial reports of the passport has provoked a pa…

PCUSA’s Nod to “Traditional” Marriage Understandable, but Not Accurate

By William E. Smith

…USA might adopt this rhetoric to affirm the position of its fairly sizable number of dissenting presbyteries, but is it really accurate? The word “tradition” tends to connote a sense of fixity and stability, an impression that “this is the way marriage always was,” leaving “gay marriage” to represent a sharp and dramatic historical rupture. Yet this way of thinking is only possible because of a certain historical amnesia. In fact, it would be far…

The Gospel of Contradiction: An Interview with Mary Gordon

By Nathan Schneider

…er of the Gospel narratives is that they resist selective reading, though, right? They draw us out of complacency and demand that we read everything and follow everything. Exactly. On the other hand, giving everything makes you crazy. I guess that’s why the story of the washing of Jesus’ feet is so important to me. He says, “I want that perfume. I want it right now, and if it means the poor aren’t going to get to eat, they’re just going to have to…

In the Papal Pocket: Benedict XVI and the Press

By Mary E. Hunt

…be helpful in reporting on Judaism, Islam, the Baha’i faith, Wicca, or any number of other groups that form the pluralistic religious mosaic in the United States today? No reporter or anchor could be expected to be an expert on the ins and outs of such groups. But as a matter of journalistic practice, I think it is reasonable to train reporters to look at more than meets the eye on religion, just as they are taught to investigate plane crashes and…

Can The Religious Left Be Effective Again? Longer Answer: Quizás

By Daniel Schultz

…gh participation rates are increasing among these types of churches, they represent a small percentage of all churches. Fulton explains that a lot of this increase is due to the debates over immigration reform; but even factoring that in, Hispanic churches are becoming more politically active. The number of congregations might be few, but they may also be larger communities, representing a substantial number of people. In any case, the trend will…

My Womb for His Purposes: The Perils of Unassisted Childbirth in the Quiverfull Movement

By Kathryn Joyce

…hought am I saying that God I do not think you are handling this situation right?… God will refresh me and fill me up daily… He will provide my needs and my babies or baby’s needs… I need to trust Him and keep him in control of this birth and not me! Unassisted childbirth has found a home in the fundamentalist communities of the United States and Australia. Part of the reason for this shared enthusiasm across continents is due to the popularity of…

The Dirty Little Secret of Every Ponzi Scheme, or: Bernie Madoff’s 150 Year Sentence

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…ff and Law stories has something to do with the confusion created by large numbers. The point is, in the financial sector, numbers need to correspond to some reality. Law’s paper notes were supposed to correspond to the gold held in his bank’s reserves. When the gap between numbers and real things grew too great, his system collapsed. It became, almost unwittingly, a nationwide French Ponzi scheme. Law was encouraged by the French regent to covert…

The 50 Shades of Evangelicalism

By Jonathan D. Fitzgerald

…evolution is incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” a significant number of evangelicals are working to convince their fellow believers of their compatibility. Their efforts are evident in the increasing number of books, conferences, and organizations—such as Francis Collins’ BioLogos—that have formed around the topic. Cracks are likewise showing in what once was understood as a unanimous and uncritical evangelical support of Israel as ep…

Competing Visions of Family & Freedom at UN; Methodists Try to Avoid Schism on Sexuality; Catholic Cardinal Denounces LGBT ‘Demonic Ideology’; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…video featuring activists from around the world. In partnership with Human Rights Campaign and Outright, Logo has launched Global Ally, “a year-long storytelling project” meant to “provide inside looks into the lives of international LGBTI people and feature ways to send direct messages of solidarity and support to activists around the world.” HRC has also launched a video series “highlighting global innovators in the fight to LGBTQ equality.” Uni…