Religion Dispatches
…ually be taught to all the thousands of Tibetan monks and nuns in exile in India. In the pilot we just completed, several professors and graduate students taught life sciences, neurosciences, physics, math, and science philosophy to thirty-three monks and 5 nuns. Evolution was the first life sciences topic two of my co-teachers and I decided to focus on. For my section, the monks developed an experiment to test the hypothesis, a small piece of Dar…
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…gious relationships, so much of that ended when I announced I was going to India. They couldn’t believe I was trading in my white Jesus card for yoga,” says Rogers. “I started a new spiritual journey of understanding what it means to be a woman of color and the divinity in that. I just don’t believe in rule books anymore.” When she returned to the U.S., she found yoga classes here to be lacking spiritual resonance. “I went to the mountaintop, I le…
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…hey oppose the distribution of condoms in prisons on the grounds that this promotes homosexuality. Supported by the churches, the prison service promotes abstinence as its main prevention approach. Lithuania: Conservative manifesto calls LGBT movement tyrannical A coalition of religious and intellectual leaders released a manifesto that condemned the 2016 Baltic Pride celebration “as an attack on human nature and the public good that follows in th…
Read More…ent Hinduism or Buddhism, but certainly influence the issue of violence in Indian society. Indeed, if the demand is to quote a prominent public figure who can credibly speak for Buddhists on the topic of violence in India today, then only the Dalai Lama would suffice. (For the curious, his comments are here.) Another commenter noted “the Kakacupama Sutta was not a teaching given to young laywomen.” This is true. Buddhism’s historical emphasis on m…
Read More…neglects to look at the discrimination harbored within its own walls. The Indian bishops are looking inward. In 1992, the CBCI General Assembly stated: “With a sense of sorrow we must admit that women feel discriminated against, even in the Church.” The Indian bishops recognize that no matter how much work is done on ending discrimination against women in the world, this work does not make much difference without ending discrimination in the Chur…
Read More…egically At least two gatherings in the past week focused on the strategic promotion of LGBT equality abroad. On Friday, December 6, in Washington, D.C., the Center for Transatlantic Relations, which is part of the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, hosted a presentation called “LGBT Rights: A Geostrategic Issue for Democracies.” The panel, part of a series of discussions on the topic, featured Elizabe…
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…ut of his mind believing someone had made a homosexual advance toward him. India: Report on activism to eliminate criminalization The Wall Street Journal posted a video report about LGBT rights advocates in India who recently rallied in New Delhi, three years after the Supreme Court re-imposed a colonial-era sodomy law. Some activists said that the ruling undermined the LGBT community’s legitimacy and contributed to violence against it. Africa: Ne…
Read More…leader in the capital Baku died in an apparent suicide earlier this year. India: Cabinet Moves Against LGBT Adoption India’s cabinet has reportedly moved to block same-sex couples from adopting children, a move that could also bar single LGBT individuals from becoming adoptive parents. According to Live Mint, The cabinet took the decision on Wednesday while considering amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000…
Read More…of ‘Third Gender’ Ruling Reaching Universities We noted in April that the Indian Supreme Court had recognized transgender people as a “third gender.” GLAAD notes that the impact of the decision is working its way through the system, and that Delhi University has added “transgender” as a gender option in student and faculty application forms. The Telegraph of India reported that the “ministry of social justice and empowerment has been working to f…
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…s in allowing LGBT advocacy groups to register as nonprofit organizations. India: Mother places same-sex matrimonial ad Padma Iyer, a mother in India, garnered international attention when she placed the first same-sex “matrimonial ad” seeking a husband for her son. Some major papers turned down the ad, but Mumbai tabloid Mid-Day agreed to run it. Same-sex relationships have been illegal since a 2013 high court ruling reinstated a colonial-era sod…
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