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Trayvon Martin and American Exceptionalism

By Anthea Butler

…even have the courtesy to check Trayvon’s phone for his mom and dad’s telephone numbers because it’s just a black criminal’s body to them. While Zimmerman the trigger man slept in his bed, the police ordered a drug and alcohol test for Trayvon’s lifeless body. A black body that was representative of evil against the whiteness of George Zimmerman. I hesitated to write about this story, because there are many good stories about Trayvon and his pare…

“Giving Godhead”: A Bloody Vision of Religion’s Deepest Influence

By Spencer Dew

…armed against. War in the name of faith is a recurring theme, as with cell-phone videos of beheadings. Krieger reads such rage within a dichotomy of “fundamentalist repression” and its opposite, freedom. Alhough she prefers the phrase “over-pervy libertinism” as, for her, the dichotomy is spread wide, with ISIS on one end and the antinomian carnival of de Sade’s vacation home at the other. That’s a freedom worth fighting for, she implies, but it i…

Recovering From Rejection: The Second Coming of Ted Haggard

By Wendy Norris

…nks. You have to determine that on your own.” Haggard’s weekly Oval Office phone calls and grip and grin NAE photo ops with former President George W. Bush are now mere vestiges of an old life, prior to what he calls the “crisis.” At New Life, which Jeff Sharlet described as “not just a battalion of spiritual warriors but a factory for ideas to arm them,” worship services were extravagant multimedia, fog machine-choked productions, in which Haggar…

After Mumbai: Winning the Global War on Terror

By Mark Woodward

…wars; both have nuclear weapons aimed at the other. Speaking by satellite phone, one of the attackers explained that he loved India, but that Muslims could not stand by while their mothers and sisters were killed. This indicates that revenge was one of the motives for the attacks. One of the consequences of this cycle of violence is that Mumbai is now a highly segregated city, so much so that Hindus now refer to traveling to a Muslim area as “goi…

Swiss Priest Sacked for Blessing Lesbian Couple; Mormon Equality Advocate Excommunicated; Pope-Backed Anti-Gay Referendum Fails; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…th hate from politicians and religious leaders seeking political power and cheap popularity.” She and more than 130 volunteers then distributed the magazine across the country and into some unlikely hands, including to Uganda’s Parliament, president, and other politicians, as well as churches and media outlets. Nabagesera says Bombastic has been a “big hit,” allowing her to attract correspondents in every country across the African continent. She…

Hicksters, Stickers, and Affection: Why I Left D.C. for the Family Farm

By Timothy King

…tage or journey of self-discovery, as Thoreau had. Watching as inflation siphoned away nest eggs tucked into savings accounts in the 1970s led to a large-scale interest in investing in the tangible asset of land. The Nearings taught their acolytes how to invest in soil and get one acre to produce enough food to feed 30 families. Broad economic and social forces offer a partial explanation for why innovators and experimenters such as Thoreau, Borso…

The Most Forgotten Queer Folks in the US are Fighting Back Against a Powerful — and Publicly Funded — Group That Discriminates With Impunity

By Chrissy Stroop

…Project (REAP), put to me across the table at Paiku, a cozy brunch café in Portland’s quirky St. Johns neighborhood, which retains its historic charm despite looking a bit worse for wear after two years of a pandemic that’s closed numerous small businesses. We met in late March to discuss REAP’s work advocating for LGBTQ students and alumni of Christian colleges and universities that discriminate against them—a largely thankless task, at least whe…

Billy Graham, Most Famous Religious Figure of 20th C, Dies at 99

By Randall Balmer

…ciates from any serious accusation of wrongdoing. During the course of his Portland, Oregon, crusade in 1950, Graham made several decisions that would affect the course of his career and shape the revival enterprise. First, at the urging of several supporters from the world of business, he decided to incorporate his revival apparatus as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, thereby adopting a business model of organization and efficiency. Aft…

How to Die in America: A Conversation with Ann Neumann

By Ellie Faustino

…Ann will be at the speaking about The Good Death at the following events this month: Mar 22 – San Francisco, CA: Booksmith, 7:30 pm. A reading with an introduction by Katy Butler, author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door. Details. Mar 24 – Portland, OR: Powell’s Books, 7:30 pm. Introduction by Peg Sandeen, PhD, MSW, Executive Director of Death with Dignity. Details. Mar 29 – Los Angeles, CA: Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and The Ce…

Gay Hating Christians Confronted by “Wall” of Gay Loving Christians at Gay Christian Conference

By Becky Garrison

…ttering of Westboro Baptist Church members journeyed from Topeka, Kanas to Portland to protest against the 11th annual Gay Christian Network Conference. While the majority of conference offerings focus on supporting full equality for gays and lesbians (trans issues were seldom addressed), they do offer a smattering of workshops designed to appeal to those they term “Side B Christians,” a phrase used to designate those Christians who do not support…