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These Are the New Battlegrounds for LGBT Rights Under Trump

By Sunnivie Brydum

…. It seems only fair that those of us feeling targeted by Trump and the GOP in general return the favor they offered to President Obama, and aim to make Trump a one-term president. Congressional Republicans essentially wrote the playbook on how to be the most obstructionist, least productive legislative body in American history, so I say we borrow that book and use the tactics right-wingers perfected to defend the messy, complicated, frustrating g…

On Death and After-Death

By Amina Wadud

…arts will give testimony. And when it’s all over, you will either get your book: the record of your deeds, in your right hand or in your left hand (or the worst: behind your back!). Those who get their books in the right hand will be the most prosperous having good deeds out weighing not so good deeds. The thing is; it is not so black and white simple here either. The Prophet said, “None will enter into Paradise except with the mercy of Allah.” I…

Did Mormon Morality Teachings Really Make it Harder for Elizabeth Smart to Run?

By Joanna Brooks

…ing responsible sexuality to young people will fall back on what they know best—in the worst cases resorting to spent chewing gum, or ruined donuts, or other punitive object lessons. Punitive and sexist folk doctrine does not in fact reflect the best of Mormon scripture or theology, which takes a positive view of human embodiment including the “fall” of Adam and Eve. And yet punitive rhetoric on sexual morality can be found in the historic writing…

A far-right protestor wears a MAGA tophat with a grim expression.

Conservative Evangelicals Aren’t Hypocrites, They’re Sadists

By Daniel Schultz

…h a rabid culture warrior like Mike Pence in the #2 role. But probably the best evidence for somebody like this would be the ICE raids in Mississippi last week. Here’s Trump the authoritarian carrying out his promise to keep them safe—and the result is a terrorized, deflated community. People notice that kind of thing, especially when their church is called on to assist the victims. And it may never work! All the evidence indicates that there’s a…

Is It the Job of Religion Journalists to Define “Religion”?

By Ann Taves

…t establishes a comprehensive way of life that is held out as the right or best way of life for those who adhere to it.” The key term is “comprehensive.” CrossFit, football, Star Trek, and dieting fads are insufficiently comprehensive to count as religion. Linker, recognizing that his definition would encompass philosophy, distinguishes between them based on the source of their knowledge regarding the best way of life: “religion,” he claims, “is t…

Doubting Ourselves Through the AZ Shooting

By Julie Ingersoll

…certainty. A healthy dose of doubt—about our own convictions about what is best, as well as about our own understanding of our opponents’ goals and interests—won’t paralyze us into inaction but, rather, temper our approach with humility. When I recognize the limits of my own understanding, I can see value in opposing opinions as potentially leading to a better result drawn from collective wisdom. Isn’t that the idea of democracy anyway, instead of…

Why Antisemitism is an Insufficient (and Risky) Explanation for Hamas’s October 7 Attack on Israel

By Shane Burley

…ce the Hamas attack because “On Violence,” the opening chapter of his 1961 book, The Wretched of the Earth, essentially outlines the motivation and structure of the Hamas attack. In the colonial situation, the colonized take the violence that was injected into their lives by the colonizer and spin it back onto those in power. This doesn’t necessarily mean their acts are always morally justifiable, it’s simply to acknowledge that their praxis is to…

New Report Mapping Christian Nationalism by State Suggests Election Need Not be Played Out on Christian Nationalist Terms

By Daniel Schultz

…ristianity or from another (or no) tradition altogether. Intuitively, this lines up with secular descriptions of the political landscape. Hardcore conservative supporters of Trump are a very small group. Surrounding them is a larger group of traditionalists. Together, those groups make up a majority (55%) of all Republicans. The vast majority of both Democratic voters (83%) and Independents (73%) are Skeptics or Rejecters. The 2024 election will b…

Synod or Sin Oddly: Vatican Encourages Catholics to ‘Walk Together’ as Long as the Hierarchy Leads the Way and Decides the Route

By Mary E. Hunt

…hurch: Communion, Participation, Mission,” much less the VADEMECUM, or Handbook, that serves as the how-to guide. Something about the bright colors and whimsical drawings in these documents—the graphics of the little children leading the way are too cute by half. It gives the impression that this is a process run by media people with little thought to how it will change anything. Perhaps that’s because it’s not meant to change anything foundationa…

Hearts and (Versus?) Minds: Bachmann’s Ultrasound Bill

By Sarah Morice-Brubaker

…ng to Bachmann, the goal here is to make sure that the woman has “the very best information with which to make that decision.” (Good thing she’s still about leaving the decision up to the woman, because otherwise she might be disheartened by evidence suggesting that viewing an ultrasound makes little difference in the outcome of that decision.) Yes, that’s the line on ultrasound bills. They give women some sort of necessary information. But why do…