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Women as Head Pastors Was Final Straw for Southern Baptist Convention — Not Scandal, Sexual Abuse, or Dalliance with Dictators

By Caroline Matas

…greatly exaggerated,” his years-long friendship with vociferously anti-gay Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa has been well-documented, as have his visits with the Ugandan first family. Also apparently unworthy of scrutiny by the SBC’s Credentials Committee are the various scandals associated with Saddleback’s new senior pastor, Andy Wood. In his role as pastor of SBC-affiliated megachurch Echo.Church in San Jose, California, Wood was accused of an “abu…

Ugandan Anti-Gay
Preacher Pays Fake “Ex-Gay” Witnesses to Testify for Anti-Homosexuality Bill

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

With time running out on the current Parliament’s term, Uganda’s Parliament Speaker Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi says it’s unlikely that the “Kill the Gays” bill will come up for consideration. This despite being lobbied by a group led by anti-gay activist Rev. Martin Ssempa, who is lobbying for passage of the bill by paying phony “ex-gay” witnesses to testify. From the New York Times: Mr. Ssempa, reading from the petition, began the meeting by sayin…

Columnist Applauds Russia’s Homophobic Law

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…hat the religious right continues to support (and helps author) bills like Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill, which won praise from the likes of Tony Perkins at the Family Research Council and Scott Lively from Abiding Truth Ministries. Even pastor Rick Warren refused to go on record against the bill until public pressure forced him to tweet a weak protestation. Of course, it’s understandable that the religious right would turn its sights to other co…

United Methodists Elect 1st Gay Bishop; Canadian Anglicans OK Same-Sex Marriage

By Peter Montgomery

…ute protects their rights under the 2011 Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. These rights they claim include freedom of religion, equality before the law, the right to a healthy environment, and the right to privacy. They also claim that gay men must be banned from having sex because that will inevitably lead to the exploitation of children. “During the hearing of the applications, the court stated that some of the churches’ allegations se…

2017 Around the World: Progress and Persecution For LGBT People

By Peter Montgomery

…ould satisfy both religious conservatives and advocates for greater social freedoms. “Religious rights are important rights but they need to be protected in a way that balances other rights,” he said. “There is a difference between the right to believe in religion and the right to practise by discriminating against other people.” Meanwhile, LGBT activists are figuring out the movement’s next steps: Easier gender changes on birth certificates. Prev…

“Freedom” vs. “Liberty”: Why Religious Conservatives Have Begun to Favor One Over the Other

By Stephanie Russell-Kraft

…liberty suggests a “defensive response.” “I think you could say we are all free, but what does free mean? It’s such a general concept,” said Green, noting that liberty can have more immediate and personal connotations, when spoken to the right audience. “That word seems to resonate with a particular segment of society,” he said. It’s very clear which segment that is. Over the past ten years, lobby groups on the religious right have latched onto “r…

‘Atheizing’ the Dead, Religious Doughnuts, & Tax-Free Witching

By Michael J. Altman

…e Church of Body Modification has run into trouble with her school’s dress code. The 14-year-old is looking at a ten day suspension if she returns to school wearing her prohibited nose ring. In Roswell, New Mexico, a group of students have been suspended for giving their teachers boxes of doughnuts with religious messages attached to them. Romania has decided not to tax its witches and fortunetellers. One reason being that the witches and fortunet…

Jesus Christ and Super Stars: How The Holy Rolled Mainstream in Pop Music

By Alana Massey

…’ and ‘To Be Alone with You’, Sufjan does well to collapse the distinction between divine- and human-directed affections—his ‘You’ could apply to God and loved one alike.” The former song’s title is a direct pull from the Book of Isaiah which reads in full, “For you will go out with joy/And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you/And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” The…

Kanye West’s Critique of Prosperity Preaching

By Josef Sorett

…free in verse: “I’m not trying to profit off the prophet so this one’s for free.” He does this, ironically, even as his lyrics laud one of the most prominent black prosperity preachers, Creflo Dollar. Apparently, the two share a commitment to, as Lupe puts it, “no sex before you’re married,” if not a business ethic. And then there’s the fact that Kanye recorded three different videos for the song. Two of these got plenty of play on major cable net…

Misusing Cesar Chavez in Immigration Debate

By Luis Leon

…me the suffering of the most miserable; So I will know my people’s plight. Free me to pray for others; For you are present in every person. Help me to take responsibility for my own life; So that I can be free at last. Grant me courage to serve others; For in service there is true life. Give me honesty and patience; So that I can work with other workers. Bring forth song and celebration; So that the spirit will be alive among us. Let the spirit fl…