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Rage or Courage?: YouTube Terrorism Take Two

By Bruce B. Lawrence

…contain an outpouring of popular protest and have repeatedly called on the United States to take measures against its producers. Google’s actions raises fundamental questions about the control that Internet companies have over online expression. Should companies themselves decide what standards govern what is seen on the Internet? How consistently should these policies be applied? Under YouTube’s terms of service, hate speech must be directed agai…

Evangelicals Looking for Walker to “Do Nothing” in 2016 Election

By Sarah Posner

…of the culture wars. Legal exemptions to permit florists, caterers, social service providers, or other businesses to refuse service to LGBT people are hotly contested, both in legal circles and in the court of public opinion. In another context, the Hobby Lobby litigation, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the contraception coverage requirement under the Affordable Care Act violated a closely-held corporation’s rights under the Religious Freed…

Scope Bacon, Twttr Hoaxes & Joel Osteen’s Big Reveal

By Deborah Whitehead

…gn and promotional website including a promo video that went viral, that a number of customers were disappointed and angry to find out that it was a fake. Part of the confusion seems to have been that the launch occurred on March 28, not the customary April 1. But just as important was consumer demand. Enough people were convinced by the slick product rollout that they actually wanted to try it. “That’s not funny. I really wanted a sample,” compla…

If it’s Really About “Religious Freedom,” Why Mention Just One Belief?

By Sunnivie Brydum

…ce of an acceptable limitation of religious freedom: nobody can be refused service based on their identity—even if the service provider is religiously opposed to or refuses to acknowledge that identity. So let’s call it what it is: a challenge to where we draw the line on religious freedom, not whether or not we have it. That lowers the stakes considerably, and is far more accurate… And seeking accuracy in language was where this whole conversatio…

World Congress of Families Blessed By Georgian Orthodox Patriarch and George W. Bush; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ain hidden,” the letter continues. The self-outing came one day before the United Methodist Church, one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations, convenes its quadrennial General Conference in Portland, Oregon. From May 10-20, more than 800 delegates will debate changes to church policy, including several that seek to lift longstanding bans on LGBT ministers and same-sex marriages. This is the first Methodist General Conference since the S…

Russian Attack on LGBTs at UN Rejected; Gay Cake Controversy Rages in N. Ireland; Bishop Calls for Marriage Referendum in Puerto Rico; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…of public importance regarding the extent to which suppliers of goods and services can refuse service on grounds of sexual orientation, religious belief and/or political opinion,” the commission said before the court hearing. The BBC reports that more than 2,000 people showed up for an event organized by the Christian Institute to support the family that owns Ashers Baking Company. The hundreds who couldn’t make it into the full-to-capacity hall…

Clergy May Soon Find Taxes Soaring As Result of an Under-the-Radar Ruling

By Patrick Hornbeck

…and nuns, Christian and otherwise, live in monasteries and convents; and a number of historic Protestant churches, especially those best endowed financially, provide parsonages. But over time, an increasing number of clergy have made their own living arrangements. Churches found parsonages prohibitively expensive; congregants preferred to see their donations go toward services rather than clergy housing; and new religious ventures, especially the…

7 Problems with Trump’s Hastily-Tweeted Trans Military Ban

By Sunnivie Brydum

…e transgender community, Trump’s actions today are just one more sign that he will do everything in his power to harm us.” In the interest of full disclosure (something the President might want to study up on, himself), I have spent the past five years reporting on the state of open trans service in the U.S. Armed Forces. At The Advocate, I was the lead reporter covering the slow march toward open service, and in the course of that reportage, I me…

Mike Johnson’s Porn-Monitoring isn’t Just ‘Creepy’ — it’s a Window to the Fascist Desire Driving the White Evangelical Will to Power

By Jessica Johnson

…to porn, not cured. If it can keep men coming back to use its products and services, it doesn’t require a large customer base. Similarly, White Christian supremacy’s strength is not in numbers, but in theological-political devotion and ferocity. On the spiritual battlefield against porn, Johnson is training his son to be a Christian fascist like himself. His fatherly pride over his son’s “clean slate” says more about his investment in Jack’s capac…

Dispatch from Charlottesville: “It Was a War Zone. It Felt Like There Were a Million Nazis.”

By Sunnivie Brydum

…m were gathered outside the church. So in the middle of a peaceful worship service, a prayer service for the city of Charlottesville, I was unable to be present in the work that I had been brought in to do because of safety concerns. Along with that, a member of the so-called alt-right had infiltrated our worship service. And so there were lots of things happening at one time. Security became a real concern; not just for those of us who were in cl…