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Conservative Christians Finally Get Serious About Divorce

…imself and his family. At least in those days, the Southern Baptists had a code about divorce, but these days, Southern Baptist churches are routinely led by divorced men—the most famous being Charles Stanley. Despite divorcing his wife in 2000, he remains the pastor at the mega-sized First Baptist Church in Atlanta. Divorce has been a growing problem for the faithful. A Barna poll from 2008 revealed 33 percent of couples overall get divorced. Bor…

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Dear White Evangelicals: A Black Square Ain’t Gonna Cut It

…square will never—and I mean, never—be enough. Not while they continue to promote leaders, policies, and theories that support white supremacy in the nation and encourage the idea that the body of Christ is segregated by race and class. To people of color who have spent centuries being shunned or diminished by white evangelicals, anything less than acknowledgment, and changed behavior, specifically from Bible-toting white men who’ve manipulated s…

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UNESCO on Religion, Culture and SOGI in Asia; Orthodox Family Sues to Stop Cremation of Israeli Trans Woman; Struggles of Iraqi Queer Activists; Global LGBT Recap

…me time. “Islam does criminalise sexuality – that is clear. But Islam also promotes love and peace and no killing and all these human values, so why not go with these instead of violence?” Israel: Orthodox family sues to halt cremation of transgender woman May Peleg, a transgender activist from Jerusalem, committed suicide this month; she expressed a desire in her will to be cremated. But, as she had feared, her ultra-Orthodox family asked a court…

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Record Number of Stealth Creationism Bills Introduced in 2011

…, critique and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught.” As always, since intelligent design was ruled unconstitutional in Kitzmiller v. Dover, the introduced bills rely on such creationist code words as “teaching the controversy,” “academic freedom,” or “critical analysis.” However, in the case of Florida, the bill’s sponsoring lawmaker Rep…

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Pittsburgh Paradox: A City Haunted by God and Steel

…nd potent spirit within him” is a religious parable, of a sort. Reading it today tells us something about the vagaries of God and Mammon in the Steel City, a story worth considering whether you’re from Pittsburgh or not. “Paul’s Case” doesn’t appear in my book An Alternative History of Pittsburgh—a gross oversight (perhaps justification for a sequel), for as I’ll return to shortly, Cather has something intrinsic to say about matter and spirit. But…

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Religious and Political Silence on India’s LGBTQ Decision Speaks Volumes

…es. “Deviant,” “diseased,” and other descriptors of sexual minorities were code words for homophobia and transphobia. Moving the discussion of Section 377 away from systemic inequality and toward the putative best interest of Indian society was emblematic of the right-wing attempt to erase sexual diversity. Although right-wing Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained silent on Section 377 since his election campaign in 2014 (during hearings in Ju…

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Did the Duggars’ Fundamentalism Cause Sexual Abuse? Not So Fast

…dren is worth getting riled up about. Nor do I mean “Let’s be cautious” as code for “Maybe this isn’t an important question.” To the contrary, it’s a vital question. Yet it’s also an easy question to approach in an unhelpful way. Precisely because sexual abuse is appallingly common, compassionate people look for patterns to explain why it happened in this instance and not that one. And that’s a good thing: abuse prevention means recognizing common…

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Obama Calls for Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in SOTU

…itary. Right from the start, gays and lesbians are expected to break every code of honor in the service just to get the chance to do what they feel called to do. That’s unfair, as well as immoral. If gay and lesbian people are willing to give their lives in service to this country, they must be able to honest and open about who they are. Anything less is cheapens their lives and their courage. It’s a promise the gay and lesbian community has heard…

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Louisiana Citizens Horrified that there’s Evolution in Science Books

…rite and successfully lobbied for in 2008. The LSEA instructs educators to promote “critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.” It also allows teachers and school districts to use “supplemental textbooks,” which are just code words for creationist and pro-intelligent design materi…

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When Mormons Mobilize: Anti-Gay Marriage Prop. 8 Effort ‘Outed’?

code (or “ward”-level) supervisors for grassroots campaigning. One LDS zipcode supervisor reported that the Mormon Church was “the only member of the Protect Marriage coalition” to participate in the Yes on 8 ground campaign. On August 16, the Yes on 8 ground-campaign began its voter-identification phase, with a reported 15,000–30,000 Mormon precinct walkers knocking doors each weekend in August to identify “yes,” “soft yes,” “undecided,” “soft n…

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