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Will Francis’ Statements on Women and Gays ‘Make a Mess’ Inside the Church?

By Mary E. Hunt

…idir (CDD-Brazil) that raised most of them. No surprise there. Only on the plane home in an unusual press conference when he was asked directly did he tackle any of these matters. Therein lies an important part of the story. On July 25, in a rousing speech to young people, he stated: “quiero lío en las diócesis,” which the English language press prissily translated as a plea for the youth to “make a mess.” I suspect that those more familiar with t…

Seventh-Day Adventists & Gay ‘Cures’; Legal Victory for Kenyan LGBTs; Political, Religious Leaders Spar on LGBT Issues in UK; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…rthquake in Nepal arrived at a military base in Israel Monday morning. The plane brought with it several wounded Israelis and premature babies of Israeli parents born to surrogate Nepalese mothers. A separate plane carrying more babies and their parents is slated to arrive later in the day. Omri Lanzet, one of the many new parents who landed in Israel with his newborn son Sunday night told Ynet news that “We had a baby just days old with us, and h…

“You’ve Never Met a Muslim”

By Hussein Rashid

…d when my neighborhood was attacked on September 11, 2001. I saw the first plane hit as I came down the steps to put my kids on the schoolbus. I thought it was an air traffic accident, just kept walking down to the swimming pool on Chambers Street. Ran into neighbors spilling out on the street, muttering about terrorists. Then the next plane hit and I decided not to go to the pool. One of my neighbors sat on the steps sobbing as her toddlers jumpe…

Swift-Boat Veterans of American Jewry Charge Anti-Semitism at Occupy Wall Street

By Jay Michaelson

…es ECI’s leadership – knows this to be the case. Which makes ECI’s video a cheap lie — yet another in a long litany of desperate efforts by the far right to convert the largely liberal American Jewish community to neo-conservatism, hawkish policies on Israel, and the belief that “Barack Hussein Obama” is a Muslim. That said, there actually are two interesting forms of antisemitism going on here. First is the antisemitism of ECI itself. To tug at…

Mitt Romney’s Prosperity Gospel

By Peter Laarman

…g us that people who work very hard for very little are not the abusers of cheap grace, but that others in well-feathered nests who are preaching sacrifice might be in real trouble on the cheap grace front. Obama cannot and should not condemn those in the electorate who buy into Romney’s “there will be showers of blessing” message, but he probably does need to get his preacher voice on to remind folks that all covenant promises are conditional. Th…

What a Turn-of-the-Century Anti-Abortion and Contraception Crusader Reveals About GOP Efforts to Ban Abortion Pills by Mail

By Steven K. Green

…items within their borders (as is already the case federally with lottery tickets). A Republican-controlled Congress could then impose a nationwide ban on the mailing of abortion pills or certain contraceptives. (Republican-controlled state legislatures have already demonstrated a willingness to enact questionable legislation for nothing more than its intimidation factor.) Which brings us back to Anthony Comstock. In 1878, the Supreme Court uphel…

Can Expelled Teach Us a Thing or Two?

By Arri Eisen

…tles’ (evolution vs. creationism, science vs. religion) may sell books and tickets for both ‘sides,’ productive engagement and nuance is sacrificed. Expelled, on the positive side does show us some interviews with balanced, thoughtful scientist/religion scholars like John Polkinghorne and Alister McGrath. They discuss the value of science and religion and other ways of thinking, and how productive dialogues among them, rather than battle rhetoric,…

Burning Down the Temple: Religion and Irony in Black Rock City

By Sarah M. Pike

…kepocalypse”: for the first time ever, the event sold out. Scalpers hawked tickets for hundreds of dollars over their purchase price and artists who had been working feverishly to finish their projects but had put off purchasing tickets were left out in the cold. It was a different scene in 1997 when I first came to Burning Man and only waited briefly at the entrance as a “Greeter” cast a cursory glance at my car. But the Greeters’ enthusiastic re…

“Saints Are Only Human”: Leaving the Church, But Heeding this Pope’s Lessons

By Elizabeth Colmant Estes

…t parishes with large numbers of undocumented immigrants had received many tickets. No outside food or water, statues, gifts or selfie sticks were permitted. Despite 10,000 folding chairs, most of us would have no choice but to stand. Once in my appointed place behind the last row of seats, I found myself in a community of fellow pilgrims, lottery winners from local parishes, nearby colleges, and, like me, Catholic University alumnae. Admitted by…

Thoroughly Modern Mormons

By Joanna Brooks

…ass. A stranger, upon learning that I don’t have one of the highly-coveted tickets to the Sunday Conference sessions, spontaneously offers me his last extra. Mitt Romney would blend right in amongst the crowds here. But so would Marco Rubio. Or Antonio Villaraigosa. Or any clean-cut man in a white shirt and tie, any woman in Sunday dress with a baby stroller. I try to strike up a conversation with an African woman dressed in a pagne. “Where are yo…