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Pope Praises ‘Complementarity’ & Resists Gay Ambassador; Irish Religious Leaders Spar Over Marriage; Colombian Atty Gen Cites ‘Bogus’ Study Opposing Adoption; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…tened to boycott IKEA, after it provided Family Card holders with discount tickets to his Christian magic show, ‘Vision’. In a statement, the chain said it would not be cutting ties with the pastor. IKEA said: “Dear IKEA fans, thanks for your patience while we took time to come to an informed decision on an issue that has raised sensitivities in our community. “After listening to the questions raised, we decided to do a thorough review. We spoke d…

Orthodox TV Channel Offers Gays One-Way Ticket Out of Russia; And More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ng homophobia. RFE/FL cites survey research saying more than 80 percent of Georgians have strongly negative attitudes toward homosexuality. Social research on homophobia in Georgia shows that attitudes toward gays are strongly influenced by traditional stigmas, taboos, and values promoted by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Those studies also show that psychological and physical violence often accompany widespread homophobia that is backed by traditi…

Brexit Boosters: Why the Religious Right Hates the European Union

By Peter Montgomery

…t in recent years. The event’s chair, Levan Vasadze, had led opposition to Georgia’s adoption of an EU-supported nondiscrimination law in 2014; a WCF regional conference in Georgia that year released a declaration calling the law “an unnatural and an artificial imposition of pseudo-morality upon Georgian traditional society.” Vasadze goes even further, calling the law part of “an international agenda” to “destroy the family.” In advance of the gat…

Tearing Down Evangelical Icons: Why Penn’s Decision to Remove George Whitefield Statue May Be Good for American Evangelicalism

By Peter Y. Choi

…fact is, Whitefield wasn’t just the benevolent founder of an orphanage in Georgia, but a plantation owner who profited from enslaving Africans. Worse, the preacher was an evangelist for British imperial expansion and arguably the most vocal and persistent lobbyist for the legalization of slavery in Georgia. “I challenge the whole world to produce a single instance of a negro’s being made a thorough Christian, and thereby made a worse servant,” th…

Spiritual Unplugging, Or What to Do When There is Wifi at the Ashram

By Matt Hamilton

…self-interrogation boiled, my hand extended to the right. I reached for my phone, but I found nothing. At first I laughed at my instinct, my muscle memory. The phone, with its glowing screen, gave me solace and control. But I was tied to my cushion for another hour, and in this ashram for another day, so email would have to wait. I panicked. My heart raced. Would my editor be asking for me? Would a reply from that politician’s secretary sit unansw…

Pop-Culture Angels Are More Than Just Embarrassing Kitsch

By Ed Simon

…y from Victorian sentimentalism. Such angels are on sale at reduced price; cheap wares for cheap faith. It would be an error, however, to fully dismiss pop culture angels. Despite the fact that representations of angels in film and television, comics and music, paperback novels and posters, are filtered through market concerns, such pop culture can still speak to human meaning—and because of that they merit our attention. Besides, the bulk of art…

Is Religious Liberty Whatever Anyone Says It Is?

By Patricia Miller

…entertainment companies like Disney, Marvel, and AMC that have helped make Georgia the “Hollywood of the South.” If that’s the case, then for now it appears that “The Walking Dead” and other TV shows shot in Georgia have beaten back one of the most blatant religious liberty overreaches. But the proponents of the bill promise to resurrect it next year or in a special session, which means like the zombies of “The Walking Dead,” this bill—and the rel…

Australia’s Harsh Refugee Policies Stirring Backlash; Malawi Court Sides With Pastors To Lift Moratorium on Sodomy Prosecutions; Uzbek President Says God Has Taken Gays’ Reason Away; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…tried to prevent LGBT rights from becoming an obstacle to closer tied with Georgia: In Georgia, attitudes towards sexual orientation are linked to political orientation. While the country is largely pro-west, LGBT rights continue to feature as a sticking point towards moving closer to the European Union. In 2014, on the eve of Tbilisi’s signature of an association agreement with the EU, pro-Russia groups and tabloids raised the prospect that this…

Religious Affiliation, ‘Mankind’: India’s Anti-Corruption Activist Leads Second Freedom Struggle

By April L. Bogle

…good move. When I got to the lobby another something told me to dig out my phone and check it for messages. Sure enough, I had one from an unfamiliar number. A woman’s voice said Bedi was still sleeping, exhausted from the previous day’s overseas flight, and needed to reschedule our interview for that afternoon. I called the number back, convinced the opportunity was lost. “I’m here at the hotel now, but I’m booked solid this afternoon—” “Hold on,…

The Sordid Past of Ralph Reed

By Sarah Posner

…ublican Party machine. But his ethical shenanigans changed that: Last June Georgia’s former GOP House minority leader, Bob Irvin, blasted Reed in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed. “His M.O. is to tell evangelical Christians that his cause of the moment, for which he has been hired, is their religious duty,” Irvin fumed. “As an evangelical myself, I resent Christianity being used simply to help Reed’s business.” Irvin’s dart went straight to t…