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Dispatches from the Beltway: Beyond the Graying and Greening Religious Right

…ke just one example, James Dobson’s sprawling conglomerate has its own zip code in Colorado Springs and a larger monthly print circulation than the New York Times) and argue that it will not so easily wither on the vine. The most jaded on the left simply assert that the religious right is the truest expression of the heart of the evangelical community and is thus here to stay. If the argument that “the era of the religious right is over” depended…

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Marriage Debate in Australia Shifts To Push For Religious Exemptions; and More in Global LGBT Recap

…on and control of eunuchs” and marital rape exceptions in the Indian Penal Code. … Depictions of gender-fluid identity are common in ancient texts found in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, gods transform into goddesses, or they cross-dress. Men become pregnant. But when the British colonized India, they imported “a great discomfort with all things pleasurable and sensual,” said Devdutt Pattanaik, the author of several books on mytholog…

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Is Christianity Simply About God Entering the Uterus of a Jewish Virgin?

Just the other day, a friend forwarded me a mass-mailed promotion for Free Inquiry magazine (a publication in which, incidentally, I had an article published a couple of years ago). The brochure was emblazoned with the following warning: “If you wish to avoid spending eternity roasting in HELL, do not open and read this brochure.” Having no fear of hell, I opened it and fished for what my friend said would be inside: a note from Richard Dawkins e…

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Why Belief in the Primacy of Language Leads to a Misunderstanding of Richard Dawkins, Islamophobia, and Politics

…than thinking about the self as being a language—as being like a computer code that speaks—we think about the self as a cluster of forces. [These forces] make us what we are, and our decisions come from that rather than from this linguistic layer, which is actually constituted by that more fundamental cluster of forces. That’s what I see affect theory doing: upsetting this idea that human beings start with language and that we do what we do becau…

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It’s Preposterous That We Can’t Question Nominees on Religion

…e, especially if they come from a background with a strict religious/moral code and a bend toward evangelicalism, is not only reasonable but necessary and in no way suggests that a specific faith practice should be disqualifying. As Geoffrey Stone and Eric Segall noted in the New York Times: …asking a nominee about her strong faith, and whether she can put her religious views aside when deciding cases that implicate those views, is nowhere close t…

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Military Abortion Ban: Female Soldiers Not Protected by Constitution They Defend

…ly career-ending situation in the Marines, where failure to obtain regular promotions results in being discharged. Moreover, as a woman in the military, accustomed to proving herself to her male peers over her six-year career, Amy was wary of appearing a “weak female.” “If you get sent home for something like that, everyone will know about it,” says Amy. “That’s a really bad stigma in the military. I thought, that’s not me, I’ve worked harder and…

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Women’s Ordination Horrifies Traditionalist Anglican Clergy

…asking women campaigners to make in accepting this legislation based on a code of practice and please do be prepared to meet us half way as this draft legislation suggests.” On the other side of the aisle, traditionalists in the Church of England are less than pleased with the legislation. Rod Thomas, Bishop of Plymouth and leading traditionalist stated: “This leaves us very clearly with a feeling that our ministry in the church is simply being t…

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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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