Religion Dispatches
…he rhetoric. This mutual support may make for a coherent ethical and moral code and it may help reinforce long-held norms of the way one should live one’s life. There is reason to wonder, however, if it might actually hurt the women and men of Kazangula. If “Abstinence” and “Condoms” are mutually exclusive while “Abstinence” and “Be faithful” present an interconnected coherent picture to which one should aspire, then “ABC” prevention messages may,…
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…ne running through the world is between those committed to a liberal, pluralist future and those who seek an illiberal world in which Enlightenment ideas of personal liberty and autonomy are soundly defeated. In many historically and cultural Christian countries, this latter ideology has taken the form of Christian Nationalism. Contemporary Christian Nationalists (CCNs) are most certainly Christians; they’re part of a decidedly unique, and arguabl…
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…ivals slash voter mobilization events organized by Lance Wallnau and evangelist Mario Murillo. Every day, internet prophets are describing dreams of churches under attack, Christians rising up, and the start of World War III, acclimating followers to the prospect of real-world violence. And this is what awaits people under the tent: leaders waging an intentional effort to move them from passivity to action and into “God’s army.” McCrummen reported…
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…n and minorities should be thankful to the white male majority for giving them the right to vote—paint a pretty clear picture of his goals. Shortly before the final vote this spring McLeroy proposed an amendment declaring that muckraking journalists and modern-day historians are obsessed with oppression. His response: “[students should] contrast the tone [of those journalists and historians with]… the optimism of immigrants including Jean Pierre…
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…ames—that they immerse players in a virtual environment that feels very realistic, except that in this virtual world it’s a very good thing to try and kill as many people as possible. “Do You Believe?” is like that, only here one is meant to unleash Jesus on any situation whatsoever. No attention is paid to the possibility that even “Christian”-sounding convictions can be self-serving. The screenwriters do not entertain the possibility that being…
Read More…, when a federal judge in Wisconsin found the relevant portions of the tax code to be unconstitutional, but the three judges on the appellate panel did not tip their hand, although they showed few outward signs that they agreed. The regulation at issue is more than sixty years old, enacted in the 1950s to ensure that ministers at churches who could not afford to provide them with housing could nevertheless benefit from the same tax breaks as minis…
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…an political class is ashamed of it.” Tanzania: Government cracks down on ‘promoting gayism’ At BuzzFeed, Edith Honan reviews the country’s crackdown on LGBT people and any groups deemed to be “promoting gayism” and the consequent threat to public health. Gay sex has been a crime in Tanzania, punishable with life in prison, since British colonial rule, but there is no record of anyone serving serious time for it. LGBT Tanzanians have always been a…
Read More…d. According to the Associated Press, the two-day conference was called to promote a global dialogue about religions, cultures and common values. The dialogue ensued. President Bush attended and spoke, and a statement on the importance of religion and humanity’s common values was issued. The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins pointed out that Leonard Leo and Donald Argue, members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, said th…
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…ts are best understood as a loosely affiliated network of Christian nationalist lawmakers and activists using these resources to take advantage of every opening to promote their harmful agenda.” The ongoing exposure and response to Project Blitz has taught us several things. First, that it’s possible to stand up to and prevail against anti-democratic movements and measures, and that our democratic institutions are more resilient than they sometime…
Read More…al healing practices appear to be protected under one part of the criminal code but not under another) violates their right to due process of law. Wisconsin’s “treatment through prayer” provision is not unique: More than thirty other states offer similar kinds of apparent legal protections for devout parents who reject medicine and turn to prayer when their children are ailing. A number of groups have lobbied for the repeal of such religious exemp…
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