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Why The Book of Mormon (the Musical) is Awesomely Lame

By Jared Farmer

…Heavenly Father sent him to Uganda instead of his favorite place on Earth—Orlando! The recurring musical outbursts about Orlando, Florida, were for me the funniest parts of the show. There are indeed striking similarities between Temple Square and Disney World: the fantasy-castle architecture; the immaculate, artificial neatness; the perky helpfulness of “cast members”/missionaries; the imagineering and the edutainment in service of a well-groome…

NC’s Gay Marriage Ban: “It’s Going to Hurt the Church”

By Nicole Greenfield

…dment 1 in North Carolina. Referring to Bakker’s theological “feel-good stance” as “cheap grace,” Rev. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League attributed Bakker’s preaching of a “toxic and counterfeit gay-affirming gospel” to being injured by the church as a child. “In some ways he’s right,” Bakker told me in response. “It’s called empathy.” He continued: “Every time someone accuses me of cheap grace, I go back and say no, it’s free grace. Grac…

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

By Elizabeth Colmant Estes

…laden paths of history, so often traversed by conflict, injustice and violence, in order to encounter her children, our brothers and sisters,” reads the English transcript. Yet the pope upheld Serra’s courage to move forward. “The holy and faithful People of God are not afraid of losing their way; they are afraid of becoming self-enclosed, frozen into élites, clinging to their own security. They know that self-enclosure is the cause of so much apa…

We Went Through Amoris Laetitia Section by Section So You Wouldn’t Have To

By Anthony Adams

…young people to accept their own bodies and to avoid the pretension “to cancel out sexual difference because one no longer knows how to deal with it”. In Section 293, the pope reports that his bishops discussed their treatment of folks who are in civil—not sacramental—marriages or simply co-habitating. The bishops decided that it is preferable to try to make nice-nice with those couples only because they might eventually be enticed to convert the…

Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

By Michael Schulson

…spinning gym that has developed a passionate following in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. With MNDFL, at least, the resemblance is more than passing. The studio seems to be explicitly modeled on SoulCycle. The aesthetic is very similar. The language (“book a cushion”) resembles SoulCycle’s (“book a bike”). So does the layout of MNDFL’s online registration portal. Both SoulCycle and MNDFL project a happy-healthy-community vibe, merging th…

Love the Compassion Dogs, Hate the Anti-Gay Theology?

By Sean O'Neil

…ar emotional response to that of the more recent images of comfort dogs in Orlando. For instance, Buzzfeed featured the group at the top spot of an article entitled “21 Images That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity.” The photos show Marin Foundation members holding contrite placards at a pride festival–including “I Used to Be a Bible-Banging Homophobe. Sorry!”—before being enveloped in bear-hugs from scantily clad paradegoers. (It seems one of t…

Bishop Says Gay Couples Cannot Be Part of Parish Life; Does Rising Evangelical Political Power in Brazil Contribute to Anti-LGBT Violence?; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…Alsuleiman could strengthen support for ISIS. In the wake of Australia’s inconclusive parliamentary elections, Australian Marriage Equality announced that an overwhelming majority of MPs support marriage equality, leading activists to call once again for the government to shelve plans for a plebescite and move forward instead with a vote in which parliamentarians will be free to vote their conscience rather than with party leaders. But Sydney Mor…

The Grand Old Homonationalist Party: The Issue that Keeps the Log Cabin Republicans, Republican

By Omar Sarwar

…e-sex-loving persons. And according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), reported homicides against queer people have risen sharply since 2007, disproportionately harming transgender women and LGBT people of color. In overstating the peril posed by ‘radical Islamic theocracy’ to the American gay community, Angelo seems to have taken his cue from his party’s otherwise doubt-provoking presidential nominee. If the safety of LG…

Religious Groups, Dioceses, Churches Fund Anti-Gay Initiative in North Carolina

By Peter Montgomery

…mestic partners. WRAL’s reporters have dug through the recent campaign finance filings and concluded that the anti-gay initiative is being pushed overwhelmingly by churches and religious nonprofits, while the opposition to the amendment is drawing most of its funds from individuals. The biggest contributor to the anti-gay effort is the state-level Christian Action League, which has given $309,652.70, followed closely by the National Organization f…

Conventional Wisdom: RNC/DNC Giving God a Bad Name?

By Peter Laarman

…finding themselves working unpaid internships in a an economy that grows increasingly incapable of rewarding their efforts. Inspired religious leadership during the upcoming disruptive period may help in creating a new ethical and civic framing that really does have a communitarian center. But this will be a 20- or 30-year process, and in my view it’s a process that is actually hindered by the politics of illusion abetted by a gauzy religiosity. …