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Record Number of Stealth Creationism Bills Introduced in 2011

By Lauri Lebo

The National Center for Science Education has tracked a record-setting number of nine anti-evolution bills introduced in state legislatures since Jan. 1. The latest is Texas’ HB 2454, which would prohibit an institution of higher learning from “discrimination related to research related into intelligent design.” “PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RESEARCH RELATED TO INTELLIGENT DESIGN. An institution of higher education may not discriminate…

To Be Queer, Gifted, and Black: A Conversation with Theologian Pamela Lightsey

By Nyasha Junior

…in to think about the conceptualizations we have about God and to think of ways to describe God in ways that may not necessarily fit the normative conversation—but are nonetheless true. If I were to say that God is queer, what I’m saying, in essence, is that God cannot be boxed. Your book engages with the work of a number of womanist scholars. Talk a little bit about how you are using the term “womanist” and how it relates to theology. I use the t…

Reconsidering “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin”: An Interview with Ethicist Eric Reitan

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…re are certain ways of using scripture that interfere with that. There are ways of using scripture where it becomes a way of silencing, of putting on blinders, or plugging up our ears with Bible verses. It’s not just the Bible that is invoked in this way as an impediment to that first act of love. I think natural law theory is used in a similar way, and I address this in the book. My ultimate point is that if we start with compassionate attention…

“I ‘Came Out’ For Marriage Equality”: An Anti-Gay Activist Changes His Mind

By Welton Gaddy

…then that’s not really someone you want to have in your list of friends anyway. I always thought that I’d rather be rejected for who I am than accepted for who I’m not. And I think you must have come to something like that… I wonder, and I’m not trying to play psychologist here, but how do you feel about yourself? I mean, I ask you how your family felt and how your friends felt… How do you feel about yourself, and what you did? Well, I feel rel…

Demonized and Demonizing No More.

By Joanna Brooks

…deliver those things. Thank you! I tried to be careful to not say that my way is the best way forward for anyone—atheist or not. Whenever someone decides they have discovered the best way and that other people should walk the same path, it’s a real turn-off. Atheist polemicists have done a lot to raise the visibility of atheists, but they haven’t made atheism all that attractive for many people and part of the reason why that is—fairly or unfairl…

Catholic Bishops End Family Synod With Little To Say To Gays; World Congress of Families Has Plenty To Say, None of it Good; How Same-Sex Marriage Came to a Buddhist Temple in Japan; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…es in the civil courts if the rabbinical court does not recognize them. Norway: State Churches Will Perform Same-Sex Weddings The Church of Norway General Synod endorsed the creation of liturgies for marriage of same-sex couples; all churches in Norway will offer marriage services. Priests and other staff will have the right to refuse to participate in same-sex couples’ wedding ceremonies. Last year Prime Minister Erna Solberg supported such a mov…

For Buddhism, Science is Not a Killer of Religion

By Paul Wallace

…think of him at all. And, despite scientific cosmology, there are a large number of mortal creatures—most of them non-human—inhabiting a spectacular 31-tiered cosmos, from the hell beings and hungry ghosts way down below to the (mortal) gods and goddesses in the heavens far above. There is karma, which you spend countless lives trying to work off. Once that’s finished, one of two things can happen. If you are of the Theravada school you are extin…

UNESCO on Religion, Culture and SOGI in Asia; Orthodox Family Sues to Stop Cremation of Israeli Trans Woman; Struggles of Iraqi Queer Activists; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…used to receive threats but in recent years they had grown to an enormous number. My public activities resulted in promises to hunt me down, beat me up, and kill me. Neo-Nazis, homophobes and pro-Putin agitators showered me with insults on social networks, harassed me on the phone and at events, and even complained to my place of work. On 24 August 2014, Ukrainian Independence Day, myself and some friends who were in a picket on Malaya Sadovaya s…

The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Humans

By Amina Wadud

…ill go to Mina, etc. There is still no address for the hotels, but a local phone number. There is also information about processing customs at Jeddah, meeting the tour guide, and information that says “the group” will proceed to Makkah—which means the first will have to wait for the last person, which is the beginning of feeling like you are a group. They even include suggestions to “get to know” your fellow travelers. I still had no idea what wer…

God Will Not Make You Straight: An Interview with GCN’s Justin Lee

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…and can’t be practiced. By the same token, because religious groups will always find a way around the laws about this or that kind of therapy, citing religious freedom, I think the bigger issue is that people need to be educated about why this kind of stuff is so harmful, so we eliminate the demand for it. That’s happening bit by bit but there is still a lot of work to do to educate Christians. When I go speak I meet Christians all the time who ho…