Religion Dispatches
…liation among Gen-Xers and the Pew findings on the religious interests of Millennials. Americans, it seems, are not losing religion, but rebuilding it. For those who still anchor the meeting of their spiritual needs to clergy, this perhaps results in a frustrating demand for “concierge ministers,” as G. Jeffrey MacDonald recently complained in an op-ed on clergy burnout. But I suspect that at least some clergy burnout today stems from efforts to r…
Read More…t of Martin Luther King’s assassination fielded celebratory calls as a telephone operator in Memphis, Tennessee, telephoned us to awake my four-year-old twins from their sleep. Through her sniffles and giggles, this loving grandmother and now proud American citizen, kept repeating, “you tell those babies Obama did it! Obama did it! Wake them up and let them know that “O’RockoBama” [my son’s pronunciation] really did win tonight!” And I also receiv…
Read More
…rly 20s, I very much identified as an Episcopalian, as a Christian. But, still, I had an unwillingness to participate in the Christian identity politics. At that point, I was identifying as gay. At the time, Gene Robinson hadn’t been ordained as the first gay bishop yet. There was very much an active discussion going on in the church I attended about how to understand gay rights within a Christian context. [The Rev. Ken Swanson, dean of Nashville’…
Read More
…I’m not trading in my TREO, and I’m not canceling the media package on my phone or reducing the number of messages I sent through that magical device. I am not calling for a technology purge. I’m simply noting that technology comes with a price, and this price has something of a postmodern twist. By this I mean that tweeting and other high-tech modalities of exchange send information about happenings, attitudes, feelings, and events—but in a way…
Read More
…ation of this country, religion is the basis for our laws. Thou shalt not kill is [sic] a law that we have been violating recently and it is our goal to restore protection (and dignity) to every innocent human being.” He later added, “Everyone in our office rejoiced at the thought of no abortion mills in Kansas… Life is God’s gift to us personified in babies.” UPDATE: Late Friday, Carlos Murguia, a federal judge, temporarily blocked the new Kans…
Read More
…untry that wants to impose its will on the rest of us” — as he told Fox’s Bill O’Reilly shortly after the passage of California’s anti-same-sex marriage constitutional amendment— or claiming that President Barack Obama was paving the road toward a new power-grabbing dictatorship, or feigning outrage that Obama would be invited to speak at the commencement ceremonies at Notre Dame University, it is apparent that Gingrich hasn’t gotten the kinder, g…
Read More
…cation court this Sunday in Virginia, and to the Mormon men and women who will convene simultaneously at candlelight vigils scheduled nationwide. I dream that a voice from somewhere will say, in the words of a cherished Mormon hymn, “All is well. All is well”—not because it is right now, but because faith means holding to the hope that it will be. A signal of peace for every one of us who agonizes—while the outside world watches mutely or wonders…
Read More…osexuals.” It is believed 33,000 people in Tanzania died from AIDS-related illnesses last year, and 1.4 million are living with the disease nationwide. Romania: Journalist discusses U.S. religious groups part in campaign against marriage equality Hundreds of people rallied to have civil partnerships be legally recognized. A referendum to put a ban on same-sex couples marrying into the constitution is pending. Journalist Gabriel Sandu, in the U.S….
Read More…e resistance to voting for a Mormon. Do you sense that this prejudice is still a factor in the campaign? If so, how do you address it?” Of Huntsman, Keller asked: “Though you were reared Mormon, you have described yourself as ‘not overly religious.’ If not religion, what do you use as your guide in deciding what is right and what is wrong?” Very reasonable questions. But they sound like softballs to me. As someone who knows Mormon culture, if I ha…
Read More
…. “This is not pushover language. If people take 10A seriously, the exams will be even better than before.” We Take Our Position Not in Spite of Scripture, but Because of It Advocates of 10A point to a multi-pronged approach to religious issues at the heart of the debate. First and foremost, the pro-inclusion argument is grounded in scripture. In a statement to commissioners of the Donegal Presbytery in Pennsylvania during their vote on 10A, Dyke…
Read More