Religion Dispatches
…ious marriage, a growing percentage of people who change faiths, a growing number of people in the “spiritual but not religious” category (and so find themselves outside of traditional institutional boundaries); and we’re part of a process of globalization that shrinks distances and blurs boundaries, bringing even the most foreign of practices to our TV screens and shores. But if people are going to pick and choose elements of different religions,…
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…McCain’s war policies. Since last February, when it became clear that the Arizona senator would be the GOP’s nominee, the pattern has not changed: Even when a comfortable majority of those polled support Obama’s policy — withdrawing troops on a fixed timetable — more say they trust McCain than Obama to “do the right thing” in Iraq. Why? In June, a Pew Center for the People and the Press poll found that nearly 40% of the public didn’t know McCain’…
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…ck from her job in the fake-news media” who decided to run for governor of Arizona. Lake’s “aw shucks”-style, airbrushed to the nines and softly spoken, was more effective than Boebert’s yelling, possibly because she managed to more convincingly portray herself as an ordinary Christian mother, thrust into politics by her desire to defend her family. “They messed with the wrong momma bear, and this momma bear will tear them to shreds!” she declared…
Read MoreFirst, it was Arizona Senator John McCain’s daughter Meghan who came out as a young Republican in full support of marriage equality for gays and lesbians. Now, the youngest daughter of former President George W. Bush is—like her mother Laura before her—publicly proclaiming her support for marriage equality. In a video released this week by the Human Rights Campaign, Barbara Bush, proclaims herself “a New Yorker for marriage equality.” As the New…
Read More…gay members of our families. Similar measures were adopted in Florida and Arizona. In Arkansas, the ability of children to enjoy protective rights of any unmarried parents, gay or straight, through fostering or adoption was stripped. These are truly unjust actions. But if we allow the progressive movement to be broadly reactive without first building the shared values and beliefs that make such actions sustainable, then our house will turn out to…
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…ballot box—the denial of marriage equality to gay and lesbian citizens in Arizona, Florida, and California. It must be unprecedented for so many states to put the civil rights of other citizens on the ballot to be voted up or down like special sales taxes or zoning decisions. It must be nice to be in such a spot of special privilege in this country that you believe it’s fitting for you to have the power to say what another human being can do with…
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…mily with a transgender child. I did this for a family while a minister in Arizona. I witnessed firsthand the lifesaving difference our inclusive ministry made to this family and their trans daughter. With us, she was able to be fully who she is. UU congregations are in the business of saving lives, and meeting people with love and welcome. These anti-trans legislative efforts violate our religious freedom and are an affront to all we believe in….
Read More…hool of Earth and Space Exploration and Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, is a visible, influential scientific thinker, and his statements reverberate far beyond the walls of Intelligence Squared’s New York City studio. They are heard by thousands of religious people—including evangelical Christians—across the country, many of whom are seeking the honest engagement with the scientific community described by Aghapour. I k…
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…rcent of the total population. Similar sentiments have been expressed by a number of other prominent politicians with Christian nationalist inclinations, including Florida governor Ron Desantis, Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert, and Texas senator Ted Cruz. This fusion of religion and nation has created a fertile breeding ground for a culture of violence to take root. Of course, Christian nationali…
Read More…er, someone would have told us,” they said. The truth was, nothing but my Arizona Highways calendar had announced the holy day to us. Because we weren’t in a country where children woke up to baskets filled with candy, we didn’t simply know, like everyone else, that the holiday had arrived. We hadn’t had 40 days of reflecting on the holiday to help us prepare for it. Our mission president didn’t mention it; apparently no one had received Easter w…
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