Religion Dispatches
…individuals, while conference co-organizer Julia Hunter will film “It Gets Better” videos by and for Mormons. “That this conference is even happening is hard evidence that things are getting better,” says Hunter. “I hope that the energy generated here this weekend will continue to ripple outward into our community with love and understanding; that the conversation will continue—on the web, in our chapels, with our visiting teachers, between brothe…
Read More…there is broad agreement on what is called “delayed ensoulment.” That was code for saying that the fetus does not attain to personal status until it is well formed. Early miscarriages could not be named or given religious funerals. Saints Augustine and Thomas Aquinas held that the early fetus had the moral status of a plant, and that not even God could infuse a spiritual, person-making soul until the fetus was developed; some put this today at si…
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…sly is. If we still had a Democratic Congress, we’d have a much fairer tax code (plus better health care, plus a thousand other things). But okay, that’s me. When I look at vast movements in history—fascism, socialism, American capitalism—they arise out of contexts that were, themselves, created by lots of large-scale circular movements which are impossible to trace precisely. Who knows, perhaps the collective weight of Occupy-style consciousness-…
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…n, it means a lifetime of repression and sublimation. And for those who refuse to choose between God and gay, it means having to do just what Huck Finn did: transcend religion in order to save it. Of course, this is an essential step for all religious people—but it’s one LGBT religious people cannot avoid. Queer spiritual consciousness is inherently distrustful because it has seen how rules, codes, and even the operation of conscience itself can b…
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…l’s frustration with people who might use “spiritual but not religious” as code for “I don’t really think about religion at all because it’s boring or difficult or irrelevant to my pursuit of self-interest.” One statistician of religion suggests that America is well on its way to becoming a nation of “310 million people with 310 million religions,” each tailor-made to suit themselves. As someone who has made a career out of the life of the mind, a…
Read More…er, and religion. It would be very revealing, I think, to see data that focuses on the intersection of religion, class, age, and gender. It might even shed some light on the Newt Gingrich “tough guy” dynamic Sarah Posner wrote about here. I’ve often noted that Romney doesn’t code traditional “tough-guy” masculine, which I believe is attributable to Mormon culture. 5. Religiosity subsumes ethics. Despite last-minute revelations of marital infidelit…
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…ly life), told me when the book came out: “I don’t like your book, not because it is not good enough, but because it is GOOD! Your book helps legitimize a way of life I deeply resent.” Leonard Plotnicov, editor of the journal Ethnology, whom I didn’t know at the time, wrote a most flattering blurb for the cover of my book. Leading gay/lesbian colleagues whom I also didn’t know at that time were supportive in reviews and comments (Ellen Lewin, Esth…
Read More…eage of the ideas presented by someone like Bachmann: there is a thin line between making too much of the ties among people because they have contact with each other and erring on the side of caution—thereby missing important influences . But Lizza’s essay gives us a solid starting point for exploring Bachmann’s influences: her law school mentor John Eidsmoe. (“Solid” because Lizza quotes Eidsmoe saying he believes Bachmann’s views are in line wi…
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…” taking advantage of the “trust and dependency of clients,” and deceptive promotion of products. At Wyler’s Arizona retreat, I was introduced to that healing touch therapy: I sat on the floor between the outstretched legs of a camp guide, my head leaning back against his shoulder. The guide sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my chest. This hold was called “The Motorcycle.” Five men surrounded the two of us, their hands resting gently on my ar…
Read More…for sharia, this is presumably because women want sharia.” They don’t want freedom because they feel attracted to subservience and subjugation. The English author Fay Weldon has noted that “For women, there is something sexually very alluring about submission.” Muslims like to point out that there are more women than men in the West who convert to Islam, and this is in fact partly true. Islam means “submission.” Is there something about submission…
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