Search for "cheap airline tickets for des moines ia to phoenix az phone number 1-800-299-7264"

By the Way: Religious Right Losing its Grip?

By Randall Balmer

…a harbinger of changing attitudes and shifting political winds. From Virginia Beach, Virginia, comes word that a student organization called Regent Democrats has been granted official status at Regent University. The report, by Steven G. Vegh of the Virginian-Pilot, suggested that the school’s chancellor himself, Pat Robertson, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, gave his approval to the new group. “People are realizing tha…

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

…bodia, and Nepal. “But there is still strong opposing voices such as Christian groups. Their numbers aren’t big but their political influence is significant,” Wu said. While marriage is not yet an option, some are encouraged by recent developments in gay rights. Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan earlier this year became the first city to allow same-sex partners to be listed in household registration records. Italy: Court Rules Against Mayors Recognizin…

Pornography’s Dirty Little Secret: What We Say vs. What We Do

By Shira Tarrant

…, The Pornography Industry: What Everyone Needs to Know, which presents reliable information about a variety of controversial issues such as this one. ### A recent Time magazine headline humorlessly stated in 2013 that “12 Percent of Americans Admit to Watching Porn Online, the Other 88 Percent Must Not Have Internet.” As the Time subtitle further explains, “bashful survey respondents probably diminished the total reported number of online porn wa…

Does Multiverse Theory Bring Theology Into Science?

By Andrew Aghapour

…Atomist philosophers in the 5th Century BCE, the multiverse is a way to sidestep theology: if there are an infinite number of universes that take on all possible parameters throughout eternity, then we don’t have to appeal to a god to explain the bounty or harmony of the world around us. Given an infinite number of universes, a few of them are bound to be life-friendly at some point, and we’re in one of them. The problem, of course, is that the p…

Can Faith-Based Organizing for Gun Control Work?

By Sarah Posner

…ths in America, the number of mass shootings, the number of accidents, the number of suicides. The movement would have more than these grassroots activists. It would have willing politicians, a legal strategy, and lots of money. All of these components would work in tandem to change people’s minds, to pressure lawmakers, to intimidate politicians running for office, to go to court when necessary. With these political, legislative, and legal compon…

Marriage Vote ‘Transforms’ Not-So-Catholic Ireland; Activist to Malaysian PM – ‘Love Is Not Terrorism’; LGBTs Find Growing Acceptance in Colombia, Not At World Meeting of Families; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…Archbishop Roberto González-Nieves is also on record, saying “same-sex marriage destroys the richness of the complementary qualities of the sexes and deprives progeny of the paternal or maternal figure.” González had previously called for a referendum on the matter, to counter a “dictatorial imposition on the state’s part.” Evangelical leaders have made similarly strong statements, along the same lines. Carlos Sánchez, who led a protest of the eve…

C Street Scandal, the Media, the Future of the Family: An Interview with Jeff Sharlet

By Bill Berkowitz

…that unusual. First, there’s the fact that having written about this for a number of magazines that might be said to be sort of mainstream (Harper’s, Rolling Stone, The New Republic, Mother Jones) and talked about it on very mainstream television programs (NBC Nightly News, CNN, etc.) and radio (Marketplace, Fresh Air, BBC, etc.), I’ve sort of established ownership of the story. That may be a good thing for my book sales, but it’s bad for journali…

Meeting on the Bridge: Fr. James Martin’s Ministry to LGBT Catholics Becomes a Book

By Kaya Oakes

…s an “informal ministry,” conducted through articles, conversations and social media, and it expanded after the June 2016 shooting in Orlando, Florida when Martin was dismayed that Catholic church leaders failed to acknowledge the targeting of LGBT people in the Pulse massacre. His Facebook video posted the day after Orlando has over a million and a half views. The scope of his outreach is still so unusual for a Catholic priest that Martin was hon…

Broken Courts, Big Lies and Genocide Rehearsal: A Review of 2022—And What We Can Expect From 2023

By Annika Brockschmidt

…entity from the world, following a genocidal logic similar to the US, Canadian, and Australian boarding schools that sought to “kill the Indian, [and] save the man.” Once it becomes acceptable for one group of people to be criminalized for expressing their identity, then society becomes vulnerable to the genocidal targeting of other groups as well. In fact, anti-trans initiatives are closely tied to assaults on the rights of women, people of color…

Cruz and the Evangelical Illusion

By Sarah Posner

…ngelical,” someone reporters call on to gauge the pulse of a subculture. Brian Kaylor, a historian of evangelical political engagement, has said that “Land is much more influential among journalists as a ‘evangelical leader’ than he is with the average Southern Baptist in the pews. He has more say in newsrooms than sanctuaries.” While the media, particularly in the 2000 election cycle (before which Dobson had threatened to form a third party if no…