Religion Dispatches
…much of the conservative infrastructure. Even if Palin is not viewing her trip through an electoral lens, she is, I suspect, far more comfortable with an evangelical approach to her trip. She’s a Christian Zionist, to be sure, and like many of her co-religionists, the Jews are adorable pawns in God’s plan. Spiritually speaking, she’d be far more at home with a Christian tour. And if she is trying to appeal to Jewish Republicans, I’m guessing she…
Read MoreA new poll released today by the Salt Lake Tribune shows that among Utah Mormons surveyed, 55% believe it is possible for people who are attracted to members of the same sex to change their sexual orientation. Twenty-five percent of Utah Mormons reported being “unsure,” and 15% believed gay people could not voluntarily “change” their own sexual orientation. Among non-Mormon Utahns surveyed, 66% believed it was not possible for gay people to “chan…
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…ld reverberate throughout the global LDS church. More from Riess: … As the Salt Lake Tribune reported, Elder [D. Todd] Christofferson explained that the Church won’t take disciplinary action against Mormons who support same-sex marriage. In fact, he affirmed that they can even be public about such support by posting about their views on social media, belonging to gay-friendly Mormon organizations like Affirmation, and marching in gay pride parades…
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…in Women founder Kate Kelly to a pre-demonstration gathering in a downtown Salt Lake City park. “To them I say: you can feel respected, supported and validated in the church, but equality can be measured. Equality is not a feeling. In our church men and women are not equal.” After hymns and prayers, Ordain Women participants walked to elm-lined Temple Square, the heart of historic Mormonism and site of the Church’s General Conference. As men and b…
Read More…local name for the polygamous communities of Centennial Park, AZ, Colorado City, AZ, and Hildale, UT) to see what folks on the ground are saying. In the meantime, I’ll be reading whatever Brooke Adams, the Salt Lake Tribune’s excellent beat reporter on polygamy, has to say. And I’ll be looking forward to hearing all parties have their say as the judicial process continues to move forward….
Read More…a vehicle for challenging Roe v. Wade…” A recent Zogby poll found that: In Colorado, Amendment 48, the Colorado Equal Rights Amendment (also known as the Definition of Person Initiative), would expand the term “person” to “include any human being from the moment of fertilization”, with all the constitutional rights that confers. The initiative would “in effect bestow on fertilized eggs, prior to implantation in the womb and pregnancy, the same leg…
Read More…upport for humane treatment of immigrants and immigration reform through a number of quiet moves designed to promote a more informed and compassionate conversation on immigration among LDS people. These efforts have been spurred by the high visibility of LDS legislators like Stephen Sandstrom in Utah and Russell Pearce, author of Arizona’s controversial SB 1070, as well as by firm pressure by LDS Latino immigrants. Today, Latinos make up the large…
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…way from the hard work of repentance, who tickle our ears with promises of cheap grace, and offer a vision of the cross of Jesus that has nothing to say to the crosses, and lynching trees, of history. But, if we do, we will be settling for the gospel of Caesar, not the good news of Jesus Christ. Perhaps it is time to put down the chalk, stop drawing pyrotechnical conspiracy theories that play into our worst fears and listen, instead, for the diffi…
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…spatial metaphors at play here. Invaders of light coming from outside the city—a city that’s still “theirs”—to do battle with the forces of evil secularism that have somehow appeared from within the city itself. As far as coherence goes, I’m not sure the metaphors hang together. The pairing of opponents seems off, like Jedi vs. Zombies, or Crusaders vs. Martian Bodysnatchers. (OK, those could be awesome movies, but you get my point.) But note how…
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…ment of 50,000, as if the faithful at church. The devotion was audible, as tickets were distributed to friends of the Cuban government and not through a public sale. Here the religious nature of the Cuban sporting event is acknowledged only to be dismissed as inauthentic. The patriotic, quasi-religious crooning is suspicious because of its apparent production by the Cuban government, which distributed tickets to friends. Morosi recognizes religiou…
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