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Snake-Handlers, False Messiahs, and a Few Great Souls: 14 Who Died in 2014

By Daniel Silliman

No other end-of-year list can hope to offer such profound juxtapositions: a groundbreaking female Mennonite pastor alongside an “immortalist”; the transcendent wisdom of a civil rights leader alongside one of the most hate-filled religious figures in contemporary memory. But here it is, a connect-the-dots portrait of a powerfully complicated American religious landscape, circa 2014. Vincent Gordon Harding Historian and theologian Vincent Gordon H…

‘Anti-Romeo’ Vigilante Squads Target Men Suspected Of Being Gay; More in the Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…lvin Hopper, 25, a gay artist who lives in a hipster district of Paris and plans to cast his ballot for Le Pen. While nobody knows how far Le Pen’s supporters will carry her in the April 23-May 7 vote, several years of polls have shown the National Front is now more popular with the LGBT voters who make up 6.5 percent of the French electorate than it is with straight voters. LePen’s Party, which includes a number of openly gay officials, still ple…

An American Muslim Abroad, Or, Things I Saw in Dubai

By Haroon Moghul

…s. Their wet feet will be visible from space. Based on an Islamicate floor plan, the Burj Khalifa is one of the few modern skyscrapers that are genuinely beautiful. Its delicacy belies its height: twice the Empire State Building, or roughly 2,800 feet, with 160+ floors; I’ve heard the topmost floor is a private mosque, and thus the tallest in the world (you could say it sits on top of its own minaret). At night, the Burj is lit up with blinking li…

Religious Affiliation, ‘Mankind’: India’s Anti-Corruption Activist Leads Second Freedom Struggle

By April L. Bogle

…good move. When I got to the lobby another something told me to dig out my phone and check it for messages. Sure enough, I had one from an unfamiliar number. A woman’s voice said Bedi was still sleeping, exhausted from the previous day’s overseas flight, and needed to reschedule our interview for that afternoon. I called the number back, convinced the opportunity was lost. “I’m here at the hotel now, but I’m booked solid this afternoon—” “Hold on,…

Prosperity Gospel Is Not the Only Problem with Joel Osteen’s Harvey Response

By Brie Loskota and Peter Gudaitis

…ion having existing skills and relationships to meet needs identified in a plan or in real time. The problem is not that Lakewood Church kept its doors closed until Tuesday, but rather that the church may not have imagined itself as a leader in times of humanitarian crisis. Or, if it had prepared for leadership, it did not share those plans in a timely manner. When life gets hard, people often turn to religion and spirituality. To not have a call-…

Pride Month & Prejudice; ‘Worrisome Time’ For LGBT People; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ng “No entry for faggots.” Store owner German Sterligov told Reuters, “Our planet is full of filth and sick humans.” Ukraine: Russian anti-gay vigilantes find a new home Hromadske International reported that Russian anti-gay vigilantes have found a new home in Ukraine. It reports that police arrested some members of a group called the White Lions, who attack gay men (they say pedophiles), film their assaults, and extort money by ”threatening to sh…

Burning Man: Religious Event or Sheer Hedonism?

By Lee Gilmore

…llar annual budget is funded almost exclusively by ticket sales, and these tickets are not cheap (ranging this year, for example, from $210-$300 depending on time of purchase). This pays for the basic infrastructure as well as expenses like a hefty per-person/per-day use fee charged by the Bureau of Land Management. In addition, a significant portion of each year’s budget is set aside to fund many of the large-scale art installations various parti…

Saving Teens from Obama: When Bible Study Goes Wrong

By Vyckie Garrison

…e discussion after the film, Chassé told the youth group that she had been planning to vote for Obama; Miranda responded, “Oh really?” When Chassé pushed back, asking questions about the movie’s anti-Obama claims, her opinions were dismissed. “Every time I said something, she would just go back to her point and ignore mine,” Chassé told me. Later on, after we’d spoken, Chassé felt manipulated, like they’d tried to indoctrinate her. Captains RC an…

Jerusalem Countdown: Christian Zionists and the New Israeli Government

By Bill Berkowitz

…latest book Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left and World Chaos: A Carter/Obama Plan That Will Not Work (Time Worthy Books). The book mocks and belittles former President Carter’s efforts working for peace in the Middle East. Although the book resided at #4713 in “Books” in early March, a couple of recent appearances on the Fox News Channel provided a book-buying surge, driving it to #1 in the “Leadership” category, and #2 in “Middle East.” In an early…

Will Dems Find Moxie to Resist Immoral GOP Tax Plan?

By Peter Laarman

…ify as guaranteed winners are the most affluent. Bear in mind that the GOP plan actually raises taxes for the poorest wage earners while ensuring that future revenue shortfalls, along with a $1.5 to $2 trillion spike in the deficit, will be used to further reduce public services and safety net benefits in the usual pincers-like operation. I could go on, but you already get the point: as with Obamacare repeal, what unites Trump, McConnell, and Ryan…