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“Symbolic” Personhood Bill Could Kill

…o-life, conservative state. Senator Crain’s office did not return repeated phone calls, but according to The Daily Beast, he “said the bill is simply a statement that Oklahoma is ‘pro-life.’” Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman said much the same thing, according to Reuters, offering that “Oklahoma is a conservative pro-life state—we are proud to stand up for what we know is right.” Well, yes, it feels very good to be proud of things, doesn’t it? Might I…

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A Journalist in Church, Hiding in Plain Sight

…years, other personal rules also fell by the wayside. I began signing off phone calls with Paz de Cristo (Peace of Christ), and exclaiming Graças a Deus (Thanks be to God) when celebrating life’s good fortunes. Though Jesus’ divinity remains a mystery to me, I became increasingly comfortable wishing to others the Peace I knew they’d found in Christ. More than once, I felt an all-too-spiritual tingle as I crescendo-ed in collective song. During ch…

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400 Churchgoing Mormons March in SLC Pride Parade

…T people. Munson sent word out across the Mormon grapevine, through email, phone, and Facebook, inviting fellow churchgoing and believing Mormons to join her at the Pride Parade in Sunday dress. And Mormons responded by the hundreds, arriving at the parade route yesterday morning in their church clothes—dress shirts and ties for men, dresses for women. Some carried scriptures in hand. Others pushed their children in strollers, or carried them on t…

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Pennsylvania Rep. Says Contraception Mandate Is Like Pearl Harbor and 9/11

On the heels of his rousing floor speech last week that got picked up by conservative media, Republican US Representative Mike Kelly is in the spotlight today for likening the contraception mandate to the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attacks. Yeah, you know? I’ve got nothing. Maybe he really believes in that equivalency. Maybe he thinks that the contraception mandate is a lot like an attack by a foreign power. Maybe when he sat down and thought, “What’s…

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Mormons Prepare for WA Marriage Equality Fight

…od answer. I was ashamed that I didn’t have a good answer.  Over time, I reflected on the shame I felt. I realized that at some point in the future my kids will ask what I did at this time, and I feel a responsibility for what has been done in the name of my faith to make sure my voice is not silent on this issue any more. Once I came out as an ally, a number of gay friends and family members came out to me, and in terms of love and connectedness…

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A Year After the Non-Apocalypse: Where Are They Now?

…nd she wrote down what they said. One thing they told her was that a giant flood was going to submerge North America but, before it did, Martin and a handful of acolytes would be rescued by a flying saucer. Dorothy Martin wasn’t exactly William Miller but she would do in a pinch. Festinger and his fellow researchers went undercover, posing as believers to gain the trust of Martin and company. What emerged from Festinger’s research was the concept…

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Is Pro-Life Cause Célèbre Chen Guangcheng Actually Pro-Life?

…evidence of a conspiracy. Having been recognized as one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine for his campaign against coercive population control further undercuts this narrative. The “stabbed in the back” rhetoric of the anti-abortion sites dovetails with the rhetoric of Republican politicians. It’s not yet clear why Chen left the embassy, or whether his departure means anything about the degree to which the U.S. government suppor…

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It’s Barack v. the Bible, Says Barton

…lists dubious of democracy in the New Republic, or nativists fearing the influence of “new immigrants” in the 1850s (or the 2000s), or contemporary commentators suspicious of Obama’s foreign, Islamic, or radical roots. Even from his grave, hack journalist Andrew Breitbart continues to taste that fear, and spread the hate. And a “religion of fear” serves a multitude of purposes for its followers, both titillating and politically energizing. Fear is…

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Joyless Primaries Grind On

…g, highly observant LDS father. My friend described a brief, tension-laden phone call between father and son, wedged into a few free minutes after a church meeting. “Now, I’m going to serve my family,” said the father, bringing the call to a close. “Because that’s what I do.” And Mitt Romney is going to serve his country. Because that’s what he does. Like it or not. That joyless put-your-shoulder-to-the-wheel tenacity is setting the tone for the G…

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Sex Abuse in the Catholic Church: When Adults are Victims

…hdiocese’s efforts to cast Hernandez as a low-level volunteer, he’d held a number of positions of influence and authority in the church’s Hispanic outreach: as a member of the Archdiocese’s council for Hispanic Youth and Young Adults; as a keynote presenter at the fifth Hispanic Catechetical Congress of the Denver Archdiocese in 2007; and a participant in the elite Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, alongside Archbishop Chaput himself, and other high-…

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