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God in the Inauguration: JFK, Bush, and Obama

By Jerome E. Copulsky

…nment. Kennedy’s address is perhaps best remembered for its famous call to service: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” The closing paragraphs turn to what Bellah regards as the “transcendent goal for the political process,” a declaration of the American obligation to carry out God’s will on earth: “Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask o…

I’m Too Sexy for My Church: Will a Thriving Singles Scene Renew American Catholicism?

By Megan Sweas

…rishes appears almost as an act of defiance. According to the Pew Research Center, the Catholic share of the population has been dropping steadily and getting older. To make matters worse, 41 percent of Catholics ages 18-30 could imagine leaving the Catholic Church someday. While 10 percent of millennials still consider themselves to be culturally Catholic, many already have left—most often to join the ranks of “nones.” Young adult Catholics at St…

Not His House: Archbishop Oversteps, Opposes Repeal of DADT

By Eugene McMullan

…rchbishop has religious authority over the Catholic chaplains in the armed services, their primary allegiance is to the military and the president. So long as they actually serve in the military, they answer to the president, not the prelate. Canon law and catechism are irrelevant to the debate about lifting DADT. They are no more relevant here than they have been to other policy issues such as women in combat; bans on drugs, sexual harassment,…

Parting Words For and From Bob Edgar

By Peter Montgomery

I went to a memorial service Wednesday for Bob Edgar, the president of Common Cause, who died suddenly last month. (See Peter Laarman’s RD piece on Edgar’s legacy here.) The service was packed with social justice activists as well as current and former members of Congress. Edgar, a liberal Democrat, had been elected to six terms in the House of Representatives from a staunchly Republican congressional district because he had such a strong reputat…

“Taliban Dan’s” Teacher: Inside Bill Gothard’s Authoritarian Subculture

By Sarah Posner

…Florida Family Policy Council named its annual award honoring “outstanding service to the pro-life and pro-family principles” after him. Recipients have included the American Family Association’s Don Wildmon. “Culture of Fear” Don Venoit, a conservative evangelical who founded Midwest Christian Outreach, a ministry devoted to countering the influence of “new religious movements,” has long been a critic of Gothard and documented his efforts to conf…

“LGBT People Have a Lot to Teach Christians”

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…which is communion at its heart. It doesn’t have to look like an Episcopal service — every Sunday being handed the wafer. Communion can look like an impromptu gathering around a table,sharing their lives together, or a food pantry. Even churches that don’t use the word sacrament, I think most of them practice these sacraments in some way. The kind of Christianity you describe in the book is a place where people are free to be who they are, wounds,…

Is LGBT-Muslim Clash Aiding Rise of Right in Europe?

By Peter Montgomery

…ent announced in February that it would crack down on privately run health centers that provide AIDS-related services, which Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said promoted homosexuality. Gay sex between men is severely punished in Tanzania. Those convicted could receive anything from 30 years to life imprisonment. However, there is no such ban on lesbian sex. Until recently the gay community in Tanzania had not be subjected to levels of discrimination…

Upside Down Judaism: Why Are Progressives Studying Talmud?

By Aryeh Cohen

…Jewish Service Corps, the environmental group Hazon, American Jewish World Service, Jewish Funds for Justice, the New York group Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jews United for Justice in Washington DC—the list goes on. In addition, the eminence grise of Jewish social justice organizations, Chicago’s JCUA, hired Jill Jacobs, a Conservative Rabbi, as Director of Outreach and Education in 2004, and started a summer seminar for rabbis (modeled…

Queering Easter: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Redefine Sainthood

By Susan Henking

…e approached the Hospice of San Francisco to propose what was then a novel service, massage for terminally ill hospice clients. For those who recall the early years of the AIDS/HIV pandemic, and the fear of touching accompanying the devastation, Smith’s focus on massage (and thus touch) was—and is—truly beneficent. In this season of Easter, even those of us who are secular (and I count myself among them) we might still ask: what is sainthood anywa…

God and Prop. 8: New Poll Holds Surprises on Gay Marriage

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…59 percent supporting workplace protections and 50 percent supporting open service in the military. The two groups were largely divided over gay adoption as well with 51 percent of Latino Catholics in support, but only 27 percent of Latino Protestants in support. “You see closer correlations between Latino Catholics and Protestants on individual rights like in the workplace and military service, but we see the bigger breaks when it comes to family…