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Yo, Gays, Stop Bogarting that Rainbow!

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…sbians give up their grip on the rainbow. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse of the San Diego-based Ruth Institute [a project of the National Organization for Marriage] rightly argues that the rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with man, and she says proponents of Proposition 8—California’s measure that passed in 2008 to define marriage as between a man and a woman—are the original “rainbow coalition.” “Proposition 8 was passed by a great grassroots coali…

The Truth in Transgender: Will the Episcopal Church Amend Its Rules?

By Elizabeth Drescher

…try to increase awareness and understanding.” However, he also sees the day-to-day reality of transgender experience as making an additional practical call on Christians. “It’s my personal understanding of biblical ethics that Christ calls us to reach out to others who don’t fit in,” he explains, “those who are poorly understood, who are subject to violence and domination within our culture.” He continues: “One thing we know about transgender peop…

God is Not Interested in Religion

By Peter Laarman

…cause I was recently asked to lead a non-traditional Easter service (so non-traditional we held it on Saturday!) as part of an open-space preservation campaign my agency supports: an organizing effort to get a big chunk of the San Gabriel Mountains protected under Park Service rather than Forest Service jurisdiction. A mix of fairly traditional Christians and a somewhat larger number of nature people (let’s just call them “pagans”—a perfectly good…

Women as Head Pastors Was Final Straw for Southern Baptist Convention — Not Scandal, Sexual Abuse, or Dalliance with Dictators

By Caroline Matas

…s missionary arm, called the PEACE Plan, grew out of the church’s close, 20-year-long relationship with the “model partner nation” of Rwanda. Warren says that he received a personal letter from Rwandan president Paul Kagame in 2003 asking him to “help us rebuild our nation.” Since then, Warren has made countless trips to the Central African country, even as Kagame’s documented human rights violations have drawn increasing criticism internationally…

Rick Perry’s Jesus Imperative: A Report from Saturday’s Mega-Rally

By Sarah Posner

…ecostal movements, especially those emphasizing spiritual warfare and round-the-clock prayer and worship, and which have produced another sort of army. That one is not particularly intrigued by the horse race of politics, but rather focused more exclusively on the supremacy of Jesus and preparing for his return. That caused some controversy for the organizers of Perry’s event, which included speakers and endorsers who follow the New Apostolic Refo…

Quitting Religion, But Not the Practice of Prayer

By Elizabeth Drescher

…Easter lesson, perhaps. _________________ *Online survey conducted March 1-March 31, 2012. Of a total of 1166 respondents, 265 (22.8%) self identified as “None,” “Nothing in Particular,” “Agnostic,” “Atheist,” “Secular,” or “Secular Humanist.” Respondents were able to mark any activity shown in an inventory of eighteen practices as “having spiritual significance in your life,” and an open-ended “other” response was available. Respondents were a…

Controversial “Bishop of the Poor” Dies at 86

By Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado

…ity in Rome, Bishop Ruiz led the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas from 1959 to 2000. In the 1990s he served as mediator in an attempt to end the conflict between the Mexican government and the indigenous Zapatista National Liberation Army in Chiapas. Though he was asked to step down as mediator for supposedly favoring the Zapatistas, the tentative truce between the two groups has been sustained since 1998. He is remembered as an advocate for…

Romney Had No Clue as to Obama Ground Game

By Joanna Brooks

…l the staffs and offices,” Beeson said. “They were literally creating a one-to-one contact with voters,” something that Romney did not have the staff to match. “Now I know”? Yes, that’s the sound of me dropping my cup of egg nog. Because Rich Beeson could have simply counted field offices to make the inference that something was going on—Obama had three to four times as many field offices as Romney in the swing states. Or could have simply counte…

Facebook Doesn’t Kill Churches, Churches Kill Churches

By Elizabeth Drescher

…y because their Facebook activity was closely correlated to meaningful face-to-face relationality. This echoes other findings about the more narrow scope of active Facebook affiliations, despite the number of “friends” a person’s profile page might boast. With regard to churches, Beck reads the data as suggesting that Facebook and other social media are replacing what he believes is the “main draw of the traditional church: social connection and a…

‘Religious Freedom’: Constitutional Principle or Electoral Politics?

By Frances Kissling

…ve coverage, which many Catholic hospitals are already providing on a state-by-state basis where required, and in some cases voluntarily. Though it’s not the same as acting in bad faith, the CHA is probably not unhappy that the accommodation seems unworkable as it would much prefer to get another bite at the apple and make the case for religious status. Unless organizations like Catholic hospitals are allowed the same status as the religions thems…