…vangelicals, homeschoolers, and tea partiers. What was not evident from pre-release promotional material was the central influence of co-producer Marshall Foster, a “guest” through much of the film. As president of the Mayflower Institute (now the “World History Institute”), Foster was the “David Barton” of Christian Schooling and homeschooling before David Barton. When I told him in 2009 (at a conference in Fort Lauderdale) that I was writing abo…
…m to say so? (Don’t answer that question.) Sure, from a daily political tug-of-war story, the talking point is that the Republicans are “divided.” But the reality is that any division isn’t sufficient motivation for most Republicans to come out and condemn the racism and xenophobia in their ranks and in their base. In the Times, Laurie Goodstein has a profile of Brigitte Gabriel and her popularity with tea partiers. Ben Smith and Byron Tau have an…
…tion, namely across ASEAN and in neighboring countries, shows that Buddhist-majority countries are as complicated as Muslim-majority countries (both after all being populated by humans). While Thailand fights a Muslim—but not “islamist”—insurgency in its south, it is also a top non-OIC destination for Muslim tourism, pulling out all the stops to attract Muslim travelers. (Halal food, prayer spaces, targeted advertising, etc.) As an aside, the maj…
…ip powerfully engaged. – The Eds PEOPLE Publisher: DIANE WINSTON Co-Editors-in-Chief: EVAN DERKACZ, LISA WEBSTER Managing Editor: ELLIE FAUSTINO Editor, Remapping American Christianities: ANITA LITTLE Senior Correspondents: JOANNA BROOKS, SUNNIVIE BRYDUM, PATRICIA MILLER, HAROON MOGHUL, KAYA OAKES Associate Editors: ANDREW AGHAPOUR (THE CUBIT), PETER MONTGOMERY, SARAH MORICE-BRUBAKER, MICHAEL SCHULSON (THE CUBIT) Contributing Editors: CANDACE CHEL…
…LGBT couples. On the eve of the parade, Taiwan’s Justice Minister, Chin Tai-san, gave marchers fresh hope by pledging that the new government, elected earlier this year, had a clear position on same-sex marriage and backed equality. President Tsai Ing-wen also reportedly reaffirmed her support for marriage equality on Saturday. Legislation to revise the civil code to include marriage equality has been submitted with the support of 40 lawmakers, re…
…convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the sexual assault of 12 and 15 year-old girls who were “spiritually married” to him. The trial, held in San Angelo, Texas, was short but disturbing, with audiotapes and photographs of Jeffs’ crimes presented to the jury. During the trial, Jeffs fired his defense team, and defended himself with rambling missives and an affidavit he claimed came from God. Often, he just sat in silence. The jury verdict…
…ults spell cautiously good news. The far-right Christian voting bloc on the 15-member board has dwindled. Voters have rejected several of them, including Don McLeroy, who was the chief architect behind the rewriting of the state’s science and social studies curriculum. He lost his primary race in May and the remaining board members are a combination of more mainstream Republicans and Democrats. The timing is important because in the spring, the bo…
…ed, more deep trauma inflicted, but with the same shitty debate over prayer-vs-action and same despair over the potential for action being recycled. There are some differences, of course. Rather than the NRA paying $3 million to elect a senator from Iowa, we now have a president elected with $30 million NRA dollars, and who perhaps not coincidentally “feels closer to the NRA than just about any outside group.” And instead of a Congress debating, h…
…emies of America. The film claims that there is an agenda designed to “dumb-down our children, undermine our families, re-write our history and promote obscenity and immorality everywhere that they can.” These criticisms are made, of course, by folks who want to eliminate public schools, promote Patriarchal families where men have almost absolute authority over women and children, teach David Barton’s version of history and secure continued legal…
…,” said Sergeant Kamal, who returned to the United States last year after a 15-month tour in Afghanistan. “It’s an awful thing. I feel let down. We’re better than this.” Omar Ahmad, a member of the San Carlos City Council, writes that: Criminal acts involving murder are forbidden explicitly [in Islamic traditions]. As a community leader, and as a Muslim, I condemn these acts… Like other faith groups, Muslims are looking for ways to raise families…
