Religion Dispatches
…ting federal hate crimes laws comes too late from my friend’s son – but is welcome future protection for our community. Those on the religious right, however, have been sounding the alarms over the measure for months, claiming it will “silence” the Christians who want to preach against homosexuality as a “sin.” Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council called the legislation a “thought-crimes bill” that would give “special rights” to homosexuals…
Read More…ul to their God. That might feel like a small victory, but it does provide welcome legal affirmation of the broad scientific consensus that LGBTQ people do not need to be (and indeed, cannot be) “cured.” It also offers a clear signal to other states considering bans on conversion therapy that they are on solid legal footing. Most crucially, it signals to those religious adherents who would hope to deny the humanity of their LGBTQ neighbors (or chi…
Read More…your head the diadem of glory….” The communion table was open and all were welcome to come. Plus, “Gluten free communion wafers are available.” and there was a request from the altar guild, “ If you wear lipstick and can wipe it off or blot it before communion, it would be much appreciated. The communion cup is wiped clean after each person’s sips, but it’s really hard to remove lipstick from the linen purificators (towels). Merci.” I was thrilled…
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…fessor Stephen Sheehi notes, an “an ideological phenomenon which exists to promote political and economic goals.” Many Muslim Americans are keenly aware of how anti-Muslim tropes are institutionalized and deployed equally by Democrats and Republicans, from left to right, albeit in different discursive tones. Whereas prominent figures and ordinary citizens on the right might openly attack Muslims as “rag heads” who subscribe to a “wicked” faith, th…
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…mplicating of the issue of Europe’s supposed Christian character is deeply welcome. Giving the lie to noisy, self-negating attempts to promote Christianity in the public square helps us appreciate the significance of the genuine attempts of prophetic groups to affect religious renewal in Europe. Appearances can thus be radically deceiving. Nonetheless, Roy’s conception of religion (and its elimination) seem somewhat narrow. I mean, when he judges…
Read More…tangible ways and look for ways to affirm that love. Certainly it would be welcome to have the support of the religious right on important legal matters like job discrimination and hospital visitations. But, look carefully at what Merritt does NOT want the religious right to change—it’s mind or it’s heart. Instead, like my sister—the insidious goal of this line of “love the sinner, hate the sin” is merely a kinder and gentler form of homophobia. T…
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…hbeck describes the medical benefits of his favorite drugs—for example, he promotes iboga, an African root bark with hallucinogenic properties, as a cure for drug and alcohol addiction. Such theories might be convincing if they came from someone other than Pinchbeck, who borrows haphazardly from Western science when it validates his claims, but seems to distrust it as an all-encompassing worldview. The film’s subtitles proudly announce the PhDs ea…
Read More…e to LDS people and a move hailed by LDS anthropologists and scholars as a welcome corrective. If anything, Mormon leaders have been slowly but steadily deemphasizing Native Americans over the last three decades, abandoning the grand discourse once used in the 1970s by Church leaders like Spencer Kimball to describe even contemporary Native peoples as Book of Mormon “Lamanites” with a special history and destiny. That deemphasis has led to mixed f…
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…d in Trump Tower but in a house of worship. “Success is measured by how we welcome the stranger, care for the sick, care for the poor, and care for the hungry in practice and in policy,” reads the letter. “We do not believe that these are left or right issues. They are right or wrong issues,” the letter says. “And while we know no human being is perfect, we wish to speak with you about these moral issues because far too much is at stake for you to…
Read More…th a round of trust falls because some people find the ritual a lot of hocus pocus? A church can be welcoming without capitulating to popular culture. A church can welcome all people without being all things to all people too. You’re a church, start acting like one….
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