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Why Don’t Muslims Condemn Terrorism?

By Hussein Rashid

…eaking dead. Naomi Seidman, here at RD, makes a similar point specifically about Mumbai. She talks about her immediate concern for Jewish life. That type of response is understandable, the concern for tribe. We are always concerned with that which is most immediate to us. The question is what do we do from there. American news has a responsibility to report on American deaths. British news has a responsibility to report on British deaths. And so o…

Missouri Pastor Goes Viral on Gawker: ‘Separation of Church and Hate’

By Sarah Morice-Brubaker

…re and such can check out my sermon series, What Does the Bible Really Say About Homosexuality? Regarding the second part of this question, about marriage equality: If a person doesn’t believe that one chooses to be gay any more than one chooses to be straight, then there really isn’t a strong foundation for denying people the right to marry. Plus, if marriage is viewed as a sacrament, then why is it the state’s business to determine what a sacram…

Layoffs on the Religious Right

By Bill Berkowitz

…000 (49%, versus 43% to Mr. Bush). • Atheists and agnostics (who represent about one out of every ten adults)— about 40% were registered Democrats, 40% independents, and just 20% Republicans— voted overwhelmingly for Obama (76% to 23%). • Other faiths, including Jews, Buddhists, and Muslims (who represent about 5% of America’s adult population), voted for Obama by 62% to 36%, about the same numbers as for Kerry in 2004. (For a breakdown of which i…

Love the Scholarship But Hate the Scholar’s Sin?: ‘Himpathy’ for an Academic Pedophile Enables a Culture of Abuse

By Stephen Young

…s are magically remade into the real aggressors. Uncomfortable discussions about the politics of who gets to have a voice—or, as historian Ellen Muehlberger urges us to think about, who gets the privilege of having their work cited—are stifled. Sounds like Himpathy again in a nutshell. Responses to Joosten among non-scholars also illustrate the instinct to Himpathy and its relationship to reinforcing patriarchal power. In the open Facebook group,…

A Note To Churches During Pride: If You’re Not LGBTQ-Affirming, Keep Your Water

By Chrissy Stroop

…ents. They always do. But it’s not the raving street preachers I’m worried about. They’re at least honest about who they are, and they often find themselves surrounded by “angels,” who drown out their hate. Sometimes, when a street preacher walks around with a ridiculously large banner proclaiming hellfire, someone follows him with a trolling sign that reads e.g. “This guy needs a hobby.” No, I’m more concerned about the Christians who definitely…

In This Week’s LGBT Recap: Are Gay Priests Overdue for a Stonewall Moment?

By Peter Montgomery

…the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, writes that what is being said about gay priests is not true. What is needed is for gay priests to have a Stonewall moment. They need to speak up for themselves. Their colleagues, ordained and otherwise, need to stand with them. They need to come out of the closet, or nothing will change… I’m sympathetic to people who feel uncomfortable talking publically about their own sexuality. It’s especially fraugh…

As Pat Robertson Retires, Here Are 10 of His Most Cringeworthy Moments

By Chrissy Stroop

…nd absolutely epic by describing it as follows: The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians. Thanks for that one, Pat. Go to top Calling non-Christians “termites” who don’t belong in government In his 1991 book The New World Order, Robertson wrote, “When…

The SBC Sexual Abuse Scandal is a ‘Success’ Story of the Theological Vision and Social Structure of the ‘Conservative Resurgence’

By Diana Butler Bass

…n as a “watershed moment” in the SBC. “A bit,” I confessed. Everybody knew about the takeover. For about a decade, Southern Baptist fundamentalists had engineered an institutional and theological political effort to eliminate moderates and liberals from church leadership, Baptist colleges and seminaries, and all SBC organizations. They’d been relentless—and successful. “Since you’re going to be studying American religion in graduate school, this n…

Church=State in Putin’s Orthodox Empire?; Evangelical-Orthodox Anti-Gay Alliance; Malaysian Court Protects Transwomen; Catholicism (Still) Declining in Latin America; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…whether I make a mistake. The catastrophe is when someone boasts in public about his mistakes, his depravity, his obscenity, or the sin that he commits. This is what I am concerned about….” “The homosexuals were sentenced to three years in prison and three additional years on probation. This sentence is the epitome of justice,” Amin declared. “They were sentenced to three years imprisonment and once they are released, the government will keep tabs…

Conservative Catholics Unhappy About New Book on LGBTs and The Church; and More in the Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…homophobia everywhere springs from the same place. It is, above all else, about policing what it is to be a man. Being gay is regarded as the most sinful corruption of manliness. The Chechen persecutors may not flinch as they break bones, because they see them as a mortal threat to their own sense of masculinity. That’s why homophobia is so inextricably bound with the subjugation of women. In Chechnya – and all over the world – the struggle for L…