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Along Came a Spider: What the Pope Doesn’t See

By Anthea Butler

…e and shuffle of the bishops and hierarchy to send its miscreants to other parishes to inflict pain and suffering, while ignoring the fact that little or no true discipline is meted out by the church, is appalling. While Pope Benedict calls for a “Year for Priests” to commence on July 19 of this year, the day devoted to prayer for the sanctification of priests, anything but sanctification is happening. May I suggest the hierarchy of the Catholic C…

The Religious Case Against Religious Discrimination in Cakeshop Case

By Patrick Hornbeck

…reat all their customers equally “safeguard the ability of each citizen to participate fully in society with dignity.” To the contrary, a decision in Philips’ favor could give sanction to those who, relying on their religious beliefs, might refuse to serve others of a different faith, or of no faith. The denominations are careful to note that there are situations involving religious practice where the First Amendment clearly prohibits the governme…

Debunking the Myth That Democracy Is “Incompatible” With Islam

By Asma Afsaruddin

…hics based upon the Qur’an that are conducive to the development of modern participatory forms of government: human dignity, human vice-regency on earth, accountability that is ultimately linked to a fundamental commitment to justice and mercy, an emphasis on consultative decision-making and the rule of law. Above all, the principle of shura or consultation, endorsed in the Qur’an as the basis for collective decision-making and administration of p…

Black Churches are Burning: Is It the 1990s All Over Again?

By Katie Day

…re were almost 900 reported cases of church arson in the late 1990s—a huge number compared to what we’ve seen in the last two weeks. A second difference is that of public response. In 1995-96, there was a unique alliance of actors creating “perfect storm” conditions. Black churches had long been the targets of racial hatred. But it was when Green Bay Packers player, Reggie White, spoke in an interview during the Super Bowl of 1996 about the arson…

A Secret History of Satan

By W. Scott Poole

…tion and persecution. This stuff should piss you off and if it doesn’t, to paraphrase the old saying, you are not paying attention. I do think that those who enjoy and consume vast quantities of pop culture will get a lot of pleasure out of this book (while they are possibly getting pissed off as well). Fans of everything from the blues to Buffy the Vampire Slayer will enjoy the weird angle on their favorite cultural obsessions. What alternative t…

The Gospel of Contradiction: An Interview with Mary Gordon

By Nathan Schneider

…ruggled with Jesus and left him for good reasons not to take seriously the parts in the Gospel that would give you a good reason for giving up on it. I had to read the parts of the text that I didn’t like. At the end of the book, I am still with Jesus. But I felt that I could only do that with integrity if I fully grappled with the parts of him that I really didn’t like at all. How do you imagine this book will come across to Jewish readers? My gr…

Mexico moves toward national marriage equality; Greek govt announces civil partnership legislation; Pope warns against ‘secularism and relativism’; Global LGBT recap

By Peter Montgomery

…rs this week reported on LGBT pride events around the world, including the participation of U.S. diplomats in some pride celebrations: U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus John Koenig on June 7 marched in the second annual Pride parade in Nicosia, the capital of the island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, alongside his counterparts from Australia, Austria and the U.K. The U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and othe…

Turkish Police Move Against Activists Who Defied Pride Ban; And More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…the creation of the first gay rights group in 1971. Among the items: “The Papal nuncio in Mexico declared in 1985: “AIDS is the punishment that God sends to those who ignore His laws … homosexuality is one of the greatest vices condemned by the Church …” Politico.mx has profiled “10 LGBTTTI politicians working for sexual diversity.” Israel: Police arrest knife-wielding man near city’s first Pride celebration Times of Israel reported that 3,500 pe…

The Quixotic Task of Debunking David Barton

By Paul Harvey

…on Amazon, where you can conveniently purchase this latest text in a three-pack along with his works on separation of church and state (“a myth,” of course) and the Second Amendment (wherein the founders are invoked to oppose measures such as 1993’s Brady Bill). Even a devastating rebuke from a reviewer in the Wall Street Journal, who points out that “Jefferson’s religious beliefs are central to Mr. Barton’s thesis, in the service of which straw m…

Pastor Convicted in Lisa Miller Child Kidnapping Case

By Peter Montgomery

…d that as he drove home from the border, Mr. Zodhiates tried to call a cellphone number registered to Liberty Counsel, an evangelical legal group. That cellphone number has sometimes been used by Mathew D. Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel, dean of the Liberty University Law School in Lynchburg, Va., and a leader of Ms. Miller’s defense team. The RICO filed by Jenkins includes information that RD readers learned last year from Sarah Posner’s…