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We Went Through Amoris Laetitia Section by Section So You Wouldn’t Have To

By Anthony Adams

…ualism is bad. Also, he notes but offers no explanation for the decreasing number of marriages in many countries. I am glad to see that in Section 34 he understands this basic fact of contemporary western culture: The ideal of marriage, marked by a commitment to exclusivity and stability, is swept aside whenever it proves inconvenient or tiresome. The fear of loneliness and the desire for stability and fidelity exist side by side with a growing fe…

United Methodist Church Votes Against Israel Divestment

By Shalom Goldman

…entral to the future of the church. This year the conference is meeting in Tampa, Florida—and some hot-button issues are on the agenda—among them the call for the church to divest from firms doing business in Israel. On Tuesday the conference voted against a motion that the church divest from three international firms that have business interests related to Israel’s military rule in the Palestinian territories: Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, and…

Rick Perry, the Christocrat Favorite for President?

By Sarah Posner

…iples. (They share a generous funder, James Leininger, a key funder of the Texas culture wars.) In 2006, Perry, then campaigning for governor, prayed at John Hagee’s church, and then agreed with Hagee that non-Christians are doomed to hell. Perry appeared to be the beneficiary of the Texas Restoration Project, organized by religious right activists intent on getting pastors more involved in the electoral process. Or, as organizer David Lane told m…

How Intelligent Design Advocates Helped Shape the Christian Right’s Texas Curriculum Standards

By Lauri Lebo

…regarding the long-term goals for our education system, playing out now in Texas. As board member Cynthia Dunbar, who opposes public education, has said, “the philosophy of the classroom in one generation will become the philosophy of the government in the next.” But what I found most fascinating about the piece is the explanation behind the religious right’s recent interest in the Declaration of Independence. Christian activists like David Barton…

Texas Board of Education to Review Intelligent Design-Promoting Materials for Science Classes

By Lauri Lebo

…you!) at this bit of news to come out of Texas yesterday. Apparently, the Texas Board of Education will be reviewing instructional materials for the state’s biology classes that tout creationism. The reason why I’m so shocked, of course, is because board members have assured us that they had no intention of trying to sneak creationism into science class. In 2009, when the board approved its revamped science curriculum standards that critics feare…

Vaginal Ultrasound Required for Abortion in Texas

By Sarah Morice-Brubaker

…l problems with a pregnancy in the presence of certain symptoms. Except in Texas, where it’s also used to treat the malady of not being as opposed to abortion as some people wish you would be. Which is different from the way things typically work. Ordinarily, in this country, adults have the right to refuse a medical procedure without it thereby cutting off their access to other, basically unrelated, legal medical procedures. If you think that it…

Wendy Davis in Texas: Just Like a Prayer

By Christine Wicker

…g to stop passage of a law that would have closed most abortion clinics in Texas. Her voice was so soft that I kept thinking, “That voice cannot last for 13 hours.” But it did. She seemed so alone standing there. Talking. Talking. Talking. Always holding aloft in her small hands that bulbous microphone that must have became so much heavier with each passing hour. Perhaps I felt so strongly because she had to speak for so long. Or maybe it was beca…

Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

By Michael Schulson

…age. His 2012 book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar, has sold widely. Over the phone, I asked Rinzler why he and Burrows had chosen to establish the studio as a for-profit company. “We really wanted to make sure we had all the resources we need for supporting people who are trying meditation for the first time,” Rinzler explained. Because they’re a business, there’s more professionalism. The teachers they’ve hired show up on time, and, as Rinzler put…

‘Dog-Cat’ Incumbent Reelected to Texas Board of Education

By Lauri Lebo

…should have seen a dog-cat, was elected to serve another four years on the Texas Board of Education last week. Mercer, a San Antonio Republican, remains one of at least five far-right conservatives who will be reviewing new material over the next two years. Nonetheless, the election results 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 McLero…

Texas Congressional Candidate Clayton Trotter and the Principles in His “Hispanic Heart”

By Julie Ingersoll

…f Hispanics than his opponent, Charlie Gonzalez). He is also endorsed by a number of right-to-life groups, Eagle Forum PAC, the Texas Home School Coalition PAC, and the Independence Caucus, whose other endorsements include Joe Miller and Reconstructionist Star Parker. And given that his entire agenda is aligned, point-by-point, with the far right, the Constitution Party, and Christian Reconstructionists, one has to wonder what else is in that “His…