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Opposing Anti-Choice Legislation Isn’t a Violation of Religious Freedom, It’s an Expression of It

By Rebecca Todd Peters

…igious freedom issue and that to claim otherwise would “[mean] that public policy positions that are driven by religion are off the table while stances driven by secular reasons are legitimate.” This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the religious freedom issue at stake in the abortion debate. No serious person is claiming that religious people shouldn’t be allowed to pursue public policy that reflects their religious beliefs. There are all sor…

Party of Religious Liberty Botches Debate on Religion and the Constitution

By Sarah Posner

…by another kind of fear. Last night’s debate, which was focused on foreign policy, further revealed the Republican field’s selective use of both the First Amendment, and, in a brief and probably since-forgotten moment, the Bible. Fear of Muslims, and a rejection of First Amendment protections for Islam, ran through both the undercard and main debate to varying degrees. In the undercard debate, three of the four candidates openly supported surveill…

Mormon Leader: Religious Freedom Under Attack by Gay Rights

By Joanna Brooks

…tening the legal penalization of religious viewpoints on matters of public policy. One LDS RD reader wrote to observe that just the day before Oaks’ speech, on February 3, a gay-rights activist invited by students to visit BYU had his tires slashed while parked in the lot of BYU’s Law School. A painful juxtaposition, especially inasmuch as the tire-slashing incident has made the news in Salt Lake City, but has not yet been acknowledged by the camp…

Explaining Christian Zionism to Israelis

By Sarah Posner

…support—frequently described as biblically mandated love—in political and policy terms, such as opposing a nuclear deal with Iran or negotiations with the Palestinians. (Or, more recently, supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to a joint session of Congress.) But at church, on religious television, in books, and at religious conferences, this love for Israel and Jews is unabashedly presented as biblical prophecy come to l…

October “Baby” is a Grown Woman

By Sarah Morice-Brubaker

…espect, but a kind of indulgent kindness. Well, okay. In the real world of policy, poverty, pregnancy complications, and domestic violence are often important factors too. But never mind that. Just look at the sad, beautiful, fragile women in need of forgiveness. October Baby’s usefulness for understanding reproductive health policy is akin to Sleeping Beauty’s usefulness for understanding anesthesia protocols: Limited. But it’s a pretty story, in…

Catholic Archbishop Takes On Jesuit Magazine’s Slam on “Ecumenism of Hate”; and More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ssues, and obviously they will want to reflect as attitudes will generally change as society changes.” Pink News reports that May’s comments were given a “frosty reception” by the DUP. Scotland: Glasgow cathedral will marry same-sex couples St. Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow will begin to allow same-sex couples to marry in the church, “after bishops, clergy and laity all voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move,” reports the Scottish Sun: Speaking…

Policing Academic Freedom: A Book, a Controversy, and the Ominous Aftermath

By Michael Jerryson

…ny interpretation, and to raise any issue. If governments block the free exchange of ideas or restrict what can be said about religion, all of us are impoverished. It is only free inquiry that allows a robust understanding of the critical role that religions play in our common life. For these reasons the AAR Board of Directors fully supports Professor Doniger’s right to pursue her scholarship freely and without political interference. A week befor…

DNC Platform, Thy Name is Esther

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…mas stop terrorism against Israelis; the public must pay for a health care policy it manifestly rejects; the Catholic non-profit community must fork up money to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, etc. But what is clear is that though God is never mentioned by name in the DNC platform, He is everpresent. Take this section for example: Republicans like Mitt Romney want to turn back the clock on the progress we’ve made, telling people whom they can mar…

TN Conservatives: Government Butt Out… Government Butt In

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…issue of it?” Rev. Davis is basically asking for a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays and lesbians in the workplace, and we’ve seen how this kind of government policy has worked with the military. There are plenty of problems with this. First, as someone who has been closeted at work before, it gets tiring avoiding pronouns or simply not talking about what you and your partner did over the weekend for fear of being “found out.” Also, I’ve disc…

Come Let Us Reason Together: A Response to Critics of Evangelical/Progressive Initiative

By Robert P. Jones

…Agenda” goes far enough, it is indisputable that it marks movement in key policy areas. It is the first time that mainstream evangelicals have publicly supported policies on abortion that have no bans or restrictions and that include support for prevention of unintended pregnancy, including comprehensive sex education programs. It is also the first time that mainstream evangelical leaders have supported any positive policy for gay and lesbian equ…