Religion Dispatches
…’s easier for the young to push for a total transformation—that they have “less to lose.” My thought is that anyone, of any age, who looks honestly at the way we live now will welcome a decisive break. We as a whole people have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, on the road to beloved community….
Read More…d I don’t expect it to; neither do I aim to transform the entire field of surgery. But I do wish to provide a different vision for how surgery can be practiced, and I have learned that many patients welcome such an approach. One last thought—the Navajo culture is a matriarchal society, so if you hear the values of women in these discussions it is not your imagination!…
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…right to compromise with sin.” “We cannot and will not remain silent when promoted sin is corrupting the human soul and body,” the bishop wrote, saying it was especially inappropriate for the event to take place during Lent. The bishop also emphasized “that we do not bless our faithful to take part in any protests” and urged against temptation “to aggression or condemnation of others.” (English via Google translate) Event organizers released a st…
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…tal health system in which diverse forms of spirituality are respected and welcomed. Unfortunately, we’ve heard way too many personal accounts of clients whose spiritual experiences have been denigrated as just another symptom, or whose requests for spiritual referrals have been disregarded. How would you define spirituality in relationship to individuals and communities mental health needs and concerns? LM: I wouldn’t distinguish mental health fr…
Read More…o have publicly proclaimed that no “unrepentant” gay and lesbian person is welcome as a member there. The church has done such damage to the souls of God’s gay and lesbian children and I grieve not just for them but for the church that has rejected the gifts and talents of gays and lesbians. Churches are not supposed to be a place filled with saints. Instead, it is to be a place where all broken and wounded people can be bound up by grace and enco…
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…rather boisterous affairs, this was anything but. The event opened with a welcome by Kathy Berden, the National Committeewoman of the Republican Party in Michigan. With perfectly coiffed white hair and bright red lipstick to match her striking red blazer, Berden embodied a Phyllis Schlafly-esque type of Republican femininity, one that tastefully combined feminine style with political power. In what seemed like an homage to Schlafly, Berden asked…
Read More…. My mother said, “I think it’s wrong, but I love you and you’ll always be welcome in my home.” She made good on those words, always treating my partners as members of the family—even if, at her heart, she believed I was outside God’s will for my life. (My journey to reconcile my sexuality and spirituality was a long process, but much of that journey can be found at my magazine Whosoever or my bookBulletproof Faith.) Many LGBT people don’t experie…
Read More…of Eastern Missouri posting a “statement of inclusivity” explaining how to welcome transgender children. Oh, and someone at the national organization tweeted favorably about the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, as well as about Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan. As to the big moral question here—can I buy Thin Mints?, the archbishop has treated the question with all the theological seriousness it deserves: Each person must act in…
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…Franklin Graham remarking that President Obama’s guest list for the Papal Welcome was “sinful.” Really? We’ve forgotten what it’s like for political or religious leaders to have a straightforward message of kindness. Much is riding on this papal trip for both religious conservatives and liberals alike, all of whom are hoping that the Pope will prove them right about their assessments of his leadership. Mapping all of these hopes, desires, and der…
Read More…aid of the LDS October statement, the new CHI does not offer institutional welcome or affirmation to LGBT people who want to live full lives as LGBT people. It maintains that “homosexual behavior” is sinful. It does not create space for LGBT Mormons to attend church on Sunday with their partners, as I am able to do. But it does show institutional LDS movement on LGBT issues, most crucially—one hopes—for LDS LGBT young people who may have been brou…
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