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“Americans Hate Muslims, Too” (And Other Impediments to U.S. Advocacy for Religious Freedom Abroad)

By Chad Bauman

…the Ganges, we were surprised to find that around a dozen other travelers—mostly Europeans and Japanese—sat patiently in chairs, waiting to find out whether there might be room for them as well. I wondered how we had managed to get a room while all these other people waited. As if sensing my question, and after checking us in, the Hindu proprietor took us aside and quietly told us that he had detected our American accents on the phone, and had gi…

Dispatches From the Beltway: Horton Hears Progressive Religion

By Robert P. Jones

…ghting off the misleading stereotypes of “values voters” in the media is testimony to that effort’s relative success. But since 2006, progressive religious voices have begun to organize and are now proactive, forcing the right into reactive mode. During this extended presidential campaign season, progressive religious groups have organized prominent presidential forums to address a broad range of issues about religion in public life. In June 2007,…

Cross-Burning Hearing Ends, Trial Set to Begin

By Lauri Lebo

…aches a decision. As always, Richard Hoppe, over at Panda’s Thumb, has the most comprehensive accounts of the debacle, which first began in December 2007 when Zachary Dennis came home from school with a burn mark on his arm in the shape of a cross. His parents visited the school, looking for answers. When they felt they didn’t get them, they filed suit against both the Mt. Vernon School District and Freshwater. The district settled with the Dennis…

Bad News for LGBT Anglicans, Mormons, Adventists, Norwegians, Russians, Georgians, Egyptians, Kuwaitis, Saudis…

By Peter Montgomery

…s weddings for same-sex couples, reports Agence France Presse, even though most of the country’s bishops supported the proposal. Norway was among the first countries in Europe to grant homosexuals full rights, including marriage and adoption in 2009, but the Church does not marry same-sex couples. Eight of Norway’s 12 bishops said in October they favoured such a move, but on Tuesday the Church’s highest decision-making body the synod rejected th…

Sometimes Salvation Looks Like Rage: An Open Letter to “Non-denominational” Churches

By Yazmine Nichols

…n so-called “sins of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21), hubris is perhaps the most frequently mentioned sin in the entire Bible. This brings me to my second point. Self-righteousness—the belief that one has exclusive access to divine knowledge and is therefore justified in what one does—is appalling to God. The implication of self-righteousness is that all those who fall outside of our definition of holiness are hedonists in need of saving. The probl…

What Liberals Want: A Response to Susan Thistlethwaite

By Frances Kissling

…s. Thistlethwaite speaks of the danger of common ground resulting in a lowest common denominator value base, promptly moving on as if it is a given that this has not become a problem. Some of us think it has. The fact that one can talk to those one disagrees with seems more important than what one agrees on. As a result, those for whom common ground is more important than some core values are able to accept an abortion rights strategy rooted in th…

The Real Mormon Moment

By Joanna Brooks

…nt is now. Now that the New York Times is confirming that at least a dozen Mormons nationwide have faced or are facing discipline for criticizing Church practices or policies or voicing support for same-sex marriage or women’s ordination on-line, on Facebook, on Twitter. Even in anonymous chat rooms. That the LDS Church supports what must be a substantial enterprise monitoring the on-line communications of its members—this is not a surprise to pro…

Pro- and Anti-Muslim Sentiment in Gainesville

By Julie Ingersoll

…ic radio audience. With renunciation of Dove Outreach coming from even the most outspoken anti-Muslim public figures (both political and religious) maybe the whole mess will serve to dial back the Islamophobic rhetoric a bit. The Wall Street Journal has reported that “residents of Gainesville are trying to get the word out that the actions of one tiny church don’t reflect the city. Along the main drag, businesses are putting up signs such as ‘We S…

Are All Religious Experiences Reducible to 16 Desires?

By Andrew Aghapour

…ve list. The others, like Freud—he didn’t do any research, and neither did most of the others. They just did armchair speculation and philosophically suggested the fundamental forces. Then they would take one or two and say that was the most important. There was no scientific basis. Could you walk me through your methodology? We started off with every goal I could think of [with help from my students]. And then we asked other people to add to the…

Secularist Activists Are Being Murdered in Bangladesh: An Ongoing Crisis Causes Many to Flee

By Michael De Dora

…nts have had some measure of success in relocating threatened individuals. Most of those who have escaped Bangladesh still live in relative anonymity. But some are willing to share their stories. “We’ll Have to Keep on Doing What We Do” In 2015, Raihan Abir was a PhD student at the University of Dhaka, studying biomedical engineering. He was also a writer for Mukto-Mona, co-authored books with Avijit Roy and, in fact, had plans to see his friends…