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American Prosperity Gospel Makes South Sudan “Ripe for Exploitation”

By Anthea Butler

…e of politicians and evangelical Christians, according to the Public Radio International program The World. In yesterday’s broadcast on the role of evangelical Christianity in South Sudan, the reporter Matthew Brunwasser focused on the role of “evangelical” Christianity in getting out the message about genocide and war in Darfur and Sudan, and the missionary work being done in the country. The broadcast however, does the easy media conflation of “…

Florida Governor Signs Law Defending Educators’ Right to Witness

By Lauri Lebo

…y and community members.” In response, the Christian Educators Association International filed a motion to intervene in order to overturn the consent decree, arguing it amounted to a violation of teachers and administrators’ First Amendment free exercise rights to practice their religion with prayer. Noting that the battle has been a polarizing force in the community, a judge ruled in February that CEAI did not have standing and did not demonstrat…

The “Shrinking Influence” of Social Conservatives at the United Nations

By Sarah Posner

…ese decisions granted such status to an LGBT group for the first time. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission finally prevailed in its three-year effort to obtain the status, a sign “of the shrinking influence of American social conservatives at the United Nations.” Congressional conservatives Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Christopher Smith (R-NJ) — heroes of the religious right — had joined with Muslim countries in an effort to block…

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Blames Gays For ISIS; ‘Christian Nationalist’ Sworn In As Guatemala’s President; Vatican Resists Civil Unions in Italy; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…y.” “That bill is inspired by a gender ideology that has been pushed by an international lobby and aims to subvert one of the foundations of our human lifestyle by denying the fundamental truth of masculine and feminine genders. Living as male or female would no longer be a biological truth but the result of a simple personal choice. That ideology is totally alien to the indigenous cultures of our country. As a result, this initiative is a clear a…

Anti-Gay Campaign In Indonesia Leads to Arrests; Mexico’s Religious Right Wars Against Secular State & LGBT Equality; Muslim Preacher Sparks Controversy in UK Re Death Penalty For Gays; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…broad — especially in Egypt — inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood and other international Islamist movements. Recently, conservative voices have grown louder with the explosion of social media, which has also opened channels for appeals from hardline Islamic groups overseas. The internet is also where conservatives see the greatest threat. Lawmakers first responded to the LGBT crisis by calling for a ban on LGBT “propaganda” online. The government,…

Obama Missing Islam Opportunity with Religious Freedom Ambassador

By Anthea Butler

…er wrote about here for RD. I wrote on Cook previously, citing her lack of international policy experience. Now more than ever, this post needs someone who has a handle on Islam, foreign policy, and other religious traditions. The people’s uprising in Egypt is a prime example why this ambassadorship needs someone who is more knowledgeable about religious traditions, diplomacy, and foreign policy experience. President Obama’s insistence on Cook may…

Sydney’s Anglican Diocese Gives $1 Million To ‘No’ Campaign on Marriage; and more in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

International United Nations human rights spokesperson Rupert Colville condemned ongoing anti-gay crackdowns in Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Indonesia, which we’ve been reporting on. ABC News reported on the Egyptian wave of arrests after social media outrage at a rainbow flag being waved at a concert, noting that repression of all kinds “has intensified under Egypt’s military leaders in recent years.” In Indonesia, where some Muslim leaders are promot…

Gambian Voters Reject Anti-Gay Strongman Jammeh; Activists Ponder Trump Impact on LGBT Human Rights; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…police taking in men for questioning, and local media reported that mobile phones and HIV/AIDS medication were confiscated from the premises. That the FPI prompted such a raid is no surprise; that the authorities followed the Islamist group’s tip to round-up an innocuous gathering that violated none of Indonesia’s laws is also disappointingly familiar… Ultra-nationalistic fervor opens space for attacks on minorities as a way of gaining popular att…

After Westboro: The Trouble With “Tolerance”

By Cody J. Sanders

…oro continue their hate-filled protests, other anti-gay groups like Exodus International are beginning to qualify their speech in very peculiar ways. Alan Chambers, president of Exodus, is reported to have said, “All the recent attention to bullying helped us to realize that we need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace while treating their neighbors as they’d like to be treated, whether they agree with them or not.” Focus on the…

Burma’s Spirit Festival, and More in This Week’s Global LGBT Roundup

By Peter Montgomery

…n, who has warned LGBT people against becoming “provocative,” and with any number of European populists who promise a return to a mythical “traditional” past. Gessen notes that a year ago she wrote that she believed Trump would target the LGBT community ”because its acceptance is the most clear and drastic social change in America of the last decade, so an antigay campaign would capture the desire to return to a time in which Trump’s constituency…