Religion Dispatches
…ding up to this year’s election.“ (For more on Pray the Vote, go here) The promo for Craig Detweiler’s new book Into the Dark reads: “Detweiler, a well-respected film expert and media spokesperson on Hollywood and Christianity, examines forty-five twenty-first-century films that resonate theologically—from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Little Miss Sunshine—offering groundbreaking insight into their scriptural connections and theological applica…
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…pate, I would have to omit mention of LGBTQI people.” The unwillingness to welcome LGBTQ along with those of various “race, or nation, age or station” speaks volumes to activists who have heard countless times that the denomination does not seek to exclude them for who they are but that “participating in a homosexual lifestyle” is unacceptable. Saying that LGBTQ individuals are persons “of sacred worth” is now no more than a denominational talking…
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…and came to understand myself as transgender in Texas. Texas has generally welcomed my intersectional identities. Even in today’s polarized political environment, I know first-hand that Texans continue to strive to embody deep postures of welcome in all of the state’s many regions. But if these anti-LGBT bills pass, Texas will fall victim to the fear-mongering and hostility that was elevated to the highest office in the country last November. I im…
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…r voice, as opposed to a sneer. “We are sorry we can’t let everyone in. We welcome you as a human being. We see your plight and your pain. We would love to enjoy your gifts because we know you have them. But only (pick your number) Mexicans or Ecuadorians or whoever can be welcomed this year.” Rereading the Scripture and changing our tone of voice will go a long way. “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. Th…
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…One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism,” will be returned to Sylvania, Alabama’s welcome signs after it was temporarily taken down after a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Meanwhile, last week, Mayor Mitchell Dendy scrawled a handwritten, one-line resignation letter after he was fired from his other job as chief administrator at the county jail after the sheriff said he “was guilty of sexual misconduct, improprieties and harassment,…
Read More…have been excommunicated to show up for Mass. So I guess Coppola is still “welcome” to show up; he’s just not welcome to share his gifts with fellow parishioners. A couple of points. First, as activist and blogger John Becker has noted, the substance of Dolan’s comments didn’t really match his tone. For all his rhetorical love for gay people, he says the only kind of relationships we are “entitled to” is “friendship.” Thanks but no thanks. “We try…
Read More…ng to the parapet before being pushed off the roof of a building in Mosul. Turkey: Designer in detention for remarks Barbaros Şansal, a fashion designer known for his LGBT advocacy, is being detained by police after he “was subjected to a lynch attempt” at the airport in Istanbul after he was deported from Northern Cyprus after he posted a provocative video on social media on New Year’s Eve that reportedly said “Are you still celebrating the New Y…
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…traditional marriage. It was only in 2000 that the discriminatory ban on ‘promoting’ homosexuality was lifted. Since 2004, Cyprus has implemented an anti-discrimination law (Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation Law 2004) that explicitly forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment. In 2013, the penal code was amended to include sexual orientation and gender identity thus criminalising all discrimination against…
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…t cafes. Considering how many great ideas came out of coffeehouses, you’re welcome, but in light of how many grad students have wasted their potential on fruitless arguments in coffeehouses, we’re sorry. You’re going to want that free refill. Decaf, preferably, so you’re not up all night worrying about the disappearance of tenure and the surfeit of bad life choices you’ve made. “Algebra” by Emily Coble 5. Algebra For every time you’ve had to solve…
Read More…ut he expressed admiration for Pacquiao’s opposition to marriage equality. Turkey: Call For LGBT Rights Met With Hostile Response LGBTI News Turkey reports that when a member of the opposition party argued before the legislature’s Commission on Equal Opportunity for Women and Men that LGBT people face discrimination and violence and should be protected, a ruling party MP responded: “There is no need to change our commission’s agenda by including a…
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