Religion Dispatches
…n McCain does use religious metaphor, it is language cribbed from another belated believer. McCain likens himself to Reagan, a man whose faith made a surprise appearance only once he achieved elected office. In his 2008 convention speech, McCain called upon his party to return to the “party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan.” In 2000, McCain separated that same party from the party of the religious right, fatefully remarking: “My friends, I am a R…
Read More…that LGBT people are seeking to live in communities where they are not merely welcomed and tolerated, but treated with equality. As long as our church leaders continue to say, in effect, “you can come in our doors, and you can even be fed, but you cannot marry here,” neither the bad cop nor the good cop will convince many estranged LGBT Catholics to cross their church’s threshold. At Political Research Associates (for which I have written), Kapya…
Read More…profession where the matter of homosexuality is a settled question. A counselor is welcome to think it’s a sin all they want, but they cannot treat it as a sickness in need of a cure. Would Ms. Ward or Ms. Keeton have trouble counseling a Muslim, an adulterer, or a murderer? Could they put aside their personal prejudices against these sorts of people long enough to actually help them achieve mental wholeness or stability? If not, then counseling p…
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…and making sure individuals who feel such attraction and their families feel welcome and part of the great worldwide family that is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” says church leader Elder L. Whitney Clayton in video on the site. He goes on to state: “We want you to know we love you. You are welcome. We want you to be part of our congregations. You have great talents and abilities to offer God’s kingdom on Earth and we recognise…
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…ty,” report Tom Allard and Steffano Reinard in The Independent, “a move likely to fuel concerns of a widening crackdown on the community in the Muslim-majority country.” The plan was disclosed by the West Java police chief the same week that two men were caned in the Aceh province, where a form of Sharia law is enforced. Indonesia’s reputation for tolerance is already under scrutiny after Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian, was s…
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…e referendum; they won more than 60 percent of the vote but since turnout fell below 50 percent it was not considered legally valid. Malta: Marriage equality becomes campaign issue The government of the Catholic-majority country introduced civil unions in 2014. Now Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is promising to introduce marriage equality if his Labour party is returned to power, and the opposition Nationalist Party announced it will not try to roll…
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…e extremists, according to reports by the Associated Press. Organiser Danijel Kalezic urged the relatives LGBT people to support them in their fight for equality. “The majority of LGBT people are still forced to live in fear and hidden, without the support of friends, colleagues and loved ones. Many of us lack it where we most expect and need it, in our families”, he told Balkan Insight. The march was supported by diplomats from the UK, US and EU,…
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…bout their own sexuality. It’s especially fraught, perhaps, when one is a celibate religious leader, and simply wants to get on with the business of building the Kingdom of God, and doesn’t want to become the topic of conversation. But unless gay priests decide that it’s time for their Stonewall moment, Church leaders–some of them closeted, sometimes self-loathing, homosexually-oriented men themselves–will continue to utter the slander that affect…
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…, assault or incest.) As long as the person denying service cites a “sincerely held religious belief,” they are protected from “adverse government action.” As for the lesbian moms who have their sick child turned away by a “pious” doctor? Perhaps they should just follow Trump’s advice for those seeking safe abortions and “go to another state.” Speaking of health care, Trump’s pick for secretary of Health and Human Services, Georgia Rep. Tom Price,…
Read More…l Vauxhall Tavern, a “legendary gay venue” from developers. Turkey: Pride celebrations cancelled under threat from Islamists Organizers of Istanbul’s pride parade, scheduled for Sunday, June 26, called it off after local officials banned it in the face of threats from Islamist hard-liners. When a German Member of the European Parliament joined a group of activists attempting to read a statement to reports on Sunday, police detained her and others….
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