Religion Dispatches
…down—forces he won’t hesitate to attack himself. In both the early morning service and in remarks to the media afterwards, Long spoke but took no questions. That’s because he can’t be questioned—he’s God’s anointed one. What the media is missing in the frenzy of the sex abuse allegations is how Long allegedly coerced these young men into sexual acts with him. They were under his “spiritual authority.” They were his “spiritual sons.” They had to ca…
Read More…n. Religion benefits from a strong wall of separation. Though nonreligious Americans are the fastest growing demographic, most Americans are still religious. State-church separation is critical for religious independence, credibility, and purity. James Madison put this nicely: “Religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together.” If religion wants to get involved in the government, the government is going to…
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…integrity of our military compromised; we break the moral backbone of our servicemen and women. When this happens, the international just peace community, which the president so eloquently valorized in Oslo, is weakened. And we trivialize our broader commitment to morally responsible public life. President Obama asserted that a just peace can only last if it is grounded in the “inherent rights and dignity of every individual.” It is time our nati…
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…ost prominent lobbyists on conservative social issues”: Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana, Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute, and Eric Miller of Advance America. GLAAD has extensive records on each as part of their Commentator Accountability Project, including the “extreme anti-LGBT comments they have made [publicly],” and The Indianapolis Star points out that they were also “three of the lobbyists who pushed harde…
Read More…ruled that the cross should not be removed. According to the National Park Service, the thieves cut the metal bolts that attached the cross to surrounding rocks. Park service spokeswoman Linda Slater on Tuesday said possible suspects range from scrap metal scavengers to people “with an interest in the case.” The VFW is offering a $25,000 reward. I sincerely hope this wasn’t an act by some wrongheaded activist on a mission and I was relieved to see…
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…al meetings. More on the global context from Jacob Lupfer at Religion News Service, who wrote in May about why the Methodists’ “chaos” on sexuality will continue: When Lutheran, Episcopal, and Presbyterian denominations affirmed gay marriage or LGBT clergy, co-religionists in other parts of the world could not stop them. (Though it is worth noting that the Episcopal Church’s affirming stance has created serious challenges in its relationship to th…
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…he editor in the inaugural print issue, you mentioned how churches pay lip service to racial conciliation, but “white privilege is never nailed to the cross.” What do you think causes this disconnect between what leaders say and what actually ends up happening in churches? There is disconnect because there is a lack of empathy, lack of deeper understanding, a lack of walking in the other person’s shoes and taking on their perspective. We need to m…
Read More…tary, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported in 2000 that “55 percent of women experienced sexual harassment in the military. And a 2005 study estimates that more than half of women in the reserves and National Guard suffered sexual assault or harassment during their service.” From the numbers, it would seem that the majority of harassers in the military are straight men. Could this be the real fear of the religious right, that the inclusion…
Read More…with call girls. So much for God helping those who help themselves. The mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is turning to three days of fasting and prayer in hopes God will help the city out of its deep debts. Last year, one-third of Americans’ $291 billion in charity donations went to religious groups. From a surfboard-blessing service in New York: “Dear God, your son walked on water but we know it would have been a lot more fun if he had a surfbo…
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…vers have been transferred to Russia; a Russian media company acquired the service in 2007. Indonesia: Court shields local Sharia regulations; men face public lashing for homosexuality The Constitution Court ruled that the national government could no longer force the repeal of local Sharia ordinances that were judged to violate the country’s constitution. Human Rights Watch criticizes President Joko Widodo for not having done more before the ruli…
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