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Istanbul ‘Haven of Sorts’ For LGBT Syrians and Iraqis; Cayman Islands Affirm Marriage Ban with ‘Holy Bible Evidence’; No Room for LGBTs in Malaysia’s ‘Islam-Based’ Human Rights Policy; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…place of gay people and families in Catholicism. Boorstein reports that a number of pro-LGBT groups have been denied permission to have a booth in the exhibition hall at the World Meeting. Among them was Fortunate Families, a group for Catholic parents seeking equality for their LGBT children. Its president, Deb Word, and her husband run a safe house for LGBT youth in Memphis. The World Meeting’s director of programming, Mary Beth Yount, told Wor…

LGBT Human Rights in UN Sustainable Development Negotiation; Swiss Bishop Says Speaking of ‘Family Diversity’ is ‘Attack on the Creator’; Canadian Food Bank’s Anti-Gay Dogma; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…only. Locations have been kept secret, with details circulated on private online networks. Lusimba admits that Uganda has “a long way to come” before all sexualities are accepted, and says that as a public face of the event he does have concerns about his safety. “Sometimes I check behind my shoulders, but I can’t run for the rest of my life. I need to live it like a normal Ugandan,” he says. Last year’s Pride coincided with the overturning of a…

Is Monsanto Satan? The Pleasure and Problem of Conspiracy Theory

By Alan Levinovitz

…les and a book. The accusations began almost immediately. Again and again, online commenters accused me of being paid by Big Food to spread propaganda. And while Big Food consists of quite a few multinational corporations, commenters most often blamed my corruption on Monsanto, the agricultural biotechnology giant. Monsanto’s legendary depravity goes back for decades—they made Agent Orange for the government—earning it the nickname Monsatan (see #…

Robot Kills a Worker in Germany… Who’s to Blame?

By Hilary Ledwell

…culation that the robot is, or should be, to blame has already run rampant online. This isn’t just idle speculation on Twitter. It’s a reflection of much deeper fears about the world to come. It was the cyborg! If you’ve ever kicked a TV or mumbled threats at your computer, you’re familiar with how easy it is to assign human agency to unconscious machines. We seem especially prone to anthropomorphizing them when they frustrate us. My toaster is in…

Irish Vote Reflects Diminished Moral Authority of Catholic Church

By Peter Montgomery

Irish voters turned out in huge numbers on Friday and cast their votes 62 to 38 percent in favor of amending the country’s constitution to allow same-sex couples to marry, making the overwhelmingly Catholic country the first in the world to legalize marriage for same-sex couples through a national referendum. Trevor Gundy, writing for the Religion News Service just before the vote, had examined the decline of the Church’s power in Ireland. “Many…

The Internet is Not Killing Organized Religion

By Elizabeth Drescher

…has not widely been realized. A review of research on political engagement online by Jennifer Brundidge and Ronald E. Rice, for instance, suggests that access to diverse viewpoints and richer information on the internet tends primarily to benefit those of higher socioeconomic status, allowing deeper insight into the political Other without necessarily changing minds. Internet practice among those at lower socioeconomic levels, on the other hand, t…

American Buddhism: Beyond the Search for Inner Peace

By Joshua Eaton

…from this experience. From what I could observe at the conference, a large number of Buddhists are attempting to draw upon principles intrinsic to the Dharma to deal with challenges we face in present-day society. Some, with scientific backgrounds, have been applying mindfulness and meditation practices to alleviate stress and psychological disturbances; others are using the Dharma to aid conflict resolution and still others are helping prisoners…

‘No Room’ for Gays in Country that Worships God [Kenya] | Churches Fight to Keep Sexuality Out of Sex Ed [S. Korea] | Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…robi church congregation in the national Swahili language, according to an online video posted by Kenyan broadcaster KTN. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Kerry was not familiar with Ruto’s remarks but said it was the U.S. position that “all people are created equal.” Openy gay Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainana criticized Ruto’s comments, saying “Kenya’s deputy president joins an important tradition by Africans in power to spread hate in ch…

The Avengers, Rogue Roombas, and Robot Accountability

By Hilary Ledwell and Michael Schulson

…r Michael Schulson and Yale Law School student Hilary Ledwell got together online to discuss killer Roombas, golems, and whether Tony Stark would be legally liable for the depredations of his fancy robot. Michael Schulson: You’ve been studying AI and the law, so I’m wondering: is the legal system ready for a robo-killer like Ultron? Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) using J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI computer that, according to the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

Confront Death by Avoiding Fritos: The Gluten Lie, Fad Diets, & Foodie Faith

By Michael Schulson

The numbers are hard to pin down, but roughly 1.1 million Americans keep kosher in their homes. Around 15 million are vegetarian. Meanwhile, according to a 2013 survey, more than 100 million Americans are trying to cut down on gluten, and (as of 2014) more than 10 million households are gluten-free. Simply put, gluten avoidance is the reigning dietary restriction of our time. The Gluten Lie: And Other Myths About What You Eat Alan Levinovitz Rega…