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The Most Forgotten Queer Folks in the US are Fighting Back Against a Powerful — and Publicly Funded — Group That Discriminates With Impunity

By Chrissy Stroop

…selves on campus,” though they’ve found a good deal of support for their unofficial LGBTQ student organization, Birds for Pride, with off-campus organizations, including churches. Like Green, St. George sees the recent demonstration as a success, and he says that the WASC officials who received the petition “were very appreciative of our efforts and even complimented us for being so respectful and organized.” What holds the general public back whe…

It’s Time To Ordain Women—Again

By Elizabeth Drescher

…dination mean, and how does it fit into the larger context of ordained and official ministries? For example, well over 90% of deacons serve within what the Roman Catholic Church sees as the sacramental framework of matrimony; this demands serious theological and pastoral reflection, as the Latin Church now experiences again a married clergy. To the questions raised in our current work, we suggest that—regardless of the Church’s position on ordaini…

Just Your Average Teenage Muslim (Shapeshifter) Girl From Jersey

By Saadia Faruqi

It’s official: Muslims are cool. The latest Muslim superhero in town, Kamala Khan, promises to get people talking about Islam—and not in a bad way. Khan, aka ‘Ms. Marvel,’ isn’t faster than a speeding bullet, but she’s got some pretty nifty powers, including shape shifting, which is something I wish I could do on almost a daily basis. Like all superheroes (and all Muslims these days), Kamala has her share of problems. But instead of a villain or…

A Story in Which the Gay Mormon Does Not Die

By Joanna Brooks

…r their own personal beliefs—beliefs that often diverged from the Church’s official position on homosexuality. Saving Alex is full of grassroots Mormon heroes, including the local high school teacher whose own lifetime of experience as a witness to the experiences of LGBT Mormons made her a committed ally, to the youth crisis center worker who took Alex out to watch baby horses graze in the sun and told her, “Not all Mormons think that way. It’s t…

Death in the Desert: Riding With the Samaritans

By Lauri Lebo

…r Central Americans. More than 500 churches eventually declared themselves official “sanctuaries” and provided food and shelter to refugees in defiance of federal law. Various denominations included Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, United Church of Christ, Catholics, Presbyterians, Unitarian Universalists, Jews, Mennonites, and Quakers. The first sanctuary was here in Tucson in 1985 at the Southside Presbyterian Church by the Rev. John Fife, who h…

Show Me the Way of the Hebrews: The Making of an African American Rabbi

By J. Lester Feder

…, became leader of Bethel after her mother’s death in 2001, and she is the official keeper of her legend. Bowen confessed in a rare moment of candor during an interview with a University of Pennsylvania student named Dan Ross, “One thing that was difficult for [Mother] to relinquish in a really quick way was that we worshipped Jesus Christ.” (Dan Ross’s impressive senior thesis is the only in-depth history of the congregation.) A group of African…

Predatory Prayer: When Does “Please” Not Mean “Please”?

By Stephanie Russell-Kraft

Is it possible to coerce someone to pray? Is it still coercion if you say please? If you ask Peter Bormuth, who is trying to sue the County of Jackson, Michigan for coercing religious participation at its town board meetings, the answer to both is yes. It’s part of Bormuth’s plea to get the Sixth Circuit to reinstate his case against the county, whose commissioners, he says, open each meeting with a Christian prayer all attendees must participate…

Sessions Casts Cruel Immigration Policy as Part of God’s Plan

By Bradley Onishi

…ver to do. Second, it creates the dangerous situation wherein a government official equates the laws and policies he and his colleagues develop and implement with divine order. This is essentially like saying: if it’s a law, then God must have ordained it, and thus you are wrong to disobey, regardless of the law. Critics of the Trump administration often use the phrase “creeping authoritarianism” to describe some of the administration’s policies a…

Clint Eastwood Upstages Mitt Romney with a Chair

By Anthea Butler

Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech for the official nomination was a historic moment for the LDS Church, much as the nomination of President Barack Obama was for so many of us; I’m sure that for many Mormons it was a long-awaited moment of acceptance after years of persecution. Grumpy old Uncle Clint, talking to President Obama’s empty chair, however, upstaged that poignant moment. In a monologue that was clearly a WTF moment, Clint Eastwood perform…

BYU Skinny Jean Controversy: Sexism, Sizeism, or Standards?

By Joanna Brooks

…our weekly Sunday lessons, our Especially for Youth camps, girls camp, our official church website, church publications, our instructions for 21 year-old female missionaries. It’s starting to feel like a founding principle of our religion. I’d love to see us . . . get back to the good stuff. This is not our good stuff.” Some Mormons emphasize the importance of obedience for obedience’s sake as a key principle. Others ask whether disproportionate a…