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New Anti-Gay Snake Oil for Religious Right

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…d raise terribly troubled kids. Again, it’s no shock – the religious right wing is always quick to twist science to its liking – and they will still continue to quote Robert Spitzer’s study on “ex-gays” even though Spitzer has disavowed his study and apologized to the LGBT community. The case being made against gays and lesbians by the religious right has always been a spurious one, based on religious bias, bad science and outright lies. This late…

U.S. Bishops Reject Pope Francis’ Priorities

By Patricia Miller

…al” issues for Catholics in voting. Several bishops perceived to be allied with Pope Francis complained this week that such a framework failed to reflect the pope’s broader array of social justice concerns. As Michael O’Loughlin reports at Crux, San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy, who was recently elevated by Francis, called the document “gravely hollow.” McElroy said, “In the specific key areas where it lays out how does the voter make a decision, i…

When God and Gender Mix: New Book Examines the Southern Holiness Movement

By Colin Chapell

…to be clear that I think that religious belief can be, and often is, intertwined with other things, but it is still a defining variable in establishing personal identity. On the other hand, there are people who believe that gender construction, what it means to be a man or woman and how that looks in society, is a static and timeless idea. They want to harken back to a time when “women were strong, men were good-looking, and all children were abov…

Renovating Marriage, One Gay Couple at a Time

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…o oppose marriage equality on religious grounds. For them, I point to a growing number of religious leaders who also understand that gays and lesbians can do a lot to “redefine” marriage in beneficial ways. Rev. Ed Bacon, who leads the 4,000 member All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif., told Oprah Winfrey this past weekend that marriage would be “enriched” by same-sex couples. I’ve never had a straight couple come to me and say, ‘My marriage is in…

Sacred&Profane: The Living Dead

By Gary Laderman

…to do with our children’s enjoyment and the future of our country? The father in me, the historian in me, and the politically concerned citizen in me all say the same thing: we have to reckon with the dead, sometimes playfully, mostly with lugubrious seriousness, to better understand ourselves, our responsibilities, and our future. Trick or treat?…

Pop Culture Yogi B. K. S. Iyengar Dead at 95

By Andrea R. Jain

…Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune and far beyond. Iyengar’s widespread influence can be attributed to his success in constructing and disseminating what is known as “Iyengar Yoga,” an idiosyncratic rendition of modern postural yoga, a complex and contested collection of systems consisting of some combination of asana, or “posture,” synchronized with the breath through pranayama or “breath control.” Iyengar was born Bellur Krishnamac…

Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?

By Christine Ryan

…so—a religious right to abortion isn’t limited to those who can point to Jewish law, or halakha, in their claims. As our brief illustrates, a wide range of religious beliefs can motivate individuals to seek abortions. In such cases, abortion is a sincere expression of religious commitment, deserving of protection under religious freedom law. Religious exemptions from abortion bans offer relief to only a limited number of individuals and can never…

Mormon Rejection of Trump Embarrassing for Evangelicals?

By Neil J. Young

…. For a number of reasons, including Mitt Romney’s presidential run in 2012, those impulses have been largely diminished. But evangelical worries about Mormonism remain. That Mormons have so thoroughly repudiated Donald Trump while American evangelicalism wrestles with its complicated relationship with him only elevates evangelical leaders’ concerns about the strength of their faith. Rather than seeing Mormon opposition to Trump as a moment to cel…

American Christianity Is Changing Fast: Five Stories to Watch in 2016

By Richard Flory

…to the desires of younger Christians to live and work in urban areas. But with the influx of mostly younger and white members, what happens to the city, and the Christian voice that remains? 5. Urban Ministry Goes Mainstream There is a long history of urban churches and ministries in the U.S.—whether Mainline, Catholic or evangelical—whose avowed purpose is to minister to the urban poor and dispossessed. Of course, there is also a history of chur…

An Unholy Holy Week: Is the All-Male Rule of the Roman Catholic Church Self-Destructing?

By Anne Eggebroten

…once-omnipotent structure is imploding. Like Dorothy finally face to face with the Wizard of Oz, we have looked behind the pomp and procession to find a few confused and pitifully human old men at microphones still trying to send out impressive puffs of smoke. Within 20-40 years, we will have women priests ordained with the blessing of canon law (not outside canon law as at present). This will happen sooner than previously expected because each a…