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Anti-Gay Violence Rages in Gambia; Conservative ‘Complementarity’ Confab; Coming Out in Iraq Can Be Death Sentence; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…o violent attacks and mistreatment, Mr. Zeid said. In other countries, similar laws have also led to an increase in violence against members of the LGBT community, including mob attacks. “I call on The Gambia to fulfil its international obligations to promote and protect the human rights of all persons without discrimination, to repeal all provisions of the Criminal Code that criminalize relations between consenting adults and to put in place an i…

‘Welcome to the War’: What a Creationist Conference Can Teach us About Evangelical Vaccine Resistance

By Caroline Matas

…on of new evidence—is, to Ham’s organization, a sign that scientists have planted their flag with humans’ relativistic and sinful reasoning rather than God’s unchanging truth. For instance, Answers in Genesis rejects the theory of evolution on the grounds that it would disprove the timeline of Earth’s history set out in the book of Genesis and compromise Christians’ belief in “the character of our loving God.” While they claim their view is nevert…

Resurrection of ‘Comstock Laws’ Would Threaten Access to Abortifacients — But Even That Fear Misses Bigger Picture

By Gillian Frank

…the mails and other “common carriers.” A web of state and federal Comstock laws regulated these and more. And these ensnaring laws caused much misery for ordinary people because they prohibited men and women from engaging in ordinary sexual activities and creative sexual expressions, consuming sexual materials, or deciding how to regulate their own reproductive lives. Put plainly, Comstock laws made sex—and the modest goal of separating sex from r…

Religious Opposition To LGBT Equality Softening

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…hristians participating in it. Hill also noted religious support in the UK last April for a new law “to allow religious elements in civil partnerships, while last year the Quakers became the first major Christian denomination to resolve to carry out same-sex marriages.” Even here in the United States, the trend toward full acceptance of gays and lesbians seems to be growing. A Gallup poll released in May showed an uptick in support for same-sex ma…

Elaine Howard Ecklund Wants to Dispel Myths Surrounding Religious Resistance to Science

By Sammy Feldblum

…an area—I don’t know if I should say unusual, but I can say that there’s a large number of religious organizations in Houston. I think that’s patently obvious, but also true from the research. There are potential civic resources through those religious organizations. You saw it in the kerfuffle about Lakewood, the big church there on the freeway, opening its doors. And people saying “why isn’t this enormous church opening its doors for people as a…

Trump is a Nightmare, Sure, But Can He Actually Do Anything?

By Sunnivie Brydum

…laterally change existing law, only clarify it. “The guidances don’t articulate new law,” Gupta explained. But such guidance is intended to inform policy-making, and does generally reflect the legal judgment of the DOJ—which is why the latest religious freedom memos give Gupta pause. Calling that guidance “fairly dangerous,” Gupta pointed to the fact that the latest DOJ memo “creates funding priorities that can result in a resetting of priorities…

The War On Terror Is Over

By Mark Juergensmeyer

…to see how completely this promise is kept. If the withdrawal is slow, if large numbers of combat forces remain in a new name, such as “military advisors,” if the huge US military bases that have been constructed in the Iraqi desert are allowed to remain under US control, Obama’s words about withdrawal from Iraq might be seen as an empty promise. Of even more concern is Obama’s stance on Afghanistan. During the campaign, he has called for an incr…

New Research Links Spiritual-Not-Religious to Mental Disorder

By Elizabeth Drescher

…Bron Taylor has argued with regard to surfing and fly fishing. Zumba and Pilates classes in otherwise empty church halls notwithstanding, the reverse in terms of physical benefit is not typically the case with religious practice. Musick and Worthen likewise question glowing findings on religion and well-being by highlighting often ignored negative effects of religion on health. Conservative Protestant beliefs in “the basic sinfulness of the world,…

What Irish Marriage Vote Means for Catholic Church; The Lonely Fight for Equality in Belize; Progress and Backlash in Tunisia; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…opposition to the (not yet extant) “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda and similar laws elsewhere. The human rights world applauded the Vatican’s position—but the above words were never uttered by the Pontiff himself or inserted into the Encyclical (the official document of Roman Catholic positions on various issues). Rather than making a bold statement affirming and defending LGBTQI peoples, the Vatican’s posturing outsmarted human rights advocates a…

YOU Are Spiritual But Not Religious: The Secret Spiritual History of the Choose Your Own Adventure Books

By Daniel Silliman

…are you doing and why are you making these choices?” Montgomery, who died late last year at his home in Vermont, was largely known for his role in turning the CYOA books into a franchise that eventually extended to more than 230 titles selling 250 million copies in 40 languages. He personally wrote more than 30 of the original books, as well more than a dozen other titles in spin-off series. (He even got his family involved in the writing process…