Religion Dispatches
…volution analysis, as well as the broad conclusions, like that of the Tay-Sachs hypothesis, which have not yet been experimentally demonstrated. Personally, my bet is with the new data and interpretations. The intriguing part will be to see how these new data and ideas get integrated into our culture….
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…progressive demographics. That, at least, is my grim takeaway from PRRI’s new report, “The Politics of Gender, Pronouns, and Public Education.” The overall positions of various demographics are mostly what you would expect them to be. The report singles out White evangelical Protestants multiple times as, unsurprisingly, America’s most singularly anti-trans demo. In 2021, for example, 86% of White evangelicals said there are only two genders, wit…
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…the conventions and things go dark for a couple of weeks,” Warren told the New York Times. “I’ve known both the guys for a long time, they’re both friends of mine, and I knew them before they ran for office, so I just called them up.” According to press reports, the questions will center on AIDS, poverty, human rights and the environment. Not everyone was thrilled by the choice of topics. In his daily FRC Action Update (July 21), the Family Resear…
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…erate outburst. Even as the Zoe/Avatar/Cylon (ZAC) itself struggled with a new identity (“Do I look male?”) and old/new ways of being in the world (bite enemies, hug friends), she was seen for herself by one whose sight could be trusted. Did you catch the family dog snuggling contentedly at ZAC’s feet? Animals don’t lie; at least not on television. This was a come-to-Lassie moment. What makes us human? And why do we assume that being human constit…
Read More…toric. When Iowa did it in 2009, it was a shocker. Iowa? Really? But, when New York did it this past weekend – I predict it will be remembered as the tipping point. “The more that other states recognize the fairness and the importance of passing equal marriage rights, the more likely it is to pass here,” said Patrick Wojahn, the chairman of the board of the Equality Maryland Foundation, which fought this year’s marriage battle in Annapolis. “It’s…
Read More…ng homophobia. The pope’s visit came shortly after the parliament passed a new law that gives the government vast new powers to shut down community organizations for a variety of reasons. One clause would require charities to “not engage in any activity which is … contrary to the dignity of the people of Uganda”, which proponents fear could be used to clamp down on groups working to help LGBT people in Uganda. It would also allow groups to be disb…
Read More…ch itself, in a contemporary version of Know-Nothing politics we can ill afford in the context of our current crises. A stimulus package ought not be reduced to preventing our best and brightest faculty from stimulating the powers of critical reasoning and the potential for new insights these powers create. The Cold War is over and, to use an ironic phrase Sherman used in the summer of 1864, “fairly won.” So the new MacCarthyism turns to a perenni…
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…y and craft policies that could undo that historic harm. Predictably, this new policy has unleashed a new wave of anguish. Queer staff and students report feelings of “trauma,” “hurt,” “heartbreak” and “betrayal.” Since this spring, Oneida Chi, a former InterVarsity student leader in the 1990s has counseled close to 40 InterVarsity staff and students who feel traumatized by the new policy. Chi, a longtime advocate for LGBTQ visibility in the churc…
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…uld be considered nonsectarian. The results of the study, presented in the new report Reading, Writing & Religion II: Texas Public School Bible Courses in 2011-12, were decidedly mixed. On the one hand, eleven school districts did quite well, offering courses that were careful not to promote one religious perspective over all others, and which encouraged critical thinking, careful communication skills, and creativity. Twenty-eight districts had co…
Read More…cilities, this will be more attractive to young people.” The building of a new mosque near New York’s Ground Zero is becoming a political football in that state’s governor’s race. Discrimination is also a problem for Satanists—or, for one particular Satanist, at least. Irving Davis, a convicted murderer, argues that his conviction be thrown out because his foray into Satanism should not have been revealed to the jury. Hearing the appeal, Judge Mic…
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