Page 2
-
Will our prisons overflow with Christians?
Many leaders of the Christian Right, from megachurch pastors like Rick Warren to the top prelates in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have repeatedly threatened civil disobedience (and worse) over marriage equality. If they follow through on their claims, a summer of “martyrdom” may be at hand if the Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage this term.
-
Previewing the next anti-marriage equality manifesto
Top leaders of the Christian Right plan to issue a fresh manifesto against marriage equality in March. It may be the defining document for the anti-marriage equality forces in the run up to the legal show down at the Supreme Court this summer (not to mention the 2016 presidential elections). It is certainly an advance in the evolving alliance between conservative Catholics and conservative evangelicals — and a remarkable expression of their fears about the survival of Christendom as they see it.
-
An unexpected win for religious freedom
Religious Freedom Day, the most significant national Day that few had ever heard of, emerged from the shadows this year. There were no picnics or fireworks or speeches by elected officials — and the press largely ignored it. But so much happened just below the national radar. We may have witnessed the first stirrings of a renewed movement for the rights of individual conscience. It is too early to say whether it was a turning point in our history — but just might have been.
-
Mario Cuomo’s lesson on challenging the political authority of the Church
The first thing I thought of when I heard that former New York governor Mario Cuomo had died was his extraordinary speech at the University of Notre Dame in 1984. I was not alone. … It was a speech from which Americans who disagree with teachings of their religious tradition on such matters as LGBTQ rights, contraception, abortion, the role of women, and more, may take heart.
-
Waking the sleeping beast of religious liberty
Something remarkable happened in the run up to the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Hobby Lobby vs. Burwell. A movement was born. A potentially historic movement that does not yet know its name — but which may yet bring the light of hope to a darkening political landscape.
-
Seize the Day!
(Well, what if we did?)What if we seized this day to think dynamically about the religious freedoms we take for granted at our peril… freedom that is in danger of being redefined beyond recognition.
-
The Christian Right does not want you to know about this day…
In the heat of our political moment, we sometimes don’t see how our future connects deeply to our past. But the Christian Right does — and they do not like what they see.
-
The Christian Right’s version of religious liberty is equality you can’t access
The Christian Right’s fight against LGBTQ rights is different from their fight against abortion in many ways — but there are also striking similarities. The Christian Right is already seeking to redefine religious liberty as a way of allowing LGBTQ rights to remain intact, but to obstruct — and sometimes eliminate — people’s ability to exercise them. Indeed, many of the same Christian Right leaders and organizations that have been seeking to reduce access to abortion are now seeking to limit the scope of LGBTQ rights and marriage equality.
-
Christian right undermines marriage equality with religious supremacism
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” That vision of history’s progression has been well illustrated by the past year’s landslide of advances for marriage equality. And as we move closer to a more just society, the nature of the opposition is revealed in the nature of the backlash. The Christian Right has been operating on multiple fronts to stop — or at least limit — the scope of the advance of marriage equality…
-
Real Religious Liberty is not Oppression
Religious liberty is one of the defining issues of our time — offering distinct challenges and historic opportunities for LGBTQ people and everyone who is struggling to create a more just society. As the Christian Right continues to use the term to frame their issues, we must not concede the definition of religious liberty to interlopers. Religious liberty is a progressive and liberatory value, over which theocratic factions, and the politicians who pander to them, have no claim…