Gay/LGBT Religious News (T22R-1)
Kansas City Star | Kansas legislators debate proposed response on gay marriage Kansas City Star TOPEKA â€" Kansas lawmakers are weighing the possibility that same-sex marriage could be legal in the near future and responding with legislation designed to protect those who oppose it on religious grounds from discrimination lawsuits. File photo by BO ... Backers, foes dispute scope of proposed Kan. response to possible overturn of ... Proposed Kansas response on gay marriage debated |
Gospel Herald | Grammys Gay Marriage Criticized by Conservatives as ''Blatant Attack on ... Gospel Herald The wedding ceremony was criticized for mocking the traditional values of Christian, Catholic, Jewish and other religions opposing gay marriage. Fox News Radio reporter Todd Starnes was one of the many appalled by the same-sex wedding, calling the ... Tea Party activist helps Real Americans cope with 'Grammy Gay-fest' Fox News Contributor Todd Starnes Has Twitter Meltdown Over Grammy ... Gay marriage at Grammys neither gay (happy) nor marriage |
Church of England's bishops defer gay marriage decision Washington Post By Trevor Grundy | Religion News Service,. CANTERBURY, England â€" With little more than two months to go before Britain's first same-sex marriage, the College of Bishops issued a statement saying that “no change†to the Church of England's teaching on ... |
Washington Post | Religion News in Brief ABC News (AP) â€" Gay-marriage opponents are urging Kansas legislators to approve new legal protections for bakeries, photographers and others who refuse for religious reasons to supply goods or services for same-sex weddings, anticipating that federal courts ... Natalie Grant responds after leaving Grammys early; Mass wedding at award ... |
Lambda to Court: Reject religious exemption for for-profits Windy City Times ... Marriage Project Director. Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public ... |
Global LGBT Recap: Religious Leaders Support Persecution as Countries Vie in ... Religion Dispatches In Nigeria, violent anti-gay persecution is on the rise in the wake of President Goodluck Jonathan signing a brutal anti-gay law. Jonathan has faced strong criticism from abroad, but has been backed by local religious leaders, including Roman Catholic ... |
ThinkProgress | Arizona Lawmaker Proposes Religious 'License To Discriminate' Against LGBT ... ThinkProgress Arizona state Rep. Steve Yarbrough (R) has introduced a bill (SB 1062) that would create a blanket “license to discriminate†against LGBT people (and others) so long as there was religious motivation to do so. He hopes to avoid a situation like in ... Arizona GOP Advances Wide-Sweeping Religious License To Discriminate ... Arizona official introduces bill to allow religious people 'licence to ... Ariz. GOP Sen. Introduces Anti-Gay Bill |
Ohio bill: Religious protection or LGBT discrimination? Watchdog.org Police officers have used it to refuse orders, and businesses have used it to refuse service to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples. “Individual religious freedom is critically important,†ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link said ... |
Vocativ | Global LGBT Recap: Nigeria Jails Gays, Russian Orthodox Spox Calls for ... Religion Dispatches Disapproval of homosexuality by the majority on moral or religious grounds does not justify criminalizing or discriminating against LGBT persons. Indeed, the defence of human rights often requires the State to step in to protect the rights of members ... Racy Orthodox Calendar pushes gay rights ahead of Russian Olympics |
Washington Post | Nigerian Anti-Gay Law Welcomed By Some Christian And Muslim Religious ... Huffington Post Across Africa, homosexuality is often viewed as a violation of cultural and religious values. Gay sex is outlawed in 38 African countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay/b>, Trans and Intersex Association. In 13 African countries ... Anti-Gay Law Takes Effect in Africa's Most Populous Country Deadly 'Witch Hunt' on for Gays in Nigeria Anti-gay laws, attitudes hold sway in many regions |
A recent effort by the Pentagon to make religious minorities feel more welcome in the U.S. Armed Forces has the Religious Right up in arms.
Last week, the Pentagon announced in a directive that it would relax certain rules governing a soldier’s personal appearance while in uniform. Specifically, armed services members will be able to display beards and some tattoos, if they’re for religious reasons, as well as turbans, yarmulkes or other religious clothing. The directive covers a range of accommodations for a variety of religions, including Islam and Wicca.  Â
This is part of a wider attempt by the military to accommodate “individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs,†the Pentagon’s directive said. The directive is not absolute. Religious expression can still be curbed if it affects things like a soldier’s health, safety or preparedness, or the cohesion of military units.
But the Religious Right, which has long sought to Christianize the U.S. Armed Forces, threw a fit over this development, charging that religious minorities are getting special treatment while Christians face persecution in the military.
Sandy Rios, an anti-gay blowhard formerly with Concerned Women for America who is now the American Family Association’s (AFA) director of governmental affairs, told AFA’s news service OneNewsNow that this is nothing more than an effort to accommodate Muslims.
“But there are red flags here that make us concerned that this is likely another deceptive move with an ultimate agenda to accommodate Muslims,†Rios hyperventilated. “The Department of Defense gave us a preview of this not long ago when Major Nidal Hassan, the Ft. Hood mass murderer, was allowed, against military regulations, to keep his beard while on trial to express his Muslim faith.â€
(An army judge did say that Hassan’s beard violated regulations, but she allowed him to keep it anyway.) Â
AFA President Tim Wildmon also weighed in, ranting that the military is bending over backward to protect minority faiths while simultaneously persecuting Christians.
“In the past year, we have seen a clear crackdown on the Christian faith from the military and our government,†Wildmon carped. “The military is not protecting Christians, our religious liberties or our chaplains, yet policies are making room for other religions, specifically Sikhs and Muslims, with no indication that these privileges will extend to Christians. At the minimum, what we ought to expect from the military is equal treatment and respect for Christian religious liberties, too.â€
Of course none of that is true. The regulations actually extend to all faiths recognized by the military, including Christians. Of course Christians don’t usually wear turbans or beards as part of their beliefs, so Wildmon probably doesn’t care about this directive because he doesn’t see an obvious benefit for Christians.
It’s also hard to imagine a group that comprises 78.5 percent of the military (as of 2008) being persecuted, but sound reasoning isn’t really the Religious Right’s strong suit.
Fortunately, Americans United is here to inject some sense into this debate. Today, the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services is holding a hearing on religious accommodations in the military.
Americans United Legislative Director Maggie Garrett submitted written testimony in which she praised the new directive, but urged caution because proselytizing must not be allowed in the name of “religious freedom.â€
“[E]nsuring religious freedom for service members is vitally important,†Garrett said. “The military must permit service members to exercise their religion yet also protect them from unwanted proselytizing and religious coercion.â€
Expanding religious expression in the armed forces is indeed a slippery slope. The Pentagon took the right step in allowing for religious groups to deviate from standard uniforms to accommodate religious beliefs because those decisions affect only the people who choose to adopt them. No one should feel unwelcome in the military, and this is a great way to ensure that they don’t.
But as we see with the AFA, allowing for expanded religious expression brings all sorts of cries from the Religious Right that proselytizers deserve some sort of special treatment. The Religious Right, it seems, is looking for any excuse to codify the freedom to proselytize, and they see expanded directives for religious observance as an opening to push their radical agenda.
So tread lightly, Congress.Â
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