Religion

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Mormon Church Confirms Harsh Punishments for Trans Members in New Handbook

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has doubled down on transgender Mormons with a new handbook that spells out the consequences for those who transition. Released on Wednesday, General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes an entire section on “Transgender Individuals”. While it advises church members to treat transgender people with “sensitivity, kindness, compassion, and an abundance of Christlike love”, it also warns transgender people against any form of social transition. “Gender is an essential characteristic of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness,” the chapter begins. “The intended meaning of gender in the family proclamation […]

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Christian Activist Plans “Faggots Are Maggots” World Tour “Inspired By The Work Of Donald Trump”

Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: Mike Heath, a long–time anti-LGBTQ activist in Maine who now runs Helping Hands Ministries, has been a regular participant in Dave Daubenmire’s daily program. On Friday, Daubnemire turned the mic over to Heath so that he could announce his plans. “I’m going to do a world tour,” Heath announced. “The theme is ‘Faggots are Maggots.’ The tour is inspired by the work of Donald Trump. This isn’t satire. I’m serious. I started supporting Donald Trump early in the 2016 primary for one reason: He insults his enemies. He makes things personal that deserve to be […]

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Christian College that Expels People in Same-sex Marriages Served with its Second Lawsuit

The US’s largest interdenominational Christian seminary is embroiled in a second discrimination lawsuit over its expulsion of a student for being in a same-sex marriage. Two former students, Nathan Brittsan and Joanna Maxon, are each suing the Fuller Theological Seminary for $1 million, claiming that the college violated anti-discrimination laws. The suit is believed to be the first of its kind, and its outcome could have wider implications for Christian colleges and universities who receive government funding. Maxon launched legal action in November, saying that disciplinary proceedings were initiated against her when the school’s financial aid office flagged information from […]

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Methodist Church To Split Over Same-Sex Marriage

The New York Times reports: Leaders of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant domination in the nation, announced on Friday a plan that would formally split the church after years of division over same-sex marriage. Under the plan, which would sunder a denomination with 13 million members worldwide, a new “traditionalist Methodist” denomination would be created, and would continue to ban same-sex marriage as well as the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. A separation in the Methodist church had been anticipated since a contentious general conference in St Louis last February, when 53 percent of church leaders and lay members […]

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UTAH: Mormon Church Opposes Ex-Gay Torture Ban

The Associated Press reports: A proposed conversion therapy ban in Utah is in danger of being derailed after The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints came out in opposition, just months after it said it wouldn’t stand in the way of a similar measure under consideration. The church said in a statement that the regulatory rule prohibiting Utah psychologists from engaging in LGBTQ conversion therapy with minors would fail to safeguard religious beliefs and doesn’t account for “important realities of gender identity in the development of children.” State regulators crafted the rule at the request of Republican Gov. Gary […]

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Pope Meets with Jesuit Targeted by Conservatives for LGBT Outreach

 Pope Francis met privately Monday with an American Jesuit who has been attacked by conservative U.S. Catholics for reaching out to gays, the latest evidence of Francis’ willingness to shrug off right-wing criticism for the sake of his pastoral priorities. The Vatican listed the audience with the Rev. James Martin among the pope’s daily activities, in a sign that Francis wanted it publicized. Since only some of Francis’ private meetings are announced, the implicit message was a public vote of confidence in Martin’s ministry. Martin, author of “Building a Bridge,” a book about how the Catholic Church should reach out […]

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A Gay Couple Were ‘Attacked at OK Church and Prayed Over to Make Straight’

A gay couple said they were tricked into attending a church service where they were attacked by the congregation, with one being held down while they prayed over him. Since coming out in Spring this year, Sean Cormie had been asked repeatedly by his family to attend a service at their church, in Oklahoma, and to bring along his boyfriend, Gary Gardner. Cormie told News 4: “I wanted to go to church to make my mom proud and make her happy.” But towards the end of the service at the pentecostal church, First Assembly of God Blackwell, the pastor began making statements […]

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Mormon Church Doubles Down on Opposition to Same-sex Marriage

The Mormon church has doubled down on its stance that marriage is “between a man and a woman”, despite adjusting one of its anti-LGBT+ policies. President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M Nelson, addressed students at Mormon institution Brigham Young University (BYU) on Tuesday, September 17, to tell them about “five truths”. n 2015, the church announced that children of LGBT+ parents would be banned from baptisms and from joining the church, unless they “disavowed” their parents’ relationships. Less that two weeks later, more than a thousand members had quit the church.  This year, the church revoked this policy and said […]

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Can a Religious School Fire a Gay Teacher? It’s Complicated.

Lynn Starkey worked at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis for nearly 40 years. In May, however, the Roman Catholic school fired Starkey as a guidance counselor after officials discovered that she is married to a woman.  In July, Starkey, 63, sued the school and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, claiming, in part, that they discriminated against her on the basis of her sexual orientation. In May, the school’s principal notified Starkey, who has been married to her spouse since 2015, that her contract would not be renewed, stating in a letter that civil unions are in violation of her contract and “contrary to […]

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Activists Win a Grueling Battle Against an Anti-LGBT Church

Activists have won a long battle to stop an anti-LGBT+ church operating out of Texas a public school, after protesting every week for more than a year. Celebration Church, which is openly anti-LGBT+, had been renting space at the Austin Independent School District’s (AISD) Mueller Performing Arts Centre for its services. Protest organiser and pastor for the AntiFascism NonChristian Church, Candace Aylor, said in a press release: “This was the goal, getting bigots out of public spaces. It goes against our closely held beliefs to abide bigotry and oppression, especially when openly, publicly permitted.  “What we learned today, what we confirmed from what […]

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