Religion

/ /

US Christians gather to protest violence against trans people

,

US Christians gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol to protest the “religious condemnation” of the trans community.  On Sunday (28 December), a group of trans-affirming Christians gathered to take part in the event titled “Not In Jesus’ name”.  The event, which took place from 2pm for two hours, included a march around Capitol Square and a sung prayer service inside the Capitol Rotunda.  As per 15 WMTV, organisers of the event said the gathering took place in response to the national debate over gender-affirming care and concern about religious condemnation directed at the trans community.  In June, a US Supreme Court decision to uphold […]

/ / / /

U.S. bishops officially ban gender-affirming care at Catholic hospitals

U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to make official a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals. The step formalizes a yearslong process for the U.S. church to address transgender health care. From a Baltimore hotel ballroom, the bishops overwhelmingly approved revisions to their ethical and religious directives that guide the nation’s thousands of Catholic health care institutions and providers. More than one in seven patients in the U.S. are treated each day at Catholic hospitals, according to the Catholic Health Association. Catholic hospitals are the only medical center in some communities. Major medical groups and health organizations […]

/ /

17 queer clergy taking the Gospel back from Christian nationalism

As Christian nationalism seeks to fuse church and state, we’re here to celebrate queer clergy who are proving that faith and freedom don’t have to be opposites. They embody a radically inclusive Christianity, one that loves beyond borders, votes beyond pulpits, and worships without fear. Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush When a gay Baptist minister becomes one of the nation’s loudest voices against Christian nationalism, it’s worth listening. In one penned essay, Brandeis Raushenbush opined that the current administration is weaponizing religion and urged people not to “allow Trump and his Christian nationalist backers to claim the mantle of ‘religious liberty’ or […]

/ /

Loud and Proud in The Lone Star State: Dallas Church, Cities Across Texas Respond to Crosswalk Controversy with Pride

,

Standing at the corner of Cedar Springs and Oak Lawn Blvd in Dallas for over 150 years, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church has served Texans of faith, including members of the LGBTQ community. Through its inclusive efforts, the church is a leader in providing resources for all Texans. And through a sign of symbolic strength, the church continues to commit to standing up for equality.  On Oct. 9, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered all decorated crosswalks across the state to be removed within 30 days or risk losing essential funding from the state’s transportation department. The rainbow crosswalks are a major pillar […]

/ /

Pope Leo says blessing same-sex weddings is ‘not what the Church teaches’

,

Pope Leo is continuing his predecessor’s decision to bless same-sex couples — so long as they don’t look too much like a wedding. The new pontiff recently said in an interview with Christian newspaper Crux that “the church’s teaching will continue as it is” in regards to marriage equality, while criticizing some ceremonies in which priests have blessed couples as they legally marry. “I’ve already spoken about marriage, as did Pope Francis when he was pope, about a family being a man and a woman in solemn commitment, blessed in the sacrament of marriage,” Leo said. “But even to say that, I understand […]

/ /

Pope Leo meets LGBTQ Catholic advocate and vows continuity with Francis’ welcoming legacy

Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry, just days before a planned Holy Year pilgrimage of LGBTQ Catholics to the Vatican.  The Rev. James Martin, a New York-based Jesuit author and editor, said Leo told him he intended to continue Pope Francis’ policy of LGBTQ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy. “I heard the same message from Pope Leo that I heard from Pope Francis, which is the desire to welcome all people, including LGBTQ people,” Martin told The Associated Press after the audience. […]

/ /

What are LGBTQ+ people’s views on religion in the U.S.?

,

LGBTQ+ Americans are significantly less likely to be religious than their straight and cisgender peers — but they’re still more spiritual.  Less than half of U.S. adults who are LGBTQ+ (48 percent) say they identify with a religion, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, compared to 73 percent of non-LGBTQ+ Americans. The majority of queer adults (52 percent) identify as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular,” compared to just 26 percent of their non-LGBTQ+ peers.  LGBTQ+ adults were also far less likely to say that religion is very important to them personally (17 percent vs. 42 percent), that they attend religious […]

/ /

‘Girl Scouts but Indoctrination’: A Christian Extremist Alternative

,

Growing up, Kenzie remembers dragging her feet as her mom sent her to American Heritage Girls (AHG) programs. “I describe it as Girl Scouts but indoctrination,” says Kenzie, a 20-year-old dance major from Oklahoma.  “Ever since I was little, I always knew I was queer; different from the people around me. … [In the eyes of AHG staff] it felt wrong to be feminine, but also wrong to be masculine.” AHG and Trail Life USA—a similar organization for boys—have troops in all 50 states and more than 110,000 members. They teach kids that homosexuality is sinful and that anything outside the gender […]

/ /

Inclusive church turns hateful graffiti into Pride mural: “We make beautiful things out of the dust”

,

After an LGBTQ+-inclusive church in Austin, Texas, was vandalized on Thursday, the community came together to transform the act of hate into something beautiful. The vandals tore down the Pride flag at Life in the City UMC and graffitied “Pride was the 1st sin” on the front of the building. Afterward, volunteers joined the church for a “creative restoration project” to transform the graffiti into a mural featuring two Progress Pride flags flanking the church doorway. “At Life in the City, we strive to welcome those on the outside to the inside of the circle because Jesus’ greatest commandment was […]

/ /

Cherry Vann becomes first woman and LGBTQ cleric named archbishop in Britain

Bishop Cherry Vann has been elected as archbishop of the Church in Wales, becoming the first woman and LGBTQ cleric appointed to lead any of Britain’s Anglican churches. While the broader, international Anglican Communion has had openly gay bishops before, most notably Gene Robinson in the United States, Vann will be the first lesbian to serve as archbishop globally. The Church in Wales, which broke away from the Church of England in 1920, elected Vann to the post on Wednesday. Vann was among the first women ordained as priests in the Church of England in 1994 and later served as […]

«‹ 2 3 4 5›»