Tag Archive for "Religion"

Posts Tagged Religion

Melissa Harris-Perry on the role of faith in politics

If you missed Melissa Harris-Perry hosting in Rachel Maddow’s absence last week, you missed out. Good news is there is plenty to see online, like this important examination of faith and politics:

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If you missed Melissa Harris-Perry hosting in Rachel Maddow’s absence last week, you missed out. Good news is there is plenty to see online, like this important examination of faith and politics:

By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Hate crime victim works to save perpetrator from death row

These side-by-side interviews, with a hate crime victim who was shot in the face and the death row inmate who shot him, are simply breathtaking.

Ten days after the attacks of September 11, in Texas, Mark Anthony Stroman shot three people, killing two of them. The third, a man named Rais Bhuiyan, survived, but with grave injuries. Now, Stroman is on death row and his execution is just weeks away, and Bhuiyan is working to secure his reprieve from the death penalty.

The New York Times interviewed Bhuiyan by phone, and Stroman by letter. The result is some of the most heart-wrenching description of violence and forgiveness I’ve ever come across.

When asked why he is trying to save the life of ...

These side-by-side interviews, with a hate crime victim who was shot in the face and the death row inmate who shot him, are simply breathtaking.

Ten days after the attacks of September 11, in Texas, Mark Anthony ...

By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Muslim employee sues Abercrombie & Fitch for religious discrimination

News broke on Friday that a Muslim employee of Abercrombie & Fitch will be suing the company because she was fired for refusing to remove her hijab at work. The San Mateo Patch reported:

The woman, who has not been identified, is a Muslim, and “she was told that her headscarf, though worn based on a religious mandate, was not in compliance with the company’s ‘look policy,’” said those representing her in the lawsuit. She worked at Hollister Co., a subsidiary of Abercrombie & Fitch, in 2009 and 2010.

Abercrombie & Fitch has a spectacularly bad track record on employee discrimination. In 2005, it was the defendant in a class action suit in which female employees alleged that they had ...

News broke on Friday that a Muslim employee of Abercrombie & Fitch will be suing the company because she was fired for refusing to remove her hijab at work. The San Mateo Patch reported:

The woman, who ...

By Samhita • 12 years ago

67% of Americans would support a gay or lesbian presidential candidate

According to a new Gallup poll, only 32% of Americans would be against supporting a gay or lesbian presidential candidate and 67% would be in support. As Think Progress mentions this a tremendous shift in mindset from say, 1978, when approximately 74% of the American public wouldn’t have supported a gay or lesbian political candidate.

What this brings up for me however is, why, despite what appears to be majority public support for gay lifestyles, has it been so hard to pass legislation in support of gay marriage? Also, this percentage would be skewed if we were to include gender non-conforming or transgender people, since I’m sure part of what has caused the change in mindset is the increased ...

By Courtney • 12 years ago

Not Oprah’s Book Club: Parable of the Talents

God is change.

This is the main belief of Earthseed, a new religion developed and popularized by the main character in Octavia Butler’s Nebula-Award winning science fiction novel, Parable of the Talents. Since plowing through her book last week, those three little words have floated to the top of my brain many, many times.

As someone interested in morality and faith, this book couldn’t have been more interesting. Essentially, it is about the relationship between a daughter and a mother, both aiming to survive in dystopian America where evangelical religion, violence, and ignorance have taken hold in a frightening way. Lauren Oya Olamina, the mother, is a fierce, single-focused, survivalist who has charismatic leadership qualities and, arguably, prizes her ideas above ...

God is change.

By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Iranian women’s soccer team banned from 2012 Games

The Iranian women’s soccer team has effectively been banned from the 2012 Olympics because their uniform adheres to Iran’s interpretation of Islamic standards, and thereby violates FIFA’s Olympic ban on religious displays.

The law of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that women must cover their heads in public. The FIFA rules for uniforms and equipment state that “Players and officials shall not display political, religious, commercial or personal messages or slogans in any language or form on their playing or team kits.”

The Iranian women’s team, in keeping with the country’s Islamic law, plays in full-body suits that cover their hair. They were informed last week that their uniform violated the rules, moments before an Olympic qualifying match against ...

The law of the ...

By Jos Truitt • 12 years ago

Presbyterian Church to allow gay ministers

In a major reversal, the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted Tuesday to allow the ordination of gay folks as ministers. This brings the church in line with a number of other mainline Protestant churches. Sadly, the issue has already prompted a number of congregations to leave the church. But the vote went well, without too much controversy in the end. From the New York Times:

Although by the time the vote was taken in Minneapolis the outcome was expected, Presbyterian church officials said that even a few months ago they would not have predicted that the church was ready to change its policy.

“All of us are surprised,” said the Rev. Gradye Parsons, the church’s stated clerk, its highest elected official. He ...

By Miriam • 13 years ago

Religious women use contraception too

A new study from Guttmacher reports that the majority of religious women also use contraception.

“In real-life America, contraceptive use and strong religious beliefs are highly compatible,” says Rachel K. Jones, the report’s lead author. “Most sexually active women who do not want to become pregnant practice contraception, and most use highly effective methods like sterilization, the pill, or the IUD. This is true for Evangelicals and Mainline Protestants, and it is true for Catholics, despite the Catholic hierarchy’s strenuous opposition to contraception.”

This is not surprisingly to those of use in the reproductive rights community, who understand how crucial family planning is to many people’s lives, religious or not. It is extremely to ...

A new study from Guttmacher reports that the majority of religious women also use contraception.

“In real-life America, contraceptive use and strong religious beliefs are highly compatible,” says Rachel K. Jones, the report’s lead ...