Posts in Sexuality
From Roe To Obergefell: Religious Right Sets Sights On Reversing Same-Sex Marriage

(ANALYSIS) With two dramatic actions, the “Religious Right” is suddenly prodding the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its historic 2015 Obergefell decision, which legalized  same-sex marriage nationwide. Such a radical and unpopular switch after only 10 years might seem implausible — but a close parallel already happened in the 2022 Dobbs decision.  

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Americans Becoming More Permissive On Many Moral Issues

When it comes to morality, Americans don’t see much wrong with using birth control or getting a divorce, but few support extramarital affairs or human cloning. The latest poll results from Gallup spell out what activities U.S. adults view as morally acceptable and which ones are seen as immoral.

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Focus On The Family Founder James Dobson Dead At 89

James Dobson, a politically influential conservative and anti-abortion activist who founded the Christian ministry Focus on the Family, died on Thursday at the age of 89. Dobson started Focus on the Family in 1977, which had more than 1,000 employees at its peak in the mid-90s, giving him the chance to influence legislation and White House policy for decades.

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Appeals Court Rules World Vision Shielded From Bias LawSuit

A customer service representative can be central to carrying out a religious organization’s mission in the same way a pastor is, a federal appeals court ruled, shielding the employer from federal nondiscrimination statutes.

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Liberty Seeks Dismissal of Trans Termination Lawsuit Citing Religious Freedom

Liberty Counsel has filed the opening brief to seek dismissal of a wrongful termination case brought by a former Liberty University employee who hid his steps to transition and identify as a female during the hiring process.

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Mainline Pastors Less Likely To Hold Historic Christian Doctrine

While there are likely numerous theological differences between evangelical, Catholic and Black Protestant pastors, they share core convictions that aren’t as common among mainline pastors.

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Supreme Court Rules Parents Can Opt Their Children Out Of LGBTQ-Inclusive Books

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled parents of public-school children in Montgomery County, Md., have a right to opt their kids out of classroom reading times with books the school board labels as “LGBTQ inclusive.” These books were introduced as part of a new curriculum in 2022 for pre-K through eighth-grade students. They promote storylines that teach gender is a construct rather than a biological fact.

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Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning Gender Transition Treatment For Minors

In a historic decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 18 that a Tennessee law banning gender transition medical treatments for minors is constitutional. The case involved a suit brought by three transgender teenagers and the Biden Administration against Tennessee officials seeking to bar the state from enforcing its ban on gender transition interventions or so-called “gender affirming care” for minors.

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New Trump Commission Displays DC’s Religious Power Grid

(ANALYSIS) Despite the disruptions of global economics and trade, and a couple dozen other hot disputes, let's not neglect such perennial realities as the way religion can affect politics, and vice versa. As President Donald Trump promised, this is a central aspect of his agenda, underscored by the recent establishment of the new Religious Liberty Commission.

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On Religion: Pollsters Need To Ask New Questions About Catholic Life And Faith

(ANALYSIS) As Catholics prepare for a new pope, Pew has released new insights into lines of tension and division among American Catholics. Five years after the "transubstantiation" study, a new survey includes more evidence that "U.S. Catholics" disagree with many core Catholic doctrines and, thus, want a "more inclusive" church.

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Decades-Old Disputes Over LGBTQ Clergy: What Next For US ‘mainline’ Presbyterians?

(ANALYSIS) The Presbyterian Church (USA) is nearing the latest turning point in its half-century struggle over same-sex clergy and marriage that could give liberals powerful new leverage against traditionalists — if they choose to exercise it. The coming clash would pit the liberals’ anti-discrimination principles against the evangelical minority's freedom of conscience claims. 

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Which Identity Is More Important: Race, Gender or Religion?

(ANALYSIS) There’s this inherent tension in doing survey research. We are trying to get people to explain their thinking about things. I don’t know if that’s always possible. Asking people to reflect on how they construct their worldview may be trying to quantify smoke in a box, but it’s definitely worth some exploration.

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Examining The Religiosity Of Gender Nonconforming Americans

(ANALYSIS) It seems like I get asked about the transgender issue nearly every day. I readily admit that it may be the most caustic and divisive social issue of this era of the culture war. My goal here is to give you the very best estimates possible about the share of Americans who don’t currently identify as male or female in the U.S. and then describe the overall religiosity of this group.

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Reevaluating The Sexual Revolution: Louise Perry’s Guide To Modern Hookup Culture

(REVIEW) Encouraging women to feel disgust toward men’s sexuality also doesn’t seem like the best approach to restoring harmony between the sexes. Despite Perry’s focus on the harms of hookup culture, Gen Z is having less sex than previous generations. Culture critic Freya India points out that much of this is due to the constant fearmongering about sex and men from online influencers. The result of Perry’s book may not be healthier relationships, but fewer ones.

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How LGBTQ-Friendly Churches Are Tackling The Trump Era

All Saints Church has a long history of supporting oppressed groups. In the 1940s, their chief pastor protested the deportation of Japanese Americans; in the 1960s, their White clergy stood alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the Los Angeles “Rally for Freedom. In the 1970s, the church spoke out against the Vietnam War. Today, they are speaking out against Trump.

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Crossroads Podcast: Why Democrats Need To Start Having Babies

(ANALYSIS) This fertility issue has both political and religious (#DUH) implications.

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On Religion: Why Those ‘He Gets Us’ Ads Keep Triggering Arguments

(ANALYSIS) Many of the ad's photographs are easy to interpret, such as a man removing “GO BACK” graffiti from a home, a woman helping a weeping man in a grocery store, a firefighter hard at work and a young football player comforting a defeated opponent. But the John 3:16 hat raised the theological stakes in the pride photograph.

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‘Conclave’: Is It Anti-Catholic Propaganda Or An Oscar-Worthy Film?

(ANALYSIS) Easily the biggest religious controversy at this year’s Academy Awards is with the movie “Conclave.” The film, based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, follows a cardinal named Lawrence who’s been tasked with running the selection of a new pope. But Lawrence’s faith is challenged when he uncovers secrets at the Vatican.

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