Can a religious school fire a gay teacher? It’s complicated.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order 11246 barring federal contractors who do over $10,000 of business with the government in one year from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion sex or national origin. In 2002, President George W. Bush issued an executive order that added a religious exemption to the measure, using language lifted from Title VII. In 2014, President Barack Obama added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected characteristics in Johnson’s original order, affording specific protections to LGBTQ workers, but Obama left intact Bush’s protections for religious organizations.
That’s a lot of sources, yes. But they’d have much more credibility if they had names attached to them. On-the-record sources with names attached have more skin in the game than those granted carte blanche to say whatever they want without their names attached. That’s basic Journalism 101 reality.
As with many red-hot stories mixing politics and religion in the Trump era, there’s a lot of noise — some of it helpful, some of it not — on both sides of the Falwell story. My advice remains the same: Rely most heavily on on-the-record sources, documents and facts. Be careful about accepting as the gospel truth undocumented statements and claims, especially from those who decline to be named.
Trump (Accidentally) Insulted a Pastor on Twitter. Here’s What He Said in Response
Now, Carl’s sharing his response to the episode. In a post which you can read here, Carl wrote that “I’m not mad at you, I’m sad for you … Our words overflow from our hearts and can quickly evidence the health or sickness of our souls. Your heart must be in a dangerous place to have such a consistent flow of defamation and disrespect towards so many.”
The First Sexual Revolution: The Triumph of Christian Morality in the Roman Empire
Harper explains that from Paul onward, Christian sexual morality “collapsed all forms of same-sex contact, whether pederastic or companionate, into one category” (99). “Nature” was seen as that which corresponded to social norms. With Christianity, “nature” would be that which corresponded to a gendered morality of sex. Preachers like Chrysostom condemned same-sex behavior, with no concern for whether it was pederasty, the exploitation of slaves, or more durable same-sex partnerships. Under Justinian we see the criminalization of same-sex behavior, though there is little evidence this was carried out with any kind of intrusive spying upon private life.
How highly religious Americans view evolution depends on how they’re asked about it
These findings are in keeping with arguments from scholars of religion that highly religious people may feel conflicted about saying that humans have evolved over time unless they are able to clarify their views about the role of God in these processes.
Wednesday Night Still a Church Night for Most Congregations
Almost 6 in 10 churches have small group adult Bible study classes. Most (53%) also have some type of student ministry or youth group gathering. Around half of pastors (48%) say they have children’s activities. Slightly less (45%) use the night for a prayer meeting. Close to 2 in 5 pastors say they have choir or worship team rehearsals on Wednesday. A third (33%) say their church has a worship service that night, while 8% say they do something else.
Praying Beyond the Prayer Card
I no longer want a list of simplistic prayers supported by isolated Bible verses to inform my petitions to God for my daughter. I need a robust vision of the life God casts in his word, a life that is not defined by radical individualism, personal fulfillment, and self-actualization via Christianity. Instead, I need a vision that is informed by our identity as adopted children of God who are members of the household of faith. Only then will I invite others into that household and faithfully act as an agent of restoration in light of God’s promise to make all things new.
Chef ditches job to become ‘dumpster diver’ – and makes £16,000 in six months
April Smith, 35, says she has saved £3,250 on food bills and has acquired beauty products and household goodies worth another £16,250, by diving into giant supermarket dumpsters and turning other people’s trash into treasure.