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John Yoo and Jay Bybee Dodge Disciplinary Action but Recall Nuremberg
Justice Department attorney David Margolis rejected the recommendations of the investigation into the actions of two Bush-era lawyers claiming that the infamous ‘torture memo’ simply constituted ‘poor judgment.’ But John Yoo’s arguments are eerily reminiscent of the Nuremberg Defense and both men still face the judgment of international law and history.
Catholic Child Neglect: DC Archdiocese Cuts Adoption Rather Than Abide Same-Sex Parents
As DC law changes to require equality for same sex couples seeking to adopt, the Catholic Church (which has been in the adoption business for generations) opts to close up shop rather than to abide by the law and treat gay and lesbian families equally.
Missionary Imposition: Idaho Baptists Charged With Kidnapping 33 Haitian Children
Had the inexperienced Idaho missionaries read so much as Haiti’s Wikipedia page they would have learned that the nation has a history of slavery, colonialism, and missions that warns against attempts to remove Haitian children from their home.
Religious Leaders Urge Obama to Condemn Ugandan Anti-Gay Bill at Prayer Breakfast
Obama is scheduled to address the National Prayer Breakfast, organized by ‘The Family,’ which has ties to the ‘kill-the-gays’ bill in Uganda. Religious leaders, including a member of the president's faith-based Advisory Council, are calling on the president to condemn homophobia and offer an alternative, inclusive prayer event.
Oppose Afghanistan But Not a Pacifist? Tough.
While Obama used his Nobel Peace Prize speech to legitimize Afghanistan using just war principles, soldiers are currently unable to invoke these principles in refusing to serve. When we punish soldiers who heed their moral compasses, we deny them religious freedom, and our democracy is threatened. It’s time to allow those who oppose the war on ethical grounds the option of ‘Selective Conscientious Objection.’
Telling the World a ‘Big Story’: RD in Conversation with Karen Armstrong
Compassion is not just a sloppy emotional bonhomie; it requires a serious intellectual effort to learn about one another, even if it’s unflattering to ourselves. RD contributor and religion scholar Laurie Patton interviews Karen Armstrong upon the launch of her global call to action, the Charter for Compassion.
A New Year’s Health Care Sobriety Test for Religious Progressives: It’s Not Obama
Responsible religious leaders need to stay sober and stop cheerleading for the Democrats and for the Obama White House just because they’re not total Visigoths.
Military Abortion Ban: Female Soldiers Not Protected by Constitution They Defend
Unable to get an abortion during a tour of duty in Iraq, a soldier is left with no option but to do it herself—a humiliating but not uncommon dilemma. Women in the military are forced to obtain a leave to get the care they need; but if they’re honest about why, they put their military career in jeopardy. If they’re not, they put their military career in jeopardy.
Indians v. The US Department of the Interior, Or, The Horse Who Couldn’t Read
This week brought a proposed $3.4 billion settlement to a little known class action suit against the US Department of the Interior on behalf of over 300,000 Indians. Our writer tells how his family history dovetails with the tragic story behind this lawsuit.
RD speaks with filmmaker Lisa Darden who helped to alert Pastor Rick Warren to the dangers of remaining silent.
Massacre in Mindanao: The Irresistible Urge to Blame Religion
While most reports focus on the brutal massacre of over fifty Philippine citizens and the religious tensions that appear to be at work, beneath the surface it looks a lot more like a good old-fashioned power struggle.
Uganda’s Radical Anti-Gay Measure and the American Religious Right
A proposed measure in Uganda would make repeated homosexual activity punishable by death. Anti-gay activists in the United States may think that it goes too far, but they laid the groundwork for it.
Immigration Reform: A Country Divided, Or a Richer Society?
With the Obama administration’s renewed support for immigration reform, and new support from conservative Christian leaders, immigrants’ rights activists are looking toward real progress—and their vision is supported by recent scholarship in the intersection of religion and immigration.
The Anti-Gay Highway: New Report Details Mutually Beneficial Relationship Between US Evangelicals and African Antigay Clergy
A new report documents the trend of evangelicals like Rick Warren exporting sexuality issues to Africa, whose clergy, in turn, support the minority antigay view in mainline denominations, weakening them. The author of the report speaks with RD at length about what he found.
Massacre of Jesuits in El Salvador: 20 Years Later
Two decades after the murder of six Jesuit professors, El Salvador is celebrating the end of right-wing rule and the first peaceful transfer of power in nearly 200 years.
Bad Religion Leaves Big Bruises: When Christians Threaten Health Care Reform
Two strands of Christianity battle against a bill ensuring that all Americans are cared for. One prefers John Locke to Jesus while the other has its issues with women.
Escalating Afghanistan: What Did You Do in the Class War, Daddy?
Don’t the clergy have a duty to challenge the march of folly in Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Mormonism’s Black Issues
While many Mormons would like to forget the Church’s history of discrimination against blacks, an Apostle’s recent statements comparing the post-Proposition 8 Mormon backlash to the Civil Rights-era harassment of black voters have brought that painful past back into the spotlight.
Prison as Resurrection
While it’s clear that prisons in this country are a disaster and a scandal, a new book delves into the system’s religious roots and the belief in the spiritual benefits of disciplinary isolation.
Killing One Primate to Save Another: The Ethics of Animal Rights
A disturbing story emerged this week of a scientist leaving his research out of fear for his and his family’s lives. What are our responsibilities in this area and what do our traditions have to say about it?