News Tidbits

Business Insider: Christians are leaving the faith in droves and the trend isn't slowing down

New York Times: Mike Huckabee Joins Republican Presidential Race

NPR: Huckabee Hopes Evangelical Voters Are Tying Yellow Ribbons For Him

News.com.au: Parent lobby group alleges religious education material taught in NSW schools includes “slut shaming” 

Huffington Post: More Americans Are Comfortable With A Gay Presidential Candidate Than With An Evangelical One

The Column: Minnesota ‘ex-lesbian’ falsely claims conversion therapy bans will shut down ex-gay ministries

Detroit News: Anti-gay shop owner in west Michigan defies backlash

Outsports: Hillsdale College asks gay athlete to pray for destruction of "evil" same-sex marriage

Washington Blade: Nigerian theological student expelled for ‘homosexuality’

Commentary Tidbits

The New Republic: The Last Culture Warrior

Godless in Dixie: It’s Not Just the Messengers, It’s the Message, Too 

Wall of Separation: The Decline And Fall Of Just About Everything: Carping About ‘Moral Decay’ Is An Old Game

The Guardian: The terrifying American anti-abortion movement is exporting its tactics to the UK

Human Rights Campaign: World Congress of Families Hires Notorious Anti-LGBT Activist As Director of Upcoming Salt Lake City

Slate: SCOTUS Swats Away Challenge to New Jersey’s Ex-Gay Conversion Therapy Ban

Ars Technica: Failed Christian shoe promoter makes anti-gay first-person shooter

Christian Homeschooling Conferences That Make You Go Hmmmm...

We live in dynamic times. Our society is becoming increasingly pluralistic as people of different races, faiths, political stances, sexual orientations, and gender identities speak in the public square. Science continues to teach us more about our universe and our origins. Technology connects us to more people and more knowledge than ever before. For those who are comfortable with progress, this is an exhilarating time to be alive.

However, for a small segment of society, these developments represent a loss of privilege and power. Rather than learn how to navigate this evolving world, the Religious Right resists by clinging to a narrow, intolerant worldview and struggling against any encroachments. Some forms of Christian homeschooling are intended to pass along this worldview to the next generation in the hopes that they will continue the struggle. The result is homeschooling with a decidedly dominionist, right-wing, anti-science slant. One homeschooling event in my region features many examples of this mindset.

The Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania (CHAP) will be hosting its 29th annual homeschool convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on May 8-9. In years past, the event has featured speakers such as creationist Ken Ham, disgraced Vision Forum president Doug Phillips, and anti-gay cake provocateur Bill Jack. Over the years, I've noticed several recurring themes at the CHAP convention, a product of the fundamentalist Christianity that infuses the event. Creationism, purity culture, stereotypical gender roles, and distrust of non-Christians and mainstream society were common topics in CHAP workshops. The 2015 CHAP convention is no exception.

The CHAP convention schedule often features creationist/anti-evolution workshops for homeschooling parents. For example, in "The Evolution of a Creationist", Jobe Martin will suggest that Christian homeschoolers are "stemming the tide" against fundamentalists' favorite boogeymen, evolution and "secular humanism".

"This talk includes many of the evidences for creation that the Lord used to bring Dr. Martin from being an agnostic, zen-Buddhist, evolutionist to a young earth creationist. Dr. Martin uses statistics and current studies to vividly demonstrate how our Christian school kids are following the same downward path into secular humanism that the public school kids are taking and that it is only the homeschoolers who are “stemming the tide,” though they are also sloping off into moderate Christianity instead of staying solidly Biblical. When belief in the Bible’s authority and accuracy is shaken, people lose their trust in it and the culture departs from Biblical principles. This talk will help equip all ages with foundational truths about creation which will enable young people to stand strong against the attacks of evolution and secular humanism in the academic arena and today’s culture."

Another workshop entitled "Incredible Creatures that Proclaim Creation" will insist that evolution is false and creationism is true.

"God’s incredible creation will wow you as Dr. Martin shares fascinating facts about many different creatures the Lord has created. He will explain how it is utterly impossible for them to evolve. He will also share how each one of these irreducibly complex and amazing creations can be used to testify and proclaim that there is a Creator God who is the Lord Jesus Christ."

Right-wing rhetoric often finds its way into CHAP workshops. In a workshop entitled "The Fall of the Roman Empire and the Courageous Story of St. Patrick", William Federer will suggest that modern society, like ancient Rome, is mired in "sexual immorality", welfare, excessive taxation, and suppression of the Christian community.

"How was the time Saint Patrick lived similar to today? The Roman Empire was falling: Illegal immigrants were overrunning boarders; Latin Language was displaced: Sexual immorality; Exposure of unwanted infants; Violent gladiatorial entertainment; Outsourcing to North Africa; Enormous debt & government; Explosion of welfare & government jobs; Taxes unbearable; the Church was discouraged to have political involvement; Military was over stretched; and Atilla the Hun committed terrorist attacks."

Dominionism finds its way into other workshops. Another William Federer workshop, "Change to Chains: The 6,000 Year Quest for Global Power", claims that without "Judeo-Christian morality", societies succumb to either anarchy or totalitarian governments (despite evidence to the contrary).

"In the nearly 6,000 years of recorded human history, POWER, like gravity, seems to inevitably concentrate into the hands of ONE individual, sometimes called pharoah, caesar, czar, kaiser, king, caliph, emperor, monarch, sultan, president or communist dictator. No matter what the autocratic leader’s particular title is, the default setting for human government throughout history has been monarchy. How rare is America’s experiment with a republic? On the spectrum of human government, one side is TOTAL GOVERNMENT with power concentrated in the hands of a totalitarian dictator, and the other side is NO GOVERNMENT - anarchy. America, out of all previous nations on earth, was able to get closest to the anarchy side of the spectrum and still maintain order because of a secret ingredient - Judeo-Christian morality."

The fundamentalist persecution complex is in full bloom in William Federer's "Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance No Longer Tolerates the Religion of Its Founders". Judging by the convention booklet's description, the "Backfired" workshop will depict Christianity as the target of discrimination and silencing in America (despite evidence to the contrary).

The faith that gave birth to tolerance is no longer tolerated! How did America go from Pilgrims seeking freedom to express their Judeo-Christian beliefs to today’s discrimination against those very beliefs in the name of tolerance? “Backfired” chronicles the history of this disturbing development now rampant in our country. Do these headlines sound familiar?

• Ten Commandments taken down
• “Under God” removed from the Pledge
• Prayer prohibited
• Nativity Scenes banned
• Salvation Army defunded
• Boy Scouts sued
• Christmas Carols stopped
• Bible called ‘hate speech’

The CHAP workshop themes should be familiar to anyone who observes the Religious Right. The usual boogeymen -- secular humanism, evolution, godless government, "persecution" of Christians -- are depicted as threats that devout Christians must resist. Homeschooled children are assigned the task of torchbearers who must "stem the tide" of a sinful society. Sadly, none of this rhetoric will help homeschooled children grow up into well-rounded adults who can successfully navigate a pluralistic society. I realize that the parents who attend these conventions love their children and mean well, they are doing them no favors by teaching them a skewed worldview.

Commentary Tidbits

Right Wing Watch: Happy Birthday, WorldNetDaily!

NPR: 5 Things To Know About The Organizers Of Muhammad Cartoon Contest

Political Research Associates: Christian Right Leaders Escalate Anti-LGBTQ Threats

RH Reality Check: Supreme Court Lets Stand New Jersey ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban

Talking Points Memo: Dem Challenger To Gov. Pence Comes Out Swinging On Religious Freedom

News Tidbits

Raw Story: Anti-Islam blogger Pam Geller on Dallas art show shootings: ‘This is a war and the war is here’ 

Texas Public Radio: Pastors Group Pushes Passage Of Religious Freedom Bill 

Houston Chronicle: Senator delays Texas 'religious freedom' bill amid controversy

Philadelphia Inquirer: Methodist minister says gay marriage issue in Pennsylvania is calming down

Gay Star News: Supreme Court upholds New Jersey's ban on gay conversion therapy

OregonLive: Pray the gay away? As Oregon considers ban, Portland nonprofit says it doesn't practice conversion therapy

LGBTQ Nation: Minnesota high school students protest conversion therapy billboard

Video: Religious Right Activists and Same-Sex Marriage Supporters Outside Supreme Court

National March for Marriage Takes Place in Washington D.C.

On April 28th, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the Constitution requires state governments to recognize same-sex marriages. Opponents of LGBTQ equality redoubled their activist efforts in the days leading up to April 28th, alarmed at the possibility of a SCOTUS decision that would recognize same-sex marriages across the country. In a prior post, Republic of Gilead shared quotes from Religious Right leaders who spoke at a press conference at the National Press Club. In this post, I'd like to share quotes from another anti-LGBTQ event in recent days.

On April 25th, the National Organization for Marriage led the National March for Marriage from Third Street to the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C., reports the International Business Times. Scheduled speakers included NOM president Brian Brown, Josh Duggar, Sen. Ruben Diaz, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, and others. Thousands of anti-LGBTQ demonstrators proclaimed their opposition to same-sex marriage, according to the Washington Post. Think Progress shared photos of the rally participants, including attendees from NOM, Human Life International, AFTAH, and the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.

Right Wing Watch shared video excerpts of speeches at the rally. Predictably, the speeches contained the same tired arguments against same-sex marriage that the Religious Right has used for years. Fear, self-righteousness, and heteronormativity pervaded speeches at the National March for Marriage

First, Jim Garlow, pastor of Skyline Church in La Mesa, California, declared that the Supreme Court was "incapable" of changing God's definition of marriage. "You mess with the definition of marriage, and you burn. You're toast! You can't win that one!" he warned.

Garlow delivered a convoluted interpretation of the Hebrew words for male and female (ish and isha), claiming that they have letters that spell the beginning of the Tetragrammaton (יהוה), the Hebrew name of God. He argued that humans can only fully express the image of God when paired with a member of the opposite sex (thereby excluding same-sex couples, widows, widowers, singles, and celibate persons from the image of God). The implication, it seemed, is that humans are only complete and godly when married to a member of the opposite sex, a belief with dehumanizing implications.

"When you have male and female together, you have the imago dei, the image of God. No male by himself is an expression of the full spectrum of the image of God. No female by herself is a full expression of the full spectrum of the image of God. Nor are two men or two women. Only as a male and female come together -- yod heh, God -- the image of God is stamped upon that covenantal marriage relationship."

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, vowed to obey God's law over U.S. law in the event of a Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage. He invoked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in defense of his stance, oblivious to the irony of comparing his anti-equality efforts to King's pro-equality efforts.

"Supreme Court of the United States, with all due respect, we warn you, do not cross this line. And as much as I'm an attorney and I respect the rule of law, I also respect a higher law, and when an earthly law collides with the higher law, we have no choice [but] to obey the higher law. We cannot comply to Caesar's demands that are in direct conflict with the higher law, and that's what the Dr. Martin Luther King wrote in Letter from Birmingham Jail."

Fr. Johannes Jacobse, founder of the American Orthodox Institute, repeated the tired argument that opposite-sex marriage is the only valid form of marriage because it produces children. He warned the audience that national legalization of same-sex marriage would somehow lead to state control over people's lives and a withering of freedom.

"Marriage is one man and one woman because it takes one man and one woman to create a child. This is written in nature, and if we look deeply into nature, what do we discover? We discover intent, purpose, and meaning, and that meaning comes from the very mouth of God. If we do not recognize that, if that consciousness grows dim, then what we end up doing is seeing the state as the source and the arbiter of what makes human relationships morally licit. We can't do that because if you give to Caesar the things that are God's, he never gives it back! And in the end, in the end, the state will be telling you how to live, and you will lose your freedom."

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that speakers resorted to fear tactics and appeals to self-righteousness. Opposition to LGBTQ equality has no logical basis, so Religious Right leaders will appeal to emotion rather than reason. However, more Americans are realizing that equal rights for LGBTQ citizens are reasonable, and so this emotion-driven rhetoric is falling on deaf ears.

To watch additional video coverage of the National March for Marriage, click here.

News Tidbits

Fox News Radio: Scott Lively: Adultery and Sodomy Should Be Against The Law

Politico: Congressman links Baltimore crisis to same-sex marriage

The New Daily: ‘Bigoted’ religious freedom law passes in Tasmania

Raw Story: Georgia pastor defends death to gays sign: Don’t change marriage for ‘people who deserve not to live’

Gay Star News: Pope Francis: Straight marriage is the 'masterpiece of society'

Washington Blade: Oregon considers conversion therapy ban 

Commentary Tidbits

Spiritual Sounding Board: Open Air Preacher Tony Miano’s Insensitive Tweets after Nepal Earthquake Disaster 

Strange Bedfellows: Ex-Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll is back on evangelical lecture circuit 

Religion Dispatches: No, Climate Change Deniers Aren’t Modern Day Galileos

Friendly Atheist: Disturbing Flyers at Wisconsin High School Tell Boys to “Protect Her Character” on Prom Night

The Washington Post: Republicans again appeal to theocracy

Edge Media Network: Duggar's Latest Money Beg For Anti-Gay Law

Huffington Post: Meet The People Trying To Seize The 'Last, Best Opportunity' To Stop Gay Marriage 

Alternet: 'I Don’t Believe This Anymore': What It's Like to Leave Behind Abusive, Right-Wing Religion

Religious Right Denounces Same-Sex Marriage at National Press Club

April 28th was an important day for the American LGBTQ equality movement. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the Constitution requires state governments to recognize same-sex marriages, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Same-sex marriage bans in Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky were upheld by a federal appeals court in November 2014, but those cases have now come before the Supreme Court, according to LGBTQ Nation. Countless pro-LGBTQ and anti-LGBTQ entities submitted amicus briefs in the weeks leading up to April 28th. The cases come before a Supreme Court whose judges are divided on the issuer of same-sex marriage, as the New York Times observes.

While LGBTQ equality advocates brought attention to the landmark cases, supporters held the Unite 4 Marriage rally in Washington D.C. on Tuesday morning. LGBTQ Nation reports that the atmosphere outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday was festive, with supporters of same-sex marriage wearing costumes, waving rainbow flags, and holding signs.

Anti-LGBTQ voices from the Religious Right were also on-hand, both inside and outside the Supreme Court. The Advocate states that a disruptive man was ejected from the Supreme Court building, reportedly shouting, "The nation will earn God's wrath!" Outside the building, same-sex marriage opponents took part in their own rally, featuring speakers such as the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins and Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas).

The Religious Right was active in the days leading up to April 28th as well, calling on the Supreme Court to reject same-sex marriage. Vision American president Rick Scarborough, Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver, and Focus on the Family Founder James Dobson launched an online marriage pledge, which insists that marriage is between one man and one woman.

On April 24th, Vision America hosted a press conference at the National Press Club, where Religious Right leaders denounced same-sex marriage. James Dobson could not appear in person, and thus his associates played a pre-recorded video of Dobson's message. In the video, Dobson described heterosexual marriage and the "institution of the family" as gifts from God and bedrocks of culture throughout history. "God help us if we throw the divine plan for humankind on the ash heap of history," he told listeners. At the 4:02 mark, he mentioned that a handful of cultures that accepted LGBTQ people later perished, then claimed that same-sex marriage is a modern phenomenon.

"Admittedly, there have been periods in history where homosexuality has flourished, including the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, in ancient Greece, and during the Roman empire. None of these civilizations survived. Only in the last few years has what has been called gay marriage been given equal status with Biblical male-female unions."

First, all civilizations fall or fade over time. For Dobson to attribute the end of civilizations to same-sex intimacy is patently ridiculous. Dobson's claim about long-faded societies was either an attempt at instilling fear of destruction in listeners, or a display of arrogant superiority over LGBTQ rights supporters. Second, same-sex marriage is not a modern invention, but rather a practice with a long history across the globe. Contrary to Dobson's claims, same-sex marriage has existed alongside heterosexual marriage for millennia.

At the 5:28 mark, Dobson claimed that the American people do not endorse same-sex marriage, a claim that evidence refutes. In doing so, Dobson tried to depict advances in LGBTQ equality as the will of a minority, rather than a reflecting of large-scale social change.

"The American people didn't demand the sea change that is occurring. In fact, the populations in 31 states voted one at a time on the definition of marriage, and every one of them affirmed it as being exclusively between one man and one woman."

Vision America president Rick Scarborough blasted those who support LGBTQ equality, condemning them of debating a matter than has already been "settled in heaven". Scarborough accused them of defying God himself at the 12:48 mark.

"We've witnessed an attack on God and the veracity of his word unparalleled in American history. Judges, legislators, and citizens who voted for same-sex marriage have said, in effect, God and his word are incorrect on marriage. Perhaps unknowingly, they've chosen to deny God's word and observable nature and it created an illusion that most Americans approve of that which God forbids."

At the 13:14 mark, Scarborough argued that the majority opinion on LGBTQ equality is not necessarily correct, just as the majority opinion on historic racism was wrong. In doing so, he likened those who see to grant equal rights to a groups of Americans with earlier generations that denied equal rights to their fellow citizens. The irony, I thought.

"I am not surprised that some recent polls have shown the majority of Americans now say they approve of same-sex marriage. We have heard a steady drumbeat for the past decade of a one-sided national discussion on the subject. But there was also a time when the majority of Americans in this country approved of separate restrooms and separate classrooms for black American citizens. The majority often gets it wrong. And who wants to be labeled a bigot for declaring what their heart truly believes about sodomy and alternative lifestyles?"

I found it amusing that Scarborough spoke of LGBTQ rights as a movement supported by the majority of Americans, while Dobson rejected the very idea just a few minutes prior. The Religious Right is having trouble keeping all its myths and bad arguments straight, I realized.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, told the audience that religious liberty was under attack in a "zero-sum game". Staver discussed racist and eugenicist Supreme Court decisions from the past, speaking of LGBTQ rights gains to historic racism in the same breath. At the 29:19 mark, he told the audience that if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, he and his kindred spirits would not respect the decision.

"If the supreme court can't get this issue right, whether or not there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in the United States Constitution, if they cross this line and somehow invent some purported right to same-sex marriage in the United States Constitution, I say that, and the leaders that have signed this, and many more that will sign this around this country, that we will consider and treat such a decision by the United States Supreme Court in the same way that we and history has viewed Dred Scott and Buck v. Bell ... That decision will be an unjust law, and we cannot and we will not give it the respect of the rule of law. That goes too far."

Janet Boynes, founder of Janet Boynes Ministries, claimed that "ex-gays" like her can "debunk" calls for LGBTQ rights and "tear down their belief system" if given a national stage. She called homosexuality a "false identity" rooted in "sexual or emotional brokenness", arguing that since gays can supposedly become heterosexual, calls for LGBTQ rights are invalid. At the 38:46 mark, she claimed that LGBTQ equality is not a civil rights issue, since it can supposedly be changed, unlike skin color.

"We have tragically watched our nation cave in to homosexuality propaganda. More and more, people are falling for the lie that homosexuals are born that way, when we know that's a lie anyway. Homosexuals have successfully made inroads into Hollywood, television, our children's public schools, universities, our government, the president of the United States, and our churches. Homosexual marriage is growing in America. [A] reality which is currently being litigated in our nation's Supreme Court as a potential federal civil rights, when we know this is not a civil rights issue. See, the color of my skin is an immutable, unchangeable characteristic. I can't change from black to white, but I did live a homosexual life for 14 years, and I've been out 17, so we know change is possible through the power of Jesus Christ."

Boynes depicted LGBTQ people as not only false, but ominous. "If same sex marriage becomes the law of the land, no one can even imagine or even predict the ramifications that this decision will have," she warned the audience. At the 41:30 mark, she insisted that advances in LGBTQ rights would lead to the shuttering of "ex-gay" ministries and "homosexual activists" indoctrinating children.

"Those who seek help to leave the life of homosexuality may soon discover that there is no longer any help out there. Homosexual activists and their homosexual attorneys are pushing to ban any type of ministries, such as Janet Boynes Ministries, which help people exit homosexuality. Their goal is to indoctrinate our kids. Their goal is to silence us. Their greatest fear is men and women like myself who have walked away from that life. Soon, it may become illegal to even have this kind of ministry. Who knows how much longer we will have to do what we are doing today, unless we act now."

As I listened to the press conference, I was struck by how stale and overused all of the arguments were. Every single argument -- God hates same-sex marriage, the majority is wrong for supporting same-sex marriage, the majority doesn't want same-sex marriage, gays can change to straight and thus don't need equal rights, think of the children! -- have been thrown around for years by anti-LGBTQ activists and refuted by equality supporters. Sadly, this is all the Religious Right knows how to do. The Religious Right clings so tenaciously to its outmoded vision of marriage and family that it cannot adapt to a changing world.

The gig is up, fundies. You're losing the culture war. Society is growing more enlightened, rejecting the homophobia, misogyny, science denialism, and dominionism that defines your worldview. As the world leaves you behind, your desperation becomes evidence in your relentless activism and overheated rhetoric.