Remember the loss, because we’re going to need it for the tomorrows to come and for those that need our protection the most: the next generation. Remember, we are Orlando; now, tomorrow, and always.
civil rights
A Complicated History by Elise M. Edwards
In my previous post, I wrote about my participation in planning a memorial event for the lynching of a man named Jesse Washington in Waco, Texas one hundred years ago. It prompted me to reflect on the challenge of faithfully… Read More ›
To Work and to Pray in Remembrance by Elise M. Edwards
One hundred years ago, Jesse Washington was lynched downtown in Waco, Texas. Next week, on March 20th, some of my colleagues and I are organizing a memorial service to remember this horrific event and pray for a better future for… Read More ›
A Theology of Indifference – What Have We Become? by Karen Hernandez
Say his name – Bashar al-Assad. From my research and understanding, as President, Assad is most responsible for Syria’s devastation. Yes, there are many other players, but, Assad holds a special place. Responsible for making sure the first shots were… Read More ›
#LoveWins by John Erickson
On Saturday, September 19, 2015 I married two of my best friends Andrea and Cindy in holy matrimony in Appleton, WI.
Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right by John Erickson
Kim Davis does need a lot of things but saying of suggesting that she needs a haircut, a makeover, or even to lose weight, makes you and those that continue to repeat it no better than she is; to state such statements doesn’t purport the ideal that #LoveWins, which took over social media just mere months ago, but changes the whole narrative to symbolize that sexism and hate are more important than love and equality.
Spouses for Life by Marie Cartier
This essay is perhaps the last in an occasional series I have written since the New Year, which can be read here and here. Gay marriage as of June 26th is now legal in the United States. What has changed—and… Read More ›
Caitlyn Jenner is a Friend of Mine
To speak ones truth is oftentimes a difficult and nearly impossible act. However, to live one’s truth, on a day-to-day basis, is an aspect of life that has become so foreign to individuals who have become so comfortable in their own skin that I fear the activist and social justice roots that we all claim to hail from have fallen at the wayside and been replaced by complacency and reductionism.
Violent and Non-Violent Protest by Sara Frykenberg
For those of you who have read my blogs before, you may have gathered that my approach to justice-making is not entirely non-violent. Researching and writing about the movement away from abusive community paradigms in my dissertation, I argue that… Read More ›
Spouse for Life & the Fight for Gay Marriage by Marie Cartier
Today, I am exploring the following question set: What is the shifting conception of religious liberty as religious groups carve out exemptions in complying with laws on LGBTQI rights, particularly as they relate to marriage? As gay marriage becomes “normative”… Read More ›
Role Play: In Search of the Authenticity of My Being by Elise Edwards
“I stood in the authenticity of my being: Black, preacher, Baptist, woman. For the same God who made me a preacher made me a woman, and I am convinced that God was not confused on either account.” – Reverend Dr…. Read More ›
Moral Accountability, Prophetic Responsibility, and Selma by Kelly Brown Douglas
I have been struck in this new year by the reactions to the recently released movie Selma. There has been a palpable recognition by those of who have seen it, that “the more things change, the more they stay the… Read More ›
What is the F-word Anyway? by Kile Jones
Social justice. Progressive politics. Improper media depictions. What exactly is the F-word (feminism) about? I have always understood feminism as a project that casts a very wide net, the goals and values of which can keep quite a few people… Read More ›
Justice for Mike Brown? by amina wadud
I was born the year the Supreme Court of the United States of America began to hear Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka; a case that ought to be known to all as a matter of US history. Here… Read More ›
Voting Day by Sara Frykenberg
Can we think of the voting place as an altar where we hole-punch a prayer to the honored dead? This past Sunday, Barbara Adinger wrote a beautiful blog entitled “November, a Silent Month?” While welcoming the November darkness and a… Read More ›
Fannie Lou Hamer’s Commitment to Life by Elise M. Edwards
A few weeks ago, I came across a postcard that I was given at a conference last year. I got the postcard (advertisement?) because it has a picture of Fannie Lou Hamer on it, and in my home and office,… Read More ›
LGBTQI Muslims and International Movements for Empowerment by amina wadud
I am currently in Cape Town South Africa at a Queer Muslim International Retreat. Next month I will go to Jakarta Indonesia for a workshop focused on the same agenda: reform in Muslim communities towards the lives of dignity for… Read More ›
Contraception, Christianity & Law by Stuart Dean
Notwithstanding the widespread belief that contraception is not consistent with the principles of Christianity, there is no basis for it. On the contrary, contraception was closely associated with early Christianity. Matthew 19:12 is the only passage quoting Christ that is… Read More ›
Women at the Secular Student Alliance Conference by Kile Jones
A few days ago I had the pleasure of giving a talk at the Secular Student Alliance Conference on how non-believing persons can work with Churches. Amidst the chaos of conferences–managing your time, deciding which talks to attend, and making… Read More ›
In Memoriam – God Hates Fags
Phelps didn’t just live a life filled with hate but he also embodied the very reasoning why so many communities cannot cross that proverbial bridge to work together to see past their differences and maybe never will. In the case of Phelps, sticks and stones may break our bones, but words really do hurt.
Segregation by Carol P. Christ
As I think about the incarceration of young black men for relatively minor drug crimes, and the murders of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis, I cannot help but compare the astonishing progress that Americans have made in overcoming prejudice against… Read More ›
Sex, Religion, and Discourse: An Interview with Judith Butler
One of my academic joys is interviewing people I find particularly interesting (see most of my posts here). This time I am honored to present a recent interview I did with Judith Butler. Many wonder how gender performance relates to… Read More ›
5 Interesting Facts about Religion and Modern Society by Kile Jones
Following up on an older (and my most popular) post, 5 Interesting Facts about Women and Religion, I am going to draw your attention to 5 other telling facts. 1: Women clergy are blowing up in the Anglican Church! In U.K. Church… Read More ›
Yes, You’re a Homophobe by John Erickson
Jesus loved sinners and Jesus would rather be dancing with me in West Hollywood on a Friday night than lugging through a swamp luring ducks into a trap with a duck caller made by a clan who think that my sexual actions are similar to that of an individual having sex with an animal.
ETHICS OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND CARE SENSITIVE ETHICS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GAY MARRIAGE DEBATE by Carol P. Christ
Is care the beginning of ethics? Has traditional western ethical thinking been wrong to insist that in order to reason ethically, we must divorce reason from emotion, passion, and feeling? In Ecofeminist Philosophy, Karen Warren criticizes traditional ethical thinking–advocating a… Read More ›
Matthew Shepard Is a Friend of Mine…by Marie Cartier
Matthew Shepard died October 12, 1998 – fifteen years ago. This month I have already attended three events memorializing his death. The first was a screening of the Emmy-award winning teleplay The Matthew Shepard Story (starring the amazing Stockard Channing as… Read More ›
Feeding the Dead by Deanne Quarrie
Most people really love this time of year and I share much of that. Living in South Central Texas we actually only have two seasons, with a perhaps two to three weeks in between what we laughingly call spring and… Read More ›
An Interview with Lyz Liddell from the Secular Student Alliance by Kile Jones
In this post I interview Lyz Liddell, Director of Campus Organizing at the Secular Student Alliance. I first got in contact with Lyz about the idea of building a Humanist Center at my school, Claremont Lincoln University. She was very… Read More ›
Interview an Atheist at Church Day by Kile Jones
As some of you may know, I run a project called “Interview an Atheist at Church Day.” This project aims at bettering understanding and furthering dialogue between atheists and Church-going religious persons. So far we have had over a dozen… Read More ›
5 Interesting Facts about Women and Religion by Kile Jones
Part of my research is focused on how the social sciences relate to “religion” and religious studies. More specifically, I spend time examining the sociology of religion. I look at stats, demographics, and polls. I look at rates of attendance,… Read More ›