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I’ve been following the same-sex marriage debate on the legal front since the days of Prop 8. In 2010, Judge Walker gave his damning ruling that “a gender restriction on marriage is nothing more than an artifact of a foregone notion that men and women fulfill different roles in civic life.” Such language struck at […]
Continue ReadingRenewed interest in Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (e.g., Indiana, Arkansas) has arisen because everyone knows the US Supreme Court will okay gay marriage for the country in a few months. Conservative religious people and entities want to be in a comfortable position when this uncomfortable reality hits — they want to still feel like this […]
Continue ReadingThe Presbyterian Church voted today to alter its stance on marriage: Marriage involves a unique commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman, to love and support each other for the rest of their lives. This is the kind of definition that attempts to blend the old with the new, kind of like […]
Continue ReadingThe president of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Sarah Kate Ellis, has argued that the new TLC show “My Husband’s Not Gay” should not air. She says This show is downright irresponsible. No one can change who they love, and, more importantly, no one should have to. A petition to end it before […]
Continue ReadingSomeone recently brought to my attention an atheist post about how “Jesus was not a queer ally,” how the writer “can’t take LGBT-affirming Christianity seriously” and “why queer spaces must remain secular.” The post covers a lot of important nuances. Looking briefly at my past writings about the intersection between Mormonism and queerness, the someone […]
Continue ReadingThe LDS gay community has had ideological ties with the evangelical gay community for many years. Both groups went through an “ex-gay” phase from the 1980s to the 2000s and now both groups are in a phase of “you can be gay, just don’t act on it” after the near simultaneous collapse of the Evergreen […]
Continue ReadingFrom Michael Otterson’s letter to Ordain Women: I suppose we do not know all the reasons why Christ did not ordain women as apostles, either in the New Testament or the Book of Mormon, or when the Church was restored in modern times. We only know that he did not, that his leaders today regard […]
Continue ReadingI’ve made this case before, in most detail in my 2011 Dialogue article “Mormon and Queer at the Crossroads,” that women’s roles in the Church and gay equality in the Church are intimately connected. This is not just a conceptual connection…historically, the Church has treated the two issues as though they are connected. In 1993, […]
Continue ReadingI thought I’d follow proxfm’s lead, and talk to some missionaries. My chat was about Ordain Women… Spencer: Hi Alan! How are you doing today? 🙂 Alan: Pretty good. Spencer: Glad to hear it! How can we help you? Alan: I’m just curious about the Ordain Women movement in Utah… Kedric: ok. We honestly know […]
Continue ReadingYesterday, the Church sent a letter to Ordain Women, telling them that the movement “detracts from the helpful discussions that Church leaders have held as they seek to listen to the thoughts, concerns and hopes of women inside and outside of Church leadership,” because Ordain Women has made their position “non-negotiable.” This is a silly […]
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