Here’s a long CNN article on the growing Mormon influence in the Beltway. Pretty much an all-purpose article on the intersection of Mormon and politics from the time of Joseph Smith to now. Heres a section that seems interesting to discuss: Mormon experts say the churchs support for a relatively…
Author: Alan
Obama supports Gay Marriage
While many are wondering whether Obama has given Romney a “gift” by alienating some of the Democratic base (namely, conservative religious people of color), this opinion article at the Huffington Post is pretty convincing to me that the whole thing was a grand chessmaster move by the Obama campaign. They’ve…
Gay Mormonism in the news a lot recently
The gay/Mormon intersection has been in the news a lot recently. There’s the gay BYU students and LDS parents of gay kids who’ve made “It Gets Better” videos. There’s talk of bishops apologizing and standing up for gay members in their wards. Yesterday, a group of gay Mormons met with…
Mormonism: a “Native American” faith?
With Mitt Romney’s nomination closer and closer, there’s a lot of talk about whether Mormonism has made it…whether it’s succeeded, been accepted by American society… I was watching a Morning Joe episode that featured Matthew Bowman, author of a new book The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith,…
Mormonism 101: FAQ
The LDS Newsroom’s new FAQ has a somewhat defensive tone. This is probably due to scandals as of late for the Church, an annoyance that certain issues won’t go away. The Newsroom has created paragraphs of text perhaps in hopes to roundly cut off future scandals at the pass, but…
9th Circuit overturns Prop 8 — LDS response?
In 1980, the Church released a pamphlet against the Equal Rights Amendment. It included a fear that the amendment would encourage a “blurring” of gender roles as well as forcing “states…to legally recognize and protect [same-sex] marriages” because “if the law must be as undiscriminating concerning sex as it is…
“The Rescue”
Many of you have probably already come across this Reuters special report about Mormonism’s membership troubles in this internet age, as reported by outgoing church historian Marlin Jensen. Apparently, President Monson’s signature campaign is called “the Rescue”: referring to rescuing the church’s membership from “rapidly declining,” as some reports have…
Exodus ejects NARTH’s reparative therapy books from their bookstore
A breakup between NARTH and Exodus International has been years in the making. But before I get to it, I think it’s interesting how it’s coming up at the same time that actress Cynthia Nixon is being lambasted by gay rights activists for saying she’s gay by “choice” (and rejecting…
Would Romney dare choose a Female VP?
I assume Romney’s gonna win the GOP nomination. Currently, some of the other candidates are playing populist cards to try to paint Romney as a “vulture capitalist,” and the rest of the GOP is folding in on itself, wondering whatever happened to the party that supported laissez-faire capitalism. Meanwhile, evangelicals…
“Religious Exemption” in Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Law
I’ve been thinking about how a couple leaders of the LDS Church have vocalized how they wouldn’t mind the 2009 nondiscrimination laws in Salt Lake City (in housing and employment, on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity) be expanded across the state of Utah. Specifically, what they’re interested…