Category Archives: Society

Black man playing with a magnifying glass

Believing and Doing: The President’s Religion

Asked to comment on the role of faith in contemporary politics at his April 28, 2005, news conference, President Bush responded with three salient statements, enumerated here in order of their delivery: 1) “I view religion as a personal matter”; 2) “I think a person

Wedding rings on dictionary

Discrimination Is Immoral. Enough Said.

I’m hearing both gay and straight people say that the long string of losses we’ve faced at the polls around marriage equality are really our own fault; our community pushed too hard and too fast, they argue. The prominent theme being generated is that we

Wedding rings on dictionary

After Doing Everything Right for Marriage Equality

The anti-marriage-equality juggernaut moves on successfully every time it’s put to the people. These religious and political extremists know how to use an apparently democratic process because they’ve borrowed the business lobby’s issue-distorting techniques to win referenda. Meanwhile, pro-equality activists work hard to fight a

Polling station

Out of Xanadu

Right-wing Christians, these days, seem to live in a cozy little Xanadu all their own. And sometimes I really envy them. When I came out as a lesbian, I was kicked out of its cozy confines, once and for all. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender

Polling station

Religion and Politics

For those of you who were a little confused as to whether to come to this session or go down to something else, “prophetic voices” is something I have on my outline. This topic would take at least eight or nine hours to cover, and

Polling station

A Holy War?

Canada is in the middle of what some people would call a “holy war.” People are not being murdered, but souls are at stake. The battle over same-sex marriage is growing more heated every day, and believers on both sides of the issue claim to

Polling station

God and Politics: Why or Why Not?

Religion and politics are thought of as big no no’s. They are two emotionally charged topics. When I attended a corporate diversity training workshop a few years ago, the facilitator stressed that religion and politics are two areas of discussion to be avoided in the

Hands over Bible on wooden table

GodAssault: Morality as the Ultimate Game

Because certain trees are sprouting in the Middle East, the world will soon end. Because the European Union has grown to its current size, fiery death and plagues of locusts are about to descend on the planet. Because Israel established a homeland, non-believers will, in

Wedding rings on dictionary

The Love That Proudly Speaks Its Name

Lloyd Thornhill and his partner Bill Peacock were married last year in Canada and were involved in the court case for equal marriage in Canada. Below is a presentation they made to the government’s Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights back on April 1,