Religion

In 2012 then-Malawian President Joyce Banda suspended her nation’s laws that criminalized homosexual acts. Last week Malawi’s Catholic bishops issued a joint pastoral letter which denounces the government for failing to imprison gay citizens. From the letter: We agree with those who have faulted the Government for putting a moratorium on laws governing homosexual acts. This means that those guilty …

“One of the most popular politicians right now is a socialist. And who is his biggest following? The young people of America, from the colleges. Maybe you understand a little bit what it felt like to live when Hitler was reigning and the church had to sit by and keep watching it and watching until millions, tens of millions — …

“Dale is from Provo. I met him just a few minutes ago. I want to tell you why I have hope. Dale introduced himself to me. And he didn’t tell me this, his father did. Dale has been fasting without anybody knowing it every Tuesday for the last three weeks for the right outcome in this election. This is the …

On Friday the NFL warned that Atlanta will never get a Super Bowl if Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signs the anti-LGBT “license to discriminate” bill that has reached his desk. Yesterday HRC head Chad Griffin spoke at his group’s Los Angeles gala where he called on the assembled Hollywood movers and shakers to boycott the state if the bill becomes …

From the Charlotte News & Observer: N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore said Saturday that he hopes to call a special legislative session within a week to repeal parts of a controversial Charlotte nondiscrimination ordinance. The Charlotte City Council early this month voted to expand protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, including a provision that will allow transgender people …

BOOM. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: If Georgia chooses to turn the “religious liberty” bill into law, be prepared: Atlanta may not get a Super Bowl. That was the suggestion from the NFL on Friday when the league released a statement in response to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s question about whether the league had any position on Georgia House Bill 757. The …

Peter Montgomery reports at Right Wing Watch: In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network this week, right-wing evangelist Franklin Graham declared that Christians have a duty to vote even if their options do not include a candidate with a strong biblical worldview: “And I’m not going to tell people who to vote for, I’m not going to do that …

Paying somebody else to pray that you win the lottery seems about as effective as praying yourself. From Seattle’s ABC affiliate: A Seattle man accused of deceiving people with online Christian websites has agreed to pay consumers $7.8 million. The Washington State Attorney General says the Christian Prayer Center website, where you had to pay to receive prayers, was one …

From the Associated Press: Georgia’s business community and other opponents of a bill protecting those who object to same-sex marriage called Thursday for Gov. Nathan Deal to veto it, likely starting weeks of intense lobbying on the Republican. Some religious and political officials hailed the bill’s passage on Wednesday, thanking GOP leaders of the General Assembly for increasing “religious liberty” …

Via Raw Story: An atheist group has organized a fundraising campaign in order to mock the $101 million “Ark Encounter” theme park due to open in Kentucky this July. According to columnist and author Dan Arel, the Tri-State Freethinkers are seeking to raise $2,000 in order to erect billboards calling the facility “Genocide and Incest Park.” “The park celebrates a …

From the petition: We request the Obama administration to remove the U.S. ambassador in the Dominican Republic, James W. Brewster for primarily promoting in his official duties an LGBT agenda inconsistent with the Christian cultural values and tradition of the Dominican Republic. Since his arrival in November 2013, he has supported the inauguration of an LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Amb. …

Christian groups have won their battle against Australia’s anti-bullying “Safe Schools” program. Via the Guardian:  The Turnbull government has made dramatic changes to its Safe Schools anti-bullying program that have been described by the scheme’s opponents as “gutting” its content. The changes sharply reduce the lesson content, restrict it to secondary schools, shift the program to a government website, remove …

From the setup to the Family Research Council’s prayer of the day: President Obama, now a lame duck in an Election Year has just named his choice for Supreme Court Justice to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat: Merrick Garland, a Chicago born, Harvard educated liberal, currently serving as Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. …

Colorado has become the second state in two days to advance a ban on ex-gay torture. One Colorado reacts via press release: “So-called ‘conversion therapy’ includes a range of dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or suppressing a person’s gender identity and is based on the false claim that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender …

Via the Associated Press: The Vermont Senate has voted overwhelmingly to advance a bill banning the use of what’s called “conversion therapy,” which is most often directed at young gay and lesbian people in a bid to make them heterosexual. The bill makes it unprofessional conduct — subject to sanction by a state regulatory board — for a medical or …

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Georgia Legislature over the course of a few hours Wednesday unveiled changes to a controversial “religious liberty” bill and gave it final passage, setting off a collision course with corporate leaders and gay rights advocates over charges that it would legalize discrimination in Georgia. House Bill 757 now goes to Gov. Nathan Deal for his …

Last night Samantha Bee totally educated her audience about Ted Cruz, his batshit father, and his buddies David Barton and Pastor Kevin “Kill The Gays” Swanson. Watch this. Raw Story recaps: Samantha Bee examined Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) faith on Monday’s episode of Full Frontal, saying that it was significant that it was allies or his relatives claiming to receive …

The pastor who called for executing homosexuals shortly before interviewing Ted Cruz is back with more Christian Love™. Brian Tashman reports at Right Wing Watch: Swanson, who has spent years calling for a boycott of Girl Scouts cookies and accusing the organization of promoting communism and turning girls into lesbians, said that Girl Scouts leaders have violated Jesus’ teaching that …

JMG reader Kent directs us to the below clips in which street preachers use a portable sound system to scream abuse at the patrons of the popular South Beach gay nightclub Score. Most of the patrons attempted to ignore the screaming, but some left the ticket line to get in the preachers’ faces. A gigantic “all-nude gentleman’s club” is right …

Late yesterday afternoon the Missouri Senate advanced GOP Sen. Bob Onder’s anti-LGBT bill to the state House. The Human Rights Campaign reacts: Similar to so-called “First Amendment Defense Act” legislation introduced in other states, this extreme resolution would lead to a ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would enshrine discrimination against LGBT people and their families into the state …