RELIGIOUS TRADITIONALISTS RESIST MARRIAGE EQUALITY, INCLUSIVE CURRICULA & CULTURE; GLOBAL LGBT RECAP

[Heddi]

http://religiondispatches.org/religious-traditionalists-resist-marriage-equality-inclusive-curricula-culture-global-lgbt-recap/

The report examines two American constituencies that backed Donald Trump’s election and have cultivated relationships with Vladimir Putin’s government: the religious right and white nationalist right. Michel writes:

For white nationalists, in their blinkered understanding of recent developments in Moscow, Putin presents something of an ur-leader: a head of state embodying an idealized view of masculinity, undistracted by legal or cultural niceties in pursuit of his ultimate end-goals. Rather than remaining within the understood boundaries of post-Cold War politics, Putin has, to America’s white nationalists, reclaimed the primacy of a white, Christian population within a multi-ethnic federation: a model white nationalists envision as a possibility under Trump. The Religious Right, meanwhile, stands enthralled with Putin’s willingness to bolster the church, with the Russian Orthodox Church maintaining a clear, superior role both within the state and over other non-Christian religions.

Since he returned to the presidency in 2012, Putin has made a concerted effort to establish his country as a center for religious, especially Christian, conservatives throughout the world, most notably for those who oppose any legal or public support for same-sex relationships. This shift has taken the form of legislation that prioritizes the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church, that rolls back abortion rights, and that sidelines attempts within the LGBT community to obtain any kind of societal acceptance. Even Moscow’s ban on Americans adopting Russian children managed to gain support within the U.S.’s far-right, with anti-equality Christian activists praising Putin’s move as one that would prevent children from living with same-sex parents.
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As if to make Michel’s point, the same day his report was posted, globe-trotting anti-gay activist Scott Lively posted a virtual love letter to Russia, in which he praises “the dramatic reversal of Russian culture since Ronald Reagan facilitated a Christian revival in what is now the Russian Federation and various independent nations in Eastern Europe.”

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Algeria: Novelist facing blasphemy charges in part over gay character

Human Rights Watch has called on the Algerian government to drop its criminal blasphemy investigation against novelist Anouar Rahmani. Judicial police arrested him last month, saying that his novel insults Islam. The penal code provides for fines and prison terms of three to five years for “offending the Prophet” and “denigrating the dogma or precepts of Islam.”

Rahmani said the policemen asked him questions such as, “Do you pray?” “Why did you insult God?” “Why did you write such a novel?” They told him that the novel’s mocking tone insulted Islam and that its sexual vocabulary contravened good morals. …

Rahmani said he was the target of threats and slander campaigns on the internet and in the Algerian media for defending the LGBT community, criticizing the use of religion to restrict rights, and defending religious minorities on his blog, Journal of an Atypical Algerian. On June 2, 2016, the international nongovernmental group Frontline Defenders denounced the accusations of blasphemy and apostasy against Rahmani on the social media pages of students in his university, as well as in an Algerian daily journal.
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UK: Openly gay priest rejected for bishop position in Wales

Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest and dean of St. Albans Cathedral, was rejected for the fourth time for an appointment to become a bishop. From Christian Today:

Neither the Church in Wales nor the Church of England are opposed to clergy being in civil partnerships. The Church of England requests that clergy in civil partnerships vow to remain sexually chaste, but the Church in Wales has no such restriction.

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Taiwan: Religious conservatives rally against marriage equality lawsuit

In advance of a scheduled March 24 judicial hearing in a marriage-equality lawsuit, some religious groups lobbied outside the Judicial Yuan urging judges not to be influenced by pro-marriage-equality politicians, including President Tsai Ing-wen. From the Taipei Times:

Religious organizations rallied outside the Judicial Yuan on Thursday, protesting against same-sex marriage and delivering a petition calling on the Council of Grand Justices to not be influenced by political considerations.

The rally was organized by the Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection of the Family and drew representatives from Buddhist, Taoist, Christian and Lamaist groups.

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Peru: Religious conservatives protest inclusive sex education curriculum

Conservative Catholic and evangelical groups have mobilized protests against the country’s new curriculum, which they label “gender ideology.” But the Ministry of Education has defended the curriculum’s approach to gender equality and say they will stick with it.
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