The president of Baylor University appears to have burned a final bridge with a Texas-based foundation that once was a critical funder of its Baptist identity. President Linda Livingstone has rescinded a $643,000 grant awarded to the Diana Garland School…
‘We’ve seen an explosion in state-level anti-LGBTQ laws’
The June Supreme Court ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors is a signal that more anti-LGBTQ legislation is on the way, said Orion Rummler, reporter for The 19th, an independent nonprofit news organization. “We’ve seen an explosion…
Politicized pastor seeks library limits to ‘protect children’
Bill Bolin, the Michigan pastor who politicized his pulpit and was profiled by author Tim Alberta, now leads a local library board and is intent on “changing the sexual tone and nature of some library policies and practices.” Bolin was…
Supreme Court sides with parents who object to LGBTQ-themed books
Parents have the right to keep their children from any instruction on LGBTQ themes in public schools, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 27. The 6-3 decision found the constitutional right to free exercise of religion was violated by a…
Courage and dignity needed in fight for equality, Raushenbush says
The church must demonstrate courage, demand dignity and fight for equality as attacks against religious freedom and LGBTQ people spread throughout the nation, Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush said. “The root of the word ‘courage’ is ‘cor,’ or heart,” he…
‘Here we are’
Twenty-one years ago this month, I attended my first ever Pride Festival. I was living in Chicago at the time, and many of my new friends in our master of music program at Northwestern were going and invited me along….
Supreme Court ruling on transgender care called partisan and flawed
The U.S. Supreme Court abandoned science, fairness and common sense in its June 18 decision upholding a state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, civil rights and legal experts said. The 6-3 ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti found Tennessee’s…
The girl at the edge of belonging
She was 15, and she believed. She hadn’t been raised in church exactly. But somewhere along the way, she found her way in — drawn by something tender and true, something that stirred in the songs and the stories, the…
Partisan gap widens on support for same-sex marriage
As LGBTQ Americans and their allies begin Pride month celebrations, there’s further evidence of a disconnect with conservative voters, no doubt driven by the evangelical base of the Republican Party. While overall support for same-sex marriage remains steady, support is…
Yes, Baptist polity makes room for queer Christians
On May 6, my husband and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. Something we both like to do is give one another a gift and then go out to eat. For a while I have been thinking about what to…
Fuller Seminary affirms ‘historic theological understanding of marriage’
Trustees of Fuller Theological Seminary voted this month to reaffirm the school’s “historic theological understanding of marriage,” while acknowledging “faithful Christians” may hold other views. “After several years of consultation, feedback and dialogue, the board of trustees reconfirmed the institution’s…
‘Rattle in Seattle’ adds fuel to the evangelical anti-gay fire
Ultra-conservative evangelicals continued their quest to provoke anger from Seattle’s LGBTQ community May 27 by holding another rally outside City Hall. They came to protest comments made by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell two days before when the city shut down…