Religious Right Watch

Revisiting the claim that young evangelicals are more progressive

Leading religious observers claim that evangelicalism is shrinking and the next generation of evangelicals is becoming less religious and more secular, but (as we social scientists like to say) these are empirical questions, and the evidence shows that neither of these claims is true. The number of evangelicals remains high, and their percentage among practicing Christians in America is, if anything, rising. Young evangelicals are not turning to more liberal positions on controversial social issues; in some cases they are becoming more conservative than their parents. Perhaps young evangelicals have become more socially aware and have a longer, broader list of social concerns, but they remain socially conservative.

via www.firstthings.com

Also from the article:

We found [that] Younger evangelicals were, in fact, sometimes more conservative than their elders. More of the young believed that abortion of a child conceived as the result of rape was almost always or always wrong (61 percent versus 50 percent of older respondents), and more believed that stem cell research was almost always or always wrong (61 percent versus 51 percent). Younger evangelicals were no less conservative than their elders on marijuana use,...homosexual marriage,...government spending on health care,... and the war in Iraq.

A very muscular brand of Christianity | The Guardian

After 2,000 years, the Messiah is getting a makeover.
.....
The macho Jesus movement has been bolstered by books like No More Mr Christian Nice Guy and The Church Impotent – the Feminisation of Christianity. But it's artist Stephen Sawyer, whose paintings of the Son of God as a tattooed biker and boxer have captured the imagination of Christian men searching for a more manly role model.

As Kentucky-based Sawyer, 58, points out: "I scarcely think Jesus could have overturned the tables of the money-lenders and driven them from the temple if he was a wimp. The model I use for my paintings is a surfer guy who's built like a brick shithouse."
.....
According to recent polls, the ratio of women to men worshippers in this country is 65% to 35% – and too much girliness is getting the blame for the gender imbalance.

Hence the rising number of conferences and sermons aimed at men that present a more muscular version of Jesus, along with the continuing success of Christian lad's mag Sorted.

via www.guardian.co.uk

A new "Jesus is a hawt!" aesthetic? Arguably, not so new insofar as in the 1400s and 1500s, Jesus was sometimes depicted, in part as an evocation of Christ as the New Adam, as a prototypical man, "The Man," as it were. 

Ecce Homo,* Man of Sorrows (c. 1525) by Flemish artist Maerten van Heemskerck is one of several extant examples (this particular one is now at Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina) of religious imagery in which Christ's virility and, perhaps, more symbolically his resurrection from death, is indicated, albeit in a literally shrouded manner.

Interestingly, some far earlier depictions of Christ depicted him in a more hermaphroditic manner, which is assumed by many art historians to be an indication of the theology of Christ's salvific actions' sufficiency for--and all his actions relevance to--all of humanity The best example of this is the mosaic above the Arian Baptistery in Ravenna, Italy.

Some of the earliest known depictions of Christ are in the mode of Hermes, who was also symbolized (before Christ was) as a "good shepard," as sage or philosopher in the Greek manner, and as Apollo the Sun God. Examples of all three types of those depictions exist on early Christian funerary art.

*Latin, "Behold, [the] Man."

Islam, Religious Violence, "Brainwashing," and Countersubversion

The hearing on Islamic radicalization staged by Rep. Peter King is an appalling example of the media being sucker-punched.

Where in the recent news coverage were interviews with social scientists who actually study how religious ideology can intersect with violence and terrorism? Let's start with some basics.

People do not become religious fundamentalists because they have been "brainwashed," coerced, or are mentally unstable. They become involved in social movement mobilization and recruitment built around themes of religious obligation.

Most religious fundamentalists are not violent.
 
There is no direct causal relationship linking religious fundamentalism and violence.

via www.talk2action.org

Armed Militas, The Antichrist, and Obama

  That armed militias in the midwest were preparing for an actual battle with agents of the Antichrist is not a surprise. Fear mongering has become epidemic on the political right. Why now? Since the millennium comes at the end of the Tribulations, its approach is constantly expected, and not necessarily tied to any specific date. So warnings that Obama is either the Antichrist or in service to the Satanic plan to build a New World Order are taken seriously by some fundamentalist Christians.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

The latest from Chip Berlet. Also see www.publiceye.org.

Sobering realities: "Student Life 101," "ex-gay therapy," and persistent homophobia on campuses

A senior at Iowa State University, Jacob Wilson, 24, is president of his fraternity and will co-chair the 2012 Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Ally College Conference.

Wilson comes from a religious, conservative family in Salem, Mo. When he was 19, encouraged by family, friends and his church, he entered an ex-gay reparative therapy program in Memphis, Tenn.

"I was really depressed and desperate for something," he explained. "I had just gotten out of my first significant same-sex relationship."

"It was very challenging," Wilson continued. "The objective is to wear you down and build you back up. I was told that gay people cannot have successful relationships or be successful in life."

The experience did more harm than good. "It caused a lot of stress - mental, emotional, family stress, relationship stress," he reported. Today, Wilson speaks about the harm reparative therapy programs cause at conferences across the nation.

Given that emotional background, it’s disappointing that he didn’t find Iowa State’s "safe" environment quite so welcoming. "I thought it was going to be a place where everything would be easy," Wilson said. "But it’s not that way. It’s not a magical place where you just all of a sudden don’t have to worry about being gay."

His freshman year was difficult. "Walking on campus, I’d hear students throwing out homophobic remarks such as ’Oh, look at that fag over there.’ or ’He’s so gay.’ I’d ask myself, ’If they are talking like that about someone else, how would they feel about me if they knew?’"

Wilson attributes the appointment two years ago of a fulltime coordinator of LGBT student services, the first at an Iowa state college, for improving the atmosphere. "He’s able to bring faculty, staff, administrators and students to the table to discuss issues affecting LGBT students and do something about them so we can be successful in college life," he explained.

Because of the economy, state colleges throughout the nation are facing budget cutbacks. Iowa State is no different. "People sometimes question why there’s a need for the coordinator," he continued. "I think the answer’s simple: this position saves lives."

via www.edgeboston.com

Roman Catholics strategizing to reverse gay marriage

Roman Catholic leaders in Iowa are urging voters to back a constitutional convention, saying the rare gathering would be the quickest way to overturn the court ruling that legalized gay marriage in the state, the Associated Press reports.

The Iowa Catholic Conference, which represents the state's four Roman Catholic dioceses, issued the statement Monday in favor of a yes vote on a Nov. 2 ballot question that would require a constitutional convention.

Gay marriage has been legal in Iowa since 2009, when the state Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision that found a same-sex marriage ban approved by lawmakers violated the Iowa Constitution. Since then, about 1,800 same-sex weddings have been held in Iowa, most by couples who live in other states.

Tom Chapman, executive director of the Catholic Conference, said the group was part of a larger effort to encourage Iowa's roughly 500,000 Catholics to vote their conscience on a number of issues.

via weblogs.baltimoresun.com

Vote your conscience because the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church says so.

Paul Raushenbush: How the Quran Burning Threat Showed What Is Good About America

As Terry Jones and his Quran-burning stunt grow smaller in the rear-view mirror of history, it is time to take the opportunity to acknowledge the good thing that we as a nation accomplished in reacting to Jones' threat. In fact, if not for the damage that he has done by endangering American people and interests abroad, the event might be viewed as a positive indicator of the health of our country. The episode marks an important and rare moment of national agreement on two fundamental American principles.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

A Leading Progressive's Strategic Thoughts About The Right

Longtime social justice activist Urvashi Vaid has an exceptionally thoughtful essay at her blog titled "Ideas Needed to Defeat the Right."  One needn't agree with every point in order to find it an excellent starting off point for people seeking to approach the subject of what to do.  It is long, nuanced and well worth reading and discussing among those who take the long view.

via www.talk2action.org

If Gays Can Serve Openly In The Military, God Will Cause Us To Lose War (Or Experience Earthquakes)

You might remember Rabbi Yehuda Levin from his statement earlier this year that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the "equivalent of the spiritual rape of our military" and would cause untold natural disasters because "homosexuality is a spiritual cause of earthquakes."

Well, today he is back with another warning that letting gays serve openly will cause the US to lose wars because God will "repel [HIS] Divine Grace from our military's struggles, and beyond":

via www.rightwingwatch.org

Why Religious Right Watch isn't merely Christian Right Watch. Religio-conservatives can organize to shape government policy regardless of which religion--or their interpretation of it anyway--encourages them to do so.

This "gays cause earthquakes" argument has been used as a tool of scapegoating for centuries. It was raised in Israel in 2008, too. See also this article.

The Dominionist Agenda Driving Gingrich's New Organization

I've been writing a lot about the steadily increasing influence that 7 Mountains/Dominion theology has been having on the Religious Right recently, though mostly as it has relates to Janet Porter.

But it is important to note that Porter is not alone in embracing this theology and partnering with activists who espouse it.  For instance, Lou Engle played a central role in last year's Family Research Council "prayercast" against health care reform and has developed ties to many other Religious Right leaders as well. Others, like Cindy Jacobs of Generals International, have likewise been making similar connections and several of these groups have also become members of the right-wing supergroup known as the Freedom Federation. 

via www.rightwingwatch.org