Is the Fight for Gay Rights Over?

Bishop John Shelby Spong is revered by those affiliated with progressive Christianity and scorned by conservatives. For years he has been an outspoken advocate for the cause of women, gays and lesbians, and people of color. Candace Chellew-Hodge considers Bishop Spong’s recent declaration: “The battle is over. The victory has been won.” Recalling the inanity of slavery, Spong argues that equality of citizenship, regardless of sexual orientation, is overturning and overcoming a prejudice which has little, if any, biblical backing. While Chellew-Hodge admires Spong’s rather lengthy history of fighting for the cause of equal rights, she feels his declaration is premature; she considers the marriage laws which still dominate much of American society. Spong takes leaders of the Religious Right to task, arguing that Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Albert Mohler, and the late Jerry Falwell are essentially uninformed in their views. He writes: “Much biblical scholarship has been done to refute literal, fundamentalist readings of the six or seven passages that seem to condemn gays and lesbians. No matter what the religious right says, the Bible is far from clear in its condemnation of homosexuality in all its forms. All sexual acts condemned are those that use or abuse another or break covenant with another – committed gay and lesbian relationships are never condemned by the Bible.” Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has responded to Spong’s manifesto. Despite his argument, Chellew-Hodge reminds us of a sorted history of evils such as slavery, segregation, the ownership of women, and the aversion to interracial relationships. These practices were once thought to be biblically sanctioned. She and Spong argue that the fight for gay rights is simply another chapter in our history of unpacking what scripture truly means. Chellew-Hodge considers how society will at some point realize the similarities of various forms of prejudice. She writes: “Those who continue to cling to that belief [homosexuality as sin] are just as wed to their outdated ideas as Louisiana justice of the peace Keith Bardwell who recently refused to do his job and grant a marriage license to a mixed-race couple. One day, we’ll be just as horrified at all the JPs who have denied gays and lesbians marriage licenses as we are at the story coming from Louisiana.” Read the full article here.

Related Articles

Eating Together: Friendship and Homosexuality By Joel James Shuman From The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics

Prejudice By RUPERT BROWN and LORELLA LEPORE From The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology

Virtual Conference Report: Day Nine (29 Oct, 2009)

By Paula Bowles

Today marked the penultimate day of Wiley-Blackwell’s first Virtual Conference. As I am sure you will all agree, thus far, each day has contained many gems, and today has been no different. Eileen Joy’s (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) keynote lecture: ‘Reading Beowulf in the Ruins of Grozny: Pre/modern, Post/human, and the Question of Being‐Together’ looks at the aftermath of the Russian bombing of Chechnya through the lens of Beowulf.

The two final papers of the conference were provided by P. Grady Dixon (Mississippi State University) & Adam J Kalkstein (United States Military Academy) and Nicole Mathieu (CNRS, University of Paris). Their papers respectively entitled: ‘Climate–Suicide Relationships: A Research Problem in Need of Geographic Methods and Cross‐Disciplinary Perspectives’ and ‘Constructing an interdisciplinary concept of sustainable urban milieu’ have looked at indisciplinarity from a geographical and environmental perspective.

The final publishing workshop was ‘How to Survive the Review Process’ by Greg Maney (Hofstra University). Although, the conference is due to end tomorrow it is not too late to register and take advantage of the book discount and free journal access. Each of the papers and podcasts will remain on the website, and it is hoped that you will keep the comments coming in.

Virtual Conference Report: Day Eight (28 Oct, 2009)

By Paula Bowles

Day eight of the conference was once again marked by some excellent contributions. The first paper ‘Cultural Sociology and Other Disciplines: Interdisciplinarity in the Cultural Sciences’ by Diane Crane (University of Pennsylvania) suggests that for many scholars ‘disciplinary isolation is the norm.’ However, Crane proposes that by utilising what she describes as ‘free‐floating paradigms’ such barriers can be removed.

The second paper of the day by Christine Mallinson, (University of Maryland) entitled ‘Sociolinguistics and Sociology: Current Directions, Future Partnerships’ also takes sociology and interdisciplinarity as its main themes. Mallinson’s paper concludes with practical advice as to how best to achieve research partnerships.

Together with these exciting papers, Catherine Sanderson (Amherst College) offered advice in her publishing workshop: ‘The Joys and Sorrows of Writing an Undergraduate Textbook.’ There was also an opportunity to spend time in the Second Life cocktail bar with the Compass Team.

Virtual Conference Report: Day Seven (27 Oct, 2009)

By Paula Bowles

The seventh day of the conference has continued with the key themes of ‘breaking down boundaries’ and interdisciplinarity. Roy Baumeister (Florida State University) began the day with his keynote lecture entitled ‘Human Nature and Culture: What is the Human Mind Designed for?’ By utilising the concepts of evolutionary and cultural psychology, Buameister is able to explore the intrinsic significance culture holds for humanity.

Two other papers were also presented today. ‘Text as It Happens: Literary Geography’ by Sheila Hones (University of Tokyo) and Stefan Müller’s (University of Duisburg‐Essen) ‘Equal Representation of Time and Space: Arno Peters’ Universal History.’ These contributions have utilised a wide and diverse range of disciplines including history, cartography, geography and literature.

Finally, Devonya Havis’ publishing workshop entitled ‘Teaching with Compass’ offers some interesting ideas as to how best implement technology within the classroom.

NEWS: ‘Homophobic’ Scientologists found Guilty of Fraud

The controversial Church of Scientology has found itself once more under the media and legal spotlight. Two recent stories from the BBC have reported allegations of ‘homophobia’ by an ex-member, as well as a guilty verdict against Scientology, in the long running French trial. In the first report, Oscar winning director, Paul Haggis is alleged to have ‘severed his ties with the Church of Scientology’ as a reaction to what he describes as an organisation ‘where gay-bashing was tolerated’. Although, Tommy Davis, spokesman for Scientology, strenuously denies these allegations, it would seem that Haggis’ remains unconvinced and determined to end his 35 year connection to the church.

On top of this damaging news report, comes the result of the French trial, in which the Church of Scientology was found guilty of fraud. Although, the court stopped short of banning Scientology from France – viewing it as a money making commercial operation rather than a religion – it did hand down heavy fines and in one case a suspended sentence. Again, Davis has vigorously denied the allegations, indeed, suggesting that when the church took the appeal to the ‘court of human rights we’re confident we will win there.’

In spite of Mr Davis’ confident assertions, this has been a very difficult week for the Church of Scientology, one in which the ramifications have yet to be properly ascertained.

Secrecy and New Religious Movements: Concealment, Surveillance, and Privacy in a New Age of Information
By Hugh B. Urban
(Vol. 2, November 2007)
Religion Compass

From Exotics to Brainwashers: Portraying New Religions in Mass Media
By Sean McCloud,
(Vol. 1, August 2006)
Religion Compass

Virtual Conference Report: Day Six (26 Oct, 2009)

By Paula Bowles

Welcome to the second week of the Wiley-Blackwell Virtual Conference. The first day back has started with a keynote speech from Peter Ludlow (Northwestern University) entitled ‘Virtual Communities, Virtual Cultures, Virtual Governance.’ Conference delegates also had the opportunity to meet Peter at the Second Life Cocktail Bar.

There were two other papers on Monday’s session Adam Brown’s (Deakin University): ‘Beyond ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’: Breaking Down Binary Oppositions in Holocaust Representations of ‘Privileged’ Jews’ and ‘A Hybrid Model of Moral Panics: Synthesizing the Theory and Practice of Moral Panic Research’ presented by Brian V. Klocke (State University of New York, Plattsburgh) & Glenn Muschert (Miami University).

In addition Wiley-Blackwell’s Vanessa Lafaye held a publishing workshop entitled ‘The Secret to Online Publishing Success.’

As you can see, this week promises to be as exciting and innovative as the previous one. All of the papers and workshops from last week are still available to download from the conference site, and both the ‘battle of the bands’ and the opportunity to contribute a ‘winning comment’ remain.

NEWS: BNP Accused of Hijacking Christianity

After Nick Griffin’s recent appearance on the BBC Question Time programme – aired on Thursday 22 October 2009 – the media has been caught up in a frenzy of analysis. Much of this has focused upon the discussion as to whether or not the British National Party [BNP] should have ever been allowed to propagate their views on primetime television. Further analysis has focused on the content of the programme.

Arguably one of the most impassioned attacks upon Griffin and the BNP has come from Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, who has described the party’s views as ‘irredeemably evil.’ During the programme, Griffin insisted that ‘our country must remain fundamentally a British and Christian country’ and it is this type of comment that Lord Carey finds most distasteful. From the outset, Lord Carey has objected to the BNP’s appearance, and feels ‘chilled’ by the opportunity this has afforded to a ‘sqaulid racist’. As a response to the programme, Lord Carey has called for Christians to join forces and demonstrate that neither they nor Britain has anything in common with the image portrayed by the BNP.

Read More:

Aleksandr Dugin’s Neo-Eurasianism: The New Right à la Russe
By Anton Shekhovtsov
(Vol. 4, June 2009)
Religion Compass

Religious Environmentalism in the West. I: A Focus on Christianity
By Steve Douglas
(Vol. 4, June 2009)
Religion Compass

Virtual Conference Report: Day Five (23 Oct, 2009)

by paulabowles

The first week of the conference has come to an end, and the final day has included two exciting papers, as well as a publishing workshop. The first paper entitled ‘Full Disclosure of the “Raw Data” of Research on Humans: Citizens’ Rights, Product Manufacturer’s Obligations and the Quality of the Scientific Database’ was presented by Dennis Mazur (Oregon Health and Sciences University). In his lecture, Mazur highlights the difficult and contentious issues involved in human testing, particularly the tensions between participants and drug manufacturers.

The second paper also takes an interdisciplinary approach to medical matters. Eileen Smith‐Cavros (Nova Southeastern University) lecture entitled ‘Fertility and Inequality Across Borders: Assisted Reproductive Technology and Globalization’ looks at the emotive issue of assisted reproduction. By surveying existing literature, Smith Cavros is able to look in detail at some of the many issues which impact upon reproduction.

Together with these two papers, Duane Wegener’s (Purdue University) publishing workshop: ‘Top 10 mistakes New Scholars Make When Trying to Get Published’ marked the end of the first week. Enjoy the weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week.

NEWS: Sacred Space on Craigslist?

On Sunday October 25, 2009 Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Greenpoint, Brooklyn celebrated its 110th anniversary. As this special occasion approached, the church’s pastor, Reverend Griffin Thomas, found himself in a position that many other pastors experience–he is the leader of a church with a steadily declining congregation. More troubling for Pastor Thomas, regular parishioners did not utilize the church building outside of Sunday services. What once served as a bustling center for English-speaking Lutherans appeared “like a tomb.” In light of the congregation’s minimal use of its sacred space and its dwindling numbers, Pastor Thomas decided to take an innovative approach. He advertised portions of the church as a “unique space” for rent on the popular website Craigslist. Pastor Thomas expected to draw the attention artists interested in the church’s loft as a private room for creativity; instead, he received a response from a rock band looking for a practice room. Pastor Thomas obliged. Now Lutheran Church of the Messiah serves as a practice space for two bands and a theater group, a venue for performances of all types, and a market-place for locally grown foods. Not only do these events give publicity to the church but they also bring in forms of income as their “renters” donate portions of their proceeds. Remarkably, Pastor Thomas and his congregation believe their support of the arts and local “secular” culture have enhanced the sacred and holy quality to their church’s space. For more on Pastor Thomas and Lutheran Church of the Messiah, see the New York Times articles here.

Related articles:

Sound and American Religions
By Isaac A. Weiner , University of North Carolina
(Vol. 4, July 2009)
Religion Compass

Spatial Theory and the Study of Religion
By Kim Knott , University of Leeds
(Vol. 3, October 2008)
Religion Compass

NEWS: Prophetess of Health reexamined

Ellen G. White (1827-1915), co-founder of the Seventh-Day Adventist church, is the subject of a four-day conference concluding Sunday, October 25, 2009, in Portland, Maine. The conference is part of a larger Ellen White Project that will culminate in a book manuscript submitted to Oxford University Press. Sixty-five prominent scholars of American religion—authors of book chapters and respondents—have been in attendance at the conference.

The conference and larger book project both attest to the significant impact White has had on American religion—an impact that has been, until now, largely overlooked. Other than Ronald L. Numbers’s biography Prophetess of Health: A Study of Ellen G. White, White has received very little scholarly attention. Yet, as the project’s website explains, “White has been identified with Anne Hutchinson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mary Baker Eddy, and Aimee Semple McPherson as one of the most prominent women in American religious history.”

In a recent interview, conducted at the conference, Numbers explained some of the significant impacts Seventh-Day Adventism has had on American culture, ranging from breakfast habits (Kellogg, the inventor of the corn flakes and possibly peanut butter, was an Adventist) to the development of hospitals to a modern literalist interpretation of a seven-day creation period in the book of Genesis (predating the rise of biblical Fundamentalism). He also discusses Adventist political leanings and compares the growth of Seventh-Day Adventism to that of Mormonism (it is actually larger) and suggests why they have not received as much attention. For more see here and here.

Related Articles:

Touch and American Religions
By Candy Gunther Brown , Indiana University
(Vol. 4, May 2009)
Religion Compass

Creationism
By Arthur McCalla , Mount Saint Vincent University
(Vol. 2, August 2007)
Religion Compass

‘Fundamentalisms’ Compared

By Henry Munson , University of Maine
(Vol. 3, June 2008)
Religion Compass

Virtual Conference Report: Day Four (22 Oct, 2009)

by paulabowles

The conference today has taken on a distinctly environmental feel. First up was Mark Macklin’s (University of Wales, Aberystwyth) keynote address entitled ‘Floodplain Catastrophes and Climate Change: Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Riverine Societies.’ In his paper, Macklin observes that ‘[w]e are not the first society to face the threat of environmental catastrophe,’ although he stresses that the current threat has unique features.

Susan Morrison (Texas State University – San Marcos) has taken a highly interdisciplinary approach to her paper ‘Waste Studies ‐ A New Paradigm for Literary Analysis, Something is Rotten in the Denmark of Beowulf and Hamlet’. By combining the disciplines of literature and waste studies, Morrison offers a reminder ‘that the origins of the Anglophone literary canon are sedimented in waste’.

Tim Cooper (University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus) continued this theme of waste with his paper ‘Recycling Modernity: Towards an Environmental History of Waste.’ By taking as a starting point the belief that ‘waste was one of the characteristic products of modernity’ Cooper is able to consider why this subject is so fascinating to historians and other social scientists.

Before we head into the fifth day of the conference, just a quick reminder to visit the virtual book exhibit. As a delegate, you are invited to take 20% off the price of any Wiley Book.

Virtual Conference Report: Day Three (21 Oct, 2009)

by paulabowles

Today’s papers have focused once more on the key motifs of the conference, that of breaking down borders and indisciplinarity. Nancy Naples (University of Connecticut) uses her paper: ‘Borderlands Studies and Border Theory: Linking Activism and Scholarship for Social Justice’ to highlight just some of the difficulties faced when ‘negotiate[ing] different disciplinary frames, methods, and theoretical assumptions in order to move forward toward collaborative problem solving’.

The second paper today entitled ‘Theorizing Borders in a ‘Borderless World’: Globalization, Territory and Identity’ was presented by Alexander Diener (Pepperdine University) and Joshua Hagen (Marshall University). The authors question the assumption that world is becoming increasingly borderless, instead suggesting that state borders continue to ‘remain one of the most basic and visible features of the international system.’

Finally, Kivmars Bowling (Wiley-Blackwell) has presented a particularly relevant publishing workshop entitled ‘The Online Author’s Survival Guide’. The daily book prize was awarded to Maeve O’Donovan for her comment on David Crystal’s keynote lecture and the conference day ended in the Second Life cocktail bar.

Virtual Conference Report: Day Two (20 Oct, 2009)

by Paula Bowles

The second day of the conference has been filled with three more interesting and innovative papers. David Crystal’s (University of Bangor) keynote lecture entitled ‘Language Death: A Problem for All’ highlights the troubling statistics that ‘96% of the world’s languages are spoken by just 4% of the people’. Given the interdisciplinary nature, and the methodology of this virtual conference, Crystal’s paper draws attention to the use of language as a way to ‘break down barriers’.

The two other papers presented today relate to disability, albeit with very different approaches. The first was given by Wendy Turner (Augusta State University) and is entitled: ‘Human Rights, Royal Rights and the Mentally Disabled in Late Medieval England.’ In her paper Turner suggests that modern preconceptions of medieval disability are not generally supported by the empirical evidence. The second paper ‘The Status of the Learning Disabled in Philosophy of Mind and Disability Studies’ by Maeve M. O’Donovan (College of Notre Dame of Maryland), approaches the subject of learning disability through personal and academic experience and research.

As well, as the ongoing ‘battle of the bands’ competition – plenty of time still to vote! – today also saw the first ‘winning comment’ prize awarded to Rebecca Wheeler.

Virtual Conference Report: Day One (19 Oct, 2009)

by Paula Bowles

Welcome to the first day of the 2009 Compass Interdisciplinary Virtual Conference. Regenia Gagnier (University of Exeter) opened the conference by asking: ‘Why Interdisciplinarity?’ As part of her introductory remarks, Professor Gagnier discusses the definitions of Interdisciplinarity, as well as outlining some of the benefits of interdisciplinary research and praxis.

Roger Griffin’s (Oxford Brookes University) keynote paper: ‘The Rainbow Bridge’: Reflections on Interdisciplinarity in the Cybernetic Age’ highlights the opportunities offered by the novel concept of a virtual conference. By reflecting on his own research into fascism, Griffin recognises the need to make cross-disciplinary connections, or as he describes it academics operating ‘flexibly as both splitters and lumpers, according to the situation’.

Two other conference papers have been presented today. The first ‘Communicating about Communication – Multidisciplinary Approaches to Educating Educators about Language Variation’ by Anne H. Charity Hudley (The College of William and Mary) and Christine Mallinson (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and the second
‘Language and Communication in the Spanish Conquest of America’ by Daniel Wasserman Soler(University of Virginia).

Finally, Professor of Human Geography, Mike Bradshaw (University of Leicester) has contributed a Publishing Workshop entitled ‘Why Write a Review Paper? And how to do it!’. As well as all of these academic gems, conference delegates have also taken the opportunity to meet the speakers in Second Life and cast their votes in the ‘Battle of the Bands’.

NEWS: “Sex, Satanism and Sacrifice…”

A recent story in the Australian publication The Register touches on the highly emotive issues of sex, sacrifice, witchcraft and exorcism. It appears that this report is based on the anecdotal evidence – supplied by ‘radical Minister’ Danny Nalliah – of a Pastor supervising a school trip. During this excursion to Mount Ainslie, near Canberra, a large blood-splattered concrete block was discovered. The only explanation offered in the article, for this unusual phenomenon was one of sacrifice, leading Nalliah to conclude that witches had been holding covens in an attempt to influence government policy. It should be pointed out, that to-date; the police have not been asked to investigate.

While this narrative may sound fantastic, it has to be seen in context. In August this year, Danny Nalliah had claimed that the bushfires ravaging Australia were ‘God’s vengeance for abortion laws.’ Other claims of God’s retribution relate to gay marriage and contraception. Although many may dismiss these claims as pure hyperbole, the Australian Sex Party does not agree. Instead, they insist that fundamentalist religious groups should not be able to threaten constitutional rights, and are prepared to counter proposed demonstrations upon Mount Ainslie. As a spokesperson for the Sex Party adamantly insisted: ‘[i]f a God-fearing member of Parliament is threatened with ‘eternal damnation’ for voting in favour of gay marriage, this is clearly as much of a contempt as any other threat to an MP’

Secrecy and New Religious Movements: Concealment, Surveillance, and Privacy in a New Age of Information
By Hugh B. Urban
(Vol. 2, November 2007)
Religion Compass

Understanding Contemporary Millenarian Violence
By John Walliss
(Vol. 2, June 2007)
Religion Compass

Sacrifice
From A New Dictionary of Religions