Religious Universities Got a License to Discriminate?
More than 25 religious colleges in the US┬áreceived permission to┬ádiscriminate┬áin housing, staffing, and enrollment┬áagainst students who are transgender, gender non-conforming, gay, or women who are pregnant, have had an abortion, or had sex outside of marriage. This is due to little known exemptions in Title IX under the guise of┬áÔÇ£religious libertyÔÇØ.
And┬áfemale clergy face a “stained-glass ceiling”┬áin leadership roles, according to a new Duke University study which finds the number of congregations led by women has essentially remained the same since 1998 (11 percent
Major Secular Group Seeks New Leader
SPI coalition member Recovering from Religion is searching for a new Executive Director, someone with a proven record of fundraising. Send your resume to darrel@recoveringfromreligion.org. The organization helps people who by leaving religion have been abandoned by their families and communities, or who have been abused.
White House Celebrates Religious Pluralism
This week┬áthe US White House hosted “Celebrating and Protecting America’s Tradition of Religious Pluralism,” which highlighted changes in America’s religious demographics as a start to better religious freedom and inclusion.
Here is a preview of some quick facts Covered regarding religious pluralism in the U.S.:
- The future religious landscape will have fewer white Protestants and Catholics, more Hispanic Protestants and Catholics, plus more religiously unaffiliated Americans.
- Inter-religious families and multi-religious identities are on the rise.
- Compared to just a few years ago, fewer Americans today say the U.S. is a Christian nation.
- Religious and ethnic diversity is increasing, but most Americans’ close friendships remain with people who share their own faith.
Now We Have Our Own Bad Apple Problem
Why let one bad apple spoil the barrel? Writing in Foreign Policy, Rula Jebreal┬áwarns against letting one candidate set the tone of the debate on Islam┬á– or Islamophobia. Jebreal notes that few Americans regularly interact with Muslims and subsequently impressions are often shaped entirely by the media and the political discourse.
To help curb Islamophobia, Muslim leaders are encouraging President Obama and former president George W. Bush to visit a mosque, something the sitting president has yet to do but his predecessor did, just six days after the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
In that Number
The Islamic State has made more than $500 million by selling oil to the Syrian government, with some barrels going as far as Turkey.
The Washington Post reports on the ten most liberal and conservative American cities, as ranked by campaign donors.