Elizabeth Dias looks at the courageous decision of Episcopal bishop Mariann Budde to speak truth to power in a sermon confronting Trump to his face, and sees two versions of US Christianity confronting each other:

William Lindsey :toad:

"In a flash, the war over spiritual authority in America burst into a rare public showdown.

The Canterbury Pulpit confronted the bully pulpit on the greatest possible stage."

#Trump #BishopBudde #mercy
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nytimes.com

(www.nytimes.com)

William Lindsey :toad:

Jennifer Rubin notes that a number of other US and world religious leaders have also spoken out about what Trump and the Republicans are doing, and concludes,

"Trump’s actions are not just lawless; they defy our deepest religious values."

Trump’s Actions Are Not Just Lawless; They Defy Our Deepest Values

Leaders of all faiths publicly implore a man who hawks Bibles to show some human decency in the name of God

(contrarian.substack.com)

And John Pavolvitz calls on other religious leaders to defend Bishop Budde and speak out.

Don't Let Bishop Budde Stand Alone: A Challenge to Every Minister in America.

To the Ministers in America,

(johnpavlovitz.substack.com)

#Trump #BishopBudde #mercy #morality
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William Lindsey :toad:

Jessica Grose notes the compelling reasons many younger people are turning their backs on organized religion — she points, in particular, to the horror show of sexual abuse of minors and its coverup in the Catholic church.

But she laments the effects of this rejection of religious institutions for the following reasons:

#religion #morality #community #welcome #violence #cruelty
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nytimes.com

(www.nytimes.com)

William Lindsey :toad:

"As a secular, mildly observant Jew, I don’t feel strongly about whether other Americans attend religious services or believe in God. But I do care about the pervasive — and honestly, warranted — cynicism that young people have about religious institutions, because I think it is contributing to a more disconnected, careless and cruel society."

#religion #morality #community #welcome #violence #cruelty
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William Lindsey :toad:

"Religious institutions are certainly not the only potential avenue for meaning, purpose and value in society. But we can’t underestimate the power of their reach, even in an increasingly secular world. When they have epic moral failures, it affects all of us, because it makes everyone more suspicious of potentially welcoming communities."

#religion #morality #community #welcome #violence #cruelty
/5

William Lindsey :toad:

I agree with Jessica Grose. Religious bodies can exercise great cruelty and do horrific injustice. I know this personally as someone who has worked for church institutions and experienced deplorable discrimination in them.

Religious people have much to learn from non-religious and anti-religious people including atheists. One can be a profoundly moral person and have no religious faith at all.

#religion #morality #community #welcome #violence #cruelty
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William Lindsey :toad:

But the arrogance and violence and aggression of many people speaking out on social media these days against those who have religious convictions also tells us that atheism and anti-religious commitments do not necessarily yield more humane, tolerant, kind, non-violent behavior among those who have these commitments.

I find the militant dogmatism of some anti-religious people just as repulsive as I find the dogmatism of some religious people.

#religion #community #violence #cruelty
/7

William Lindsey :toad:

Whether you're religious or anti-religious, if you want to convince me that you have something good to offer me and others, if you approach me with violence, aggression, hostility, and supercilious arrogance, I will tune you out.

Because the world is full of those things and those of us repulsed by them seek alternatives to them from anyone promising us good solutions, not echoes of them.

#religion #morality #community #welcome #violence #cruelty
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Lilly Hunter

@wdlindsy Humanity will go under if we don't rid ourselves of the mind virus called "religion" very soon. Religion is divisive, causes wars, and is one of the pillars of patriarchy, enforcing heterosexual male supremacy in societies.

John_Loader

@wdlindsy Christianity in the US may not be Christian through rich evangelists and support for cruel policies

Leefeller Guy

@wdlindsy If I recall, it was religious institutions which, burned alleged witches at the stake and sponsored the inquisition, and then we have Iran and the Taliban.

Leefeller Guy

@wdlindsy Uh, what about the obvious Misogynism in the Catholic church, it rivels the Taliban.

William Lindsey :toad:

@Leefellerguy Who do you imagine is overlooking the misogyny in the Catholic church? Jessica Grose? I wouldn't think so.

Me? Have you read anything at all I've ever written for years now that overlooks the toxic misogyny in the Catholic church?

William Lindsey :toad:

@Leefellerguy Perhaps you'd care to read the very next comment in the thread, which states,

"Religious bodies can exercise great cruelty and do horrific injustice. I know this personally as someone who has worked for church institutions and experienced deplorable discrimination in them."

William Lindsey :toad:

@John_Loader Christianity in the US is a big, broad, diverse thing. The valuable research done by PRRI over quite a few years now shows how divergent the views of Black and white Christians are, as well as how the views of Latino Catholics diverge from those of white Catholics.

William Lindsey :toad:

@LaChasseuse Sorry, but I'm going to continue to celebrate what Bishop Mariann Budde has just said and done.

You can certainly choose to do otherwise.

EngagedPureLand

@wdlindsy so true. Let’s work together, religious and non-religious to treat each other with respect and kindness, and push back at the forces of hate and division in our world.

Edward Champion

@wdlindsy I don't place a lot of stock in Jennifer Rubin's odious neoliberalism, but one interesting side effect of the present efforts to turn America into a theocratic state will be the schisms within Christianity. Red state pastors (and some GOP lawmakers) have reached a point where they can no longer look the other way at the blatant assaults on human rights and basic decency. Whether they hold the humanist line depends an awful lot on how much they will need to save their own skin.

Paxil

@wdlindsy Some state governments weaponize religion, mainly #Protestant #Christian, to control women's bodies, teach faith as reality, and saturate communities with evangelism in an effort to indoctrinate residents into their own personal beliefs behind a shroud of perceived morality.

William Lindsey :toad:

@EngagedPureLand It just seems totally insane not to form solidarity across unimportant dividing lines, as we all try to push back against an unprecedented threat from the political and religious right today. And I agree, as we do that without amplifying the hate and division that are everywhere in our world today….