Thank you! I've been hearing about the New Apostolic Reformation and other fringe extremist Protestant religious figured and movements on ex-Evangelical podcasts for some time now. I am glad this threat is receiving wider attention.
Unfortunately, the mainstream media are far too deferential to Christian religions. The same can be said of law enforcement, prosecutors and politicians. There's an undue respect for "religious freedom" as if the First Amendment's free exercise provisions trumped all other moral and legal considerations including the rest of the Bill of Rights, child welfare laws and statutes prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices. If Evangelical "purity culture" and certain child rearing practices were being practiced within a cult instead of a Protestant church, sheriffs and district attorneys would be spearheading a crackdown.
I'm not motivated just by my sense of fairness and my commitment to the separation of church and state. I am also a gay man who came out in the early 80s, when a sea change was underway in American society's attitudes towards gay people. Even 20 years earlier, it would have been almost impossible for me to pursue a career in the law as an out gay man. We were second class citizens. Throughout history, religious actors are the ones who have fanned the flames of homophobia. We beat them back - finally - to secure same-sex marriage. Not surprisingly, the Protestant and Catholic far right are bent on stripping away our hard-fought gains and pushing us back in the closet. The US Supreme Court has been far too receptive to Christians' demands that respecting gay rights in the public sphere - bakeries and web design companies come to mind - deprives them of so-called religious freedom. Those Christians' notion of freedom is a zero-sum game in that every time they win, we lose.
Thank you! I've been hearing about the New Apostolic Reformation and other fringe extremist Protestant religious figured and movements on ex-Evangelical podcasts for some time now. I am glad this threat is receiving wider attention.
Unfortunately, the mainstream media are far too deferential to Christian religions. The same can be said of law enforcement, prosecutors and politicians. There's an undue respect for "religious freedom" as if the First Amendment's free exercise provisions trumped all other moral and legal considerations including the rest of the Bill of Rights, child welfare laws and statutes prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices. If Evangelical "purity culture" and certain child rearing practices were being practiced within a cult instead of a Protestant church, sheriffs and district attorneys would be spearheading a crackdown.
I'm not motivated just by my sense of fairness and my commitment to the separation of church and state. I am also a gay man who came out in the early 80s, when a sea change was underway in American society's attitudes towards gay people. Even 20 years earlier, it would have been almost impossible for me to pursue a career in the law as an out gay man. We were second class citizens. Throughout history, religious actors are the ones who have fanned the flames of homophobia. We beat them back - finally - to secure same-sex marriage. Not surprisingly, the Protestant and Catholic far right are bent on stripping away our hard-fought gains and pushing us back in the closet. The US Supreme Court has been far too receptive to Christians' demands that respecting gay rights in the public sphere - bakeries and web design companies come to mind - deprives them of so-called religious freedom. Those Christians' notion of freedom is a zero-sum game in that every time they win, we lose.