As hard as some of us try, we LGBT people just can’t seem to get away from church.
Apart from a crummy opening line, The Washington Post did a decent roundup of instances where religion dominated headlines in 2014. It’s not too surprising to this cantankerous atheist blogger that some of the more egregious and oppressive decisions, especially in North America, involved Christianity.
A number of the headlines involved LGBT people or discussion around queer issues in relation to religion.
One of the more infuriating instances was the media’s fawning over the Catholic Church not really doing a whole lot over LGBT people. “In an unusually public debate, 200 or so bishops talked of acknowledging the ‘gifts and qualities’ of gay Catholics but later backed down and failed to pass a measure on welcoming them ‘with respect and delicacy,’” the Post notes.
The publication also focuses on how the US has more than doubled the number of states that now allow same-sex marriage.
It also notes that virulently homophobic Pope John Paul II was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis, so that probably gives him magical powers to be an asshole to LGBT people from beyond the grave.
One story the Post missed was that of a US appeals court upholding the case against international homophobe Scott Lively, who stands accused of crimes against humanity for influencing anti-gay legislation in Uganda. The case will proceed.
On a more positive note, The Washington Post also recognized the contributions of The Satanic Temple to spiritual pluralism and religious freedom, not to mention their championing gay rights and fighting against homophobes, among other progressive politics.
No matter what your creed, have a gay holiday and a very secular New Year!
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