Welcome to the first LGBT Religion News Summary of 2013! GLAAD’s Religion, Faith & Values program works to elevate LGBT-affirming voices of faith in mainstream, regional, and community media. To find out more, visit www.glaad.org/faith. For additional religion and faith updates, be sure to subscribe via our online registration form. We welcome suggestions at faith@glaad.org.
2012 Recap: 10 Pro-LGBT Faith Voices and 5 LGBT Religion Advances
People of faith led marriage equality efforts in Illinois and Rhode Island over the holidays. The Roman Catholic hierarchy continued its harsh opposition, chasing the faithful from the church. In the Netherlands, people are actually getting “de-baptized” from the Roman Catholic Church. And some wonder why evangelicals got so quiet over marriage equality.
What’s Cardinal George really enCOURAGEing? Illinois media should ask.
While the Roman Catholic Church in England shut down a mass for LGBT people, the Church of England has allowed partnered gay and lesbian clergy, as long as they are celibate. Openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson is now retired, and the Rev. Cameron Partridge seems to be a rising transgender star in the Episcopal world. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum was recognized by Keshet for her advocacy, inspiring other LGBT leaders to continue in rabbinical school.
In Court: LGBT People of Uganda vs. Scott Lively
Virulent anti-LGBT activist, Scott Lively, had his day in court, facing off against the LGBT people of Uganda, who has been persecuting. A viral video from the Philippines features a wedding in an MCC Church, even as MCC is profiled as a church where LGBT people have been welcomed for over 40 years. And if you are looking for something to do, you can join GLAAD at the NYC production of BARE on Wednesday, January 9. Ross Murray, Director of Religion, Faith & Values, will be hosting a TalkOUT about youth, the Roman Catholic Church, and LGBT Equality.
2012 Wrap Up
- A new birth: Faith and equality for LGBT youth, families and the nation
- Washington Post, December 28, 2012
- Keeping the faith: 2012 in gay rights victories
- Washington Post, December 31, 2012
- A Queer New Year
- Religion Dispatches, January 2, 2013
Atheist/Humanist
- My take: 'Atheist' isn’t a dirty word, congresswoman
- CNN, January 8, 2013
Baptist
- Bishop Simeon Hall, Bahamas Church Leader, Says Clergy Who Attack Gays May Be 'Closet Cases'
- Huffington Post, December 31, 2013
Catholic
- Editorial: Notre Dame's bold LGBT step deserves applause
- National Catholic Reporter, December 20, 2012
- Catholic Bishop Compares UK Marriage-Equality Advocates To Nazis
- Queerty, December 24, 2012
- Dutch Catholics “de-baptize” to protest Pope Benedict comments against gay marriage
- Reuters, December 27, 2012
- Cardinal George issues letter urging Catholics to oppose gay marriage bill
- Chicago Tribune, January 1, 2013
- British Archbishop Puts Kibosh On Gay Mass In London
- Towleroad, January 2, 2013
- The Catholic Church’s new gay insult
- Salon, January 2, 2013
- Illinois Catholic cardinal fights gay marriage tide
- USA Today, January 3, 2013
- Activists mobilize around White House’s Catholic ‘hate group’ petition
- Religion News Service, January 7, 2013
- The 10 Things I Wish the Pope Could Have Observed on My Family's Trip to Disneyland
- Huffington Post, January 7, 2013
- GLAAD's Ross Murray, Missi Pyle and More Set for BARE's TalkOUT Series, 1/9-31
- Off-Broadway World, January 7, 2013
- Vatican Newspaper Compares Gay Marriage To Communism
- Queerty, January 7, 2013
- Fired Transgender Catholic School Teacher Branded “Worse Than Gay” Files Suit
- Queerty, January 8, 2013
- Progressive Catholic Group Ordaining Transgender Priest
- Queerty, January 9, 2013
Christian
- Maryland Trolley Co. Ends Marriage Tours To Protest The Gays, 'Bigotry'
- Towleroad, December 26, 2012
- Scarier Than Westboro Baptist: Confronting Quiet Anti-Gay Rhetoric at Church
- Huffington Post, December 28, 2012
- What Would Jesus Do About A Gay Teammate? A Christian Response to Torii Hunter’s Comments
- Deadspin, January 2, 2013
- Am I trying to justify my homosexual sins?
- JohnShore.com, January 3, 2013
- Gay-condemning Christians and Their House of Mirrors
- JohnShore.com, January 7, 2013
Episcopal
- Bishop Gene Robinson Prepares for Retirement
- Towelroad, December 30, 2012
- Cameron Partridge, Transgender Episcopal Priest And University Chaplain, On Crossing Boundaries
- Huffington Post, January 4, 2013
- Washington National Cathedral to wed same-sex couples
- CNN, January 9, 2013
Evangelical
- Kate Kane, Anonymous Supporter Of Evangelical Gays, Plans To Come Out
- Towleroad, December 22, 2012
- Bishop Simeon Hall, Bahamas Church Leader, Says Clergy Who Attack Gays May Be 'Closet Cases'
- Huffington Post, December 31, 2012
- Have Evangelicals stepped out of the marriage battle?
- January 2, 2013
- Regal and Real: Mary J. Blige
- Los Angeles Confidential, January 8, 2013
International
- Church of England to Allow Gay Bishops, Sort Of
- Religion Dispatches, January 4, 2013
- Scott Lively Gets His Day in Court
- Washington Post, January 4, 2013
- French Muslims join opposition to same-sex marriage
- NBC, January 7, 2013
- French President Tells Catholic Schools To Take Vow Of Silence On Gay-Marriage Debate
- Queerty, January 7, 2013
- Scott Lively Defends Anti-Gay Uganda Work in Federal Court
- Religion Dispatches, January 8, 2013
Jewish
- New Organization For LGBT Jews and their families offers support
- Baltimore Jewish Times, December 12, 2012
- Queer Clergy in Action: Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum
- Keshet, December 26, 2012
- Will Orthodox Throw JONAH Overboard?
- The New York Jewish Week, December 26, 2012
- Steven Goldstein, Head of NJ's Prominent LGBT Rights Group 'Garden State Equality', to Step Down
- Towleroad, January 3, 2013
- Out In Lubavitch: Growing up and coming out in the Chabad Lubavitch community of Crown Heights
- Gotta Give ‘Em Hope, January 7, 2013
- Build on Gay Marriage Victories
- Jewish Daily Forward, January 8, 2013
Lutheran
- ELCA pastor testifies before Illinois senate committee on marriage equality
- ReconcilingWorks, January 4, 2013
- RIC Sunday!
- ReconcilingWorks, January 8, 2013
Marriage Equality
- Members of the LGBT Great Falls Community React to Yesterday’s Montana Supreme Court Decision
- Fox5 Great Falls, Montana, December 18, 2012
- Gay Marriage: Why Government Can't Endorse Any Theology
- Opposing Views, December 27, 2012
- Local religious leaders sign letter supporting gay marriage law
- State Journal-Register, January 1, 2012
- Counter-protesters outnumber Westboro church as gay couples begin to marry in Maryland
- Gay Star News, January 3, 2013
- The Natural Law Scam
- Religion News Service, January 3, 2013
- Marriage equality: Nothing to fear in Illinois
- Windy City Media Group, January 8, 2013
Metropolitan Community Church
- Metropolitan Community Church of Washington Offers Services in Spanish
- NBC4 Washington, DC, December 7, 2012
- Queery: Imani Woody Macko
- Washington Blade, December 20, 2012
- Gay-centered church founded in 1960s debates role given recent progress for gay rights
- Washington Post, December 18, 2012
- WATCH: Viral Wedding Video Presents Love, Filipino Style
- Queerty, January 3, 2013
- Video: Do we need a gay church?
- HuffPost Live, January 8, 2013
Mormon
- Salt Lake Trib’s Utahns of the Year: Mormons Building Bridges
- Box Turtle Bulletin, December 26, 2012
- Years of tension yield to thaw between gays, Mormons
- Religion News Service, January 3, 2013
Politics
- Accommodating religious freedom
- Washington Post, January 7, 2013
Unitarian Universalist
- Minister and activist to officiate first marriage since 2003
- Salon, December 27, 2012
- A real, legal, wedding, at last
- The Wenatchee World, December 29, 2012
- Our work as a Welcoming Congregation doesn’t stop at our doors
- Standing on the Side of Love, January 2, 2013
- Church embraces forum for youth struggling with sexual orientation
- Blue Ridge Now, January 5, 2013
United Church of Christ
- UCC congregations to rally for marriage equality in 2013
- United Church of Christ News, January 8, 2013