Mormon Critic John Dehlin Is Excommunicated
In The Salt Lake Tribune, Peggy Fletcher Stack writes, “Mormon critic John Dehlin no longer is a member of the Utah-based faith he has known all of his life—he got word this week he has been excommunicated—but the podcaster still considers himself a Latter-day Saint.” Dehlin attributes the expulsion, prompted by a letter from a local church leader, to his refusal to censor sentiments of religious doubt, advocacy for civil same-sex marriage, and support for women’s ordination publicly expressed in his “Mormon Stories” podcast. “Although his stated positions on those subjects are not consistent with the church’s teachings,” said LDS Church headquarters in a statement on Tuesday, “they were not cited in the local leader’s letter.”