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Republican Jews Hone Message in Tampa
posted on August 29, 2012At The Jewish Daily Forward, Nathan Guttman reports that Mitt Romney’s Jewish supporters hope that the Republican National Convention can help the GOP presidential candidate attract more Jewish voters. “For Jewish Republicans, it is an opportunity to drive home a couple of messages they believe can help Romney win over a bigger slice of the Jewish electorate,” writes Guttman. “There are also a series of Jewish-related events, from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik delivering the opening night invocation, to behind the scenes appearance by top donor Sheldon Adelson.”
Read at The Jewish Daily Forward
France’s Gay Marriage Bill to Be Introduced in October
posted on August 29, 2012The Huffington Post reports that, over objections from the Catholic Church, France is on course to legalize gay marriage. “Not only do numerous polls indicate that French citizens support gay marriage, but President Francois Hollande declared his support for both marriage equality and adoption rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) couples during his campaign,” reports The Huffington Post.
Because God Loves The GOP More Than He Loves Louisiana, Implies Florida Divine
posted on August 29, 2012At The American Conservative, Rod Dreher writes, “A distinguished Florida theologian tells CBN that her congregation prayed Hurricane Isaac away from Tampa and the GOP Convention.” Dreher, who lives in Louisiana, retorts, “I think it’s appropriate to thank God for sparing one from natural disaster, but in this case, Tampa’s gain is New Orleans’s potential loss. I would think a pastor ought to be more sensitive to that.”
Read at The American Conservative
Atheist Group Removes Billboards Targeting Presidential Candidates’ Religious Faith
posted on August 29, 2012At CNN, Dan Gilgoff and Dan Merica report that an atheist group has removed billboards attacking religion at the sites of both the Republican and Democratic conventions in Tampa and Charlotte after what the group calls a “large volume of threats.” The billboards featured an image of Jesus Christ on toast, calling him a “Sadistic God; Useless Savior, 30,000+ Versions of ‘Truth,’ Promotes Hate, Calls it ‘Love.’”
Dutch Candidate Echoes Akin Rape Pregnancy Comment
posted on August 29, 2012The Associated Press reports, “A conservative candidate for parliament in Dutch national elections has agreed with remarks by U.S. congressman Todd Akin, who claimed that women have a natural defense mechanism that usually prevents them from becoming pregnant in cases of ‘legitimate rape.'” The head of a small Christian fundamentalist party, Kees van der Staaij opposes abortion of any kind, and said in cases when women are raped, “the chance of pregnancy is very small.”
RNC 2012: Ralph Reed Interview
posted on August 28, 2012At the Republican National Convention, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly’s Kim Lawton interviews Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. Reed says that Paul Ryan’s addition to the GOP presidential ticket will draw in many new evangelical supporters to Mitt Romney’s bid for the White House. “This is a former Catholic altar boy who takes his faith very seriously, attends Mass weekly [and], defended his budgets based on Catholic social teaching,” says Reed.
Read at Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
Romney’s High-wire Act on Religion at the Republican Convention
posted on August 28, 2012At The Washington Post, Robert P. Jones writes that on Thursday, when Mitt Romney delivers his speech at the Republican National Convention, “[t]he question … is not whether but how he will talk about religion.” One major word to look out for, suggests Jones, is “Mormon.” “Romney … can’t delve too deeply into the specifics of Mormon theology and practice, but neither can he sit back on his heels and refuse to address it,” writes Jones.
Gay Republicans Say They Are Optimistic Despite Rebuffs from Party
posted on August 28, 2012Gay Republicans still believe that they have a place in the modern GOP, reports Mitchell Landsberg for The Los Angeles Times. Landsberg writes that “Republican candidates fire up crowds with promises to protect the institution of marriage by keeping it exclusively heterosexual.” Despite such rhetoric, Casey Pick, of the Log Cabin Republicans, says “The Republican National Committee under Reince Priebushas made it clear that we have a place at the table.”
Nine Reasons Why Democrats Shouldn’t Invite Nuns on the Bus to the Convention
posted on August 28, 2012At Religion Dispatches, Sarah Posner argues that Democrats shouldn’t take the advice of longtime Democratic strategist James Carville and invite the “Nuns on The Bus” to their party convention in Charlotte. Posner acknowledges that “the nuns do admirable work helping the poor and the needy, and their bus campaign has helped raise awareness that Paul Ryan’s claim that his budget is in line with Catholic social teaching is–to say the least–a stretch.” Yet Posner asserts, “Democrats shouldn’t play the Republicans’ game of obtaining religious imprimaturs on legislation and policy.”
Episcopal Bishop Champions Gay Marriage
posted on August 28, 2012At Publishers Weekly, G Jeffrey MacDonald interviews the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. Robinson says that the key to dismantling religious opposition to gay marriage is “[k]nowing someone who is gay or lesbian. As more people have come out, more people know a gay or lesbian person. They know the things that have been said about that person simply aren’t true. That’s a real learning moment.”