Within moments of the announcement that, by a 61% margin, the Boy Scouts of America would be dropping its ban on gay scouts, denominations and faith groups offered their reactions.
Religion and Faith
News of LGBT and allied people of faith, and stories that show the ways in which people of faith interact with the LGBT community
Latest Update on Religion and Faith
Thursday, May 23, 2013
8:08pm
8:08pm
04/24/13
On April 11, Nicholas Coppola delivered over 18,000 signatures gathered through Faithful America to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, asking that Nicholas be once again allowed to volunteer with his parish, after getting married to his husband. On April 23, Bishop William Murphy mailed them back, accompanied by one sentence: "FROM YOUR FAITHFUL ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP."
04/23/13
Amy Grant, the singer who first made a name for herself as a Christian singer, then crossed over into the pop genre, sat down with her fist ever interview with an LGBT publication, Between the Lines. The singer talked about her forthcoming album, "How Mercy Looks From Here," as well as her awareness of her gay fan base.
04/23/13
GLAAD is a core supporter of the Drop the I-Word campaign, which delivered a petition with more than 70,000 signatures to The New York Times calling on the newspaper to stop describing people as "illegal.”
04/20/13
Yesterday, the Boy Scouts of America proposed maintaining its ban on adult gay leaders, while dropping the ban on gay scouts. Several faith leaders quickly expressed their disappointment in the proposed policy change. All faith leaders continued to call for a fully inclusive scouting program that included qualified gay leaders, even while some expressed joy that gay scouts would no longer be removed.
04/17/13
A plan for comprehensive immigration reform legislation was introduced by senators today, and it does not include same-sex couples. GLAAD urges a final bill that protects all immigrants, including LGBT people.
04/17/13
Carla Hale was fired from her job as a physical education teacher at Bishop Watterson High School, a private Catholic school in Columbus, Ohio for being gay. Students have rallied around Carla. Jackson Garrity, a senior at Bishop Watterson organized a Change.org petition, asking to have Carla reinstated as a teacher at the school.
04/17/13
Dannika Nash, a junior at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota, started blogging two months ago. On April 7th, after attending a Macklemore concert, she published her third post, “An Open Letter to the Church from My Generation,” and got 2,377 more comments than she expected. The letter has since gained national attention and has been reposted to dozens of websites.
04/16/13
For the past few years, the anti-LGBT organization Focus on the Family has been trying to rebrand the event once known as the Day Of Truth so that it seems much less dogmatic than it was when it was controlled by the "ex-gay" organization Exodus International. This cosmetic change is reflected in the new name that Focus on the Family gave its event: Day of Dialogue.
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05/02/13
Tom Nelson and Linda Karle-Nelson, lifelong Catholics, are the parents of gay adult children who are in committed relationships.
04/29/13
Legislation proposed in Washington state this week would allow businesses to deny service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population and others, based on religious differences.
04/29/13
Anti-gay California Pastor Greg Laurie, who in the past, has stated that "homosexuality is not in God’s order" and a sin, will lead this year's National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC.
04/26/13
The story of a Long Island Catholic ousted from his parish jobs for marrying his male partner generated headlines, outrage and an 18,000-signature petition to Bishop William Murphy to have Nicholas Coppola reinstated.
04/26/13
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a message for the Boy Scouts of America's plan to allow gay Scouts: We're fine with it.
04/22/13
Hundreds of calls, some of them threatening, have been received at a Roman Catholic high school in Columbus where a
04/22/13
The ceremony, entitled “Suhaag: A Hindu Same-Sex Mock Wedding,” was one of the first student events to take place in
04/19/13
The National Center for Lesbian Rights' executive director calls on Congress to keep the momentum going on immigration reform in the wake of the tragedy in Boston.