Religion

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.

Biola University professor Erik Thoennes equated having an LGBTQ identity with being a racist at a school-sponsored panel in September of 2012. Audio of his comments were only recently released. Because LGBTQ students are at risk for expulsion at Biola, it has taken months for them to organize. However, with the help of openly-queer alum Jos Charles, a petition was finally started.

The story of Nicholas Coppola, an openly gay Catholic man who was asked to leave his Long Island parish after marrying his boyfriend, continues to develop and spread to wider media sources.

This week's religion news summary includes Bishop Timothy Dolan's statement about LGBT inclusion--along with stories of LGBT Catholics who have experienced exclusion. A rainbow house across from the Westboro Baptist Church caused a media stir, and the SCOTUS cases drew the support of faith leaders from across the country.

Evangelical pastor Ryan Bell was fired from his job last week for taking a pro-LGBT stance.