Religion: Last News

Tapestry of Love” (literally — in a notebook) after beginning her writing career at an Amish newspaper.The second novel in her “New Directions” romance series chronicles the romance between two traditional Amish youngsters in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and has sold close to a million copies, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.But Byler has gotten blowback from some community elders who claim the success of her tome is fueling sexual abuse, she told the outlet.“They are very tame books,” Byler said, dismissing comparisons to the sadomasochistic “Fifty Shades of Grey” novels, which shocked and titillated readers just over a decade ago.“There’s nothing unclean in them. There is some touching, my publisher said it would have to be discreet, and a little bit of a kiss,” she said, adding there was no sex in the book.Byler began newspaper reporting when her husband went bankrupt and later transitioned to publishing books for children before writing about the amorous side of Amish culture, where premarital sex — not to mention divorce, cars, electricity and cellphones — are verboten.Her books have increasingly become popular in the conservative US Bible Belt and other Christian communities, and Byler said she has earned a lifetime of money for her and her husband.However, she claims she is being unfairly blamed for recent publicized cases of sex abuse in the Amish community.“In the last 10 years or so, romance novels have become wrong in the community,” Byler told the Daily Mail.

In a statement released by the Church of Scientology on Thursday, the organization called the suit “ludicrous” and claimed that the allegations were “pure lunacy.”“This lawsuit is ludicrous and the allegations pure lunacy,” the statement read. “Remini spreads hate and falsehoods for a decade and is now offended when people exercise their right to free speech, exposing her for what she is—an anti-free speech bigot.”The message continued: “Remini’s complaints are like an anti-Semite complaining about the Jewish Anti-Defamation League for exposing the anti-Semite’s bigotry and propaganda.”“Remini’s obsession with attacking her former religion, by spreading falsehoods and hate speech, has generated threats of and actual violence against the Church and its members as evidenced by multiple criminal convictions of individuals poisoned by Remini’s propaganda.”In the statement, the Church also claimed that Remini had “antisocial traits” and called her a “horrible person,” adding that the star had “profited handsomely from her fabrications.” “If Remini can no longer get a job, she has nobody to blame but herself,” they wrote.

generated lots of media coverage by making appearances before North Carolina school boards to rant about the supposedly “perverted” books that are available in school libraries. He’s so pleased with himself that he’s taking his bigotry-promoting show on the road.Amanchukwu is a pastor at Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is overseen by virulently anti-LGBTQ pastor Patrick Wooden, who also happens to be Amanchukwu’s father-in-law.

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FILM “OPPENHEIMER.”A sex scene in the highly anticipated drama “Oppenheimer” is being slammed by Indian officials who claim the scene is “a scathing attack on Hinduism.” The biographical drama tells the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he and a group of scientists rush to complete the infamous Manhattan Project, which culminated with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on August 6, 1945.In the film, Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy, 47) and Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh, 27) are engaged in sexual intercourse until Jean walks over to a bookshelf and grabs a copy of “Bhagavad Gita” and asks Murphy to read from it.“Oppy” then reads the line, “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” as the duo resumes sexual intercourse.

six-page letter, dated July 5, also appears to promote a form of Christian nationalism, suggesting right-wing boycotts over the LGBTQ Pride products harmed the company’s market value, and then stating: “It is likely more profitable to sell the type of Pride that enshrines the love of the United States. Target’s Pride Campaign alienates whereas Pride in our country unites.”The letter also refers to reports from right-wing media including the National Review, Fox News, the New York Post, and the Daily Caller, along with articles from Reuters and Axios.It denounces Target’s financial support of GLSEN.

because she refuses to provide that service to same-sex couples. The case is 303 Creative vs.

303 Creative vs. Elenis, was argued on First Amendment free speech grounds.“The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees,” the Court ruled on Friday, in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines.On Friday, Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, ruled in favor of the Colorado designer who claims she would like to expand her business to include producing wedding websites, but also claims her Christian faith requires her to refuse to do so for same-sex couples getting married.

Rainn Wilson, who rose to fame playing Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” talked on a recent podcast about the need for a spiritual revolution.The actor spoke about his religious journey and trying to navigate Hollywood and modern culture as a person of faith on the “No Small Endeavor” podcast, hosted by theologian and professor Lee C. Camp.Wilson also noted how he has been discussing faith for a “good 12 years,” noting, “Frankly, I think it freaks people out.

303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, has echoes of another case that was decided a few years ago, Masterpiece Cakeshop v.

American Family Association publicly attacked U.S. Senator Ted Cruz over the Texas Republican’s opposition to the “Kill the Gays” law in Uganda.

Mike Pence on Wednesday officially launched his 2024 campaign for the White House, in a lengthy, polished video carefully constructed to position himself as the torch-bearer of American values, including Christian nationalism, while conveniently all but ignoring his four-plus years spent in service to Donald Trump, who recently was held liable by a jury for sexual abuse, is currently under a 34-count state felony indictment, and expected to soon be facing a slew of federal and state charges amid several other investigations.“I believe in the American people, and I have faith God is not done with America yet,” Pence tweeted atop his campaign video. “Together, we can bring this Country back, and the best days for the Greatest Nation on Earth are yet to come!”The well-known presidential historian Michael Beschloss, author of ten books, noted that it will “not be easy for a VP to separate himself from the President he served for four years.”READ MORE: Double Bombshell: Mark Meadows and Trump’s Secret Service Agents Have Testified, NYT ReportsAnd he made this critical observation: Pence’s “just-released announcement video cites ‘drag queens’ and Biden-Harris but not a single mention or image of You-Know-Who,” referring to Donald Trump.In fact, in Pence’s video (below), he falsely claims, “President Joe Biden and the radical left have weakened America at home and abroad.” “The American dream is being crushed under runaway inflation.

Turning Point USA, is being widely mocked for posting a video attacking Chick-fil-A over claims the conservative, privately-owned, faith-based fast food restaurant chain recently hired a diversity officer.“So I’m grieving,” the video, apparently by Morgonn McMichael (below), begins. “It’s lunchtime.

Governor Ron DeSantis insists his recent remarks attacking U.S. Senator Ted Cruz should not be viewed as an endorsement of the biblical call for gay people to be executed.

spread former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election and participated in his illegitimate effort to stay in power after he lost to President Joe Biden. The group promotes false Christian nationalist history.FRC is intensely opposed to legal abortion and legal equality for LGBTQ people and portrays LGBTQ equality as a dire threat to religious liberty.At its 2021 Pray Vote Stand conference, George Barna told religious-right activists that it is parents’ responsibility to shape their children’s worldview.

pushing schools to adopt junk science painting transgender youth as carriers of a pathological disorder,” and files detailing methods to indoctrinate pre-teens into a culture of “sexual purity” and opposing same-sex relationships.The august-sounding American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is not the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The American Academy of Pediatrics is the highly-respected and largest group of pediatricians in America.

signed legislation Tuesday prohibiting transgender people from using public school facilities that match their gender identity. Later that same day, Jason Rapert, a former Arkansas state senator and founder of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, posted a video crediting his organization for the legislation.Rapert, a longtime religious-right activist and ardent Christian nationalist, bragged that this piece of legislation was first proposed by Arkansas school board member David Naylor during an annual NACL meeting, endorsed by the organization, and finally brought to the Arkansas state legislature by state Rep. Mary Bentley, who serves on the board of the NACL.“The NACL has seven working committees,” Rapert said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is publicly denouncing Uganda’s latest Anti-Homosexuality legislation, which is being called a “Kill the Gays” bill for its capital punishment penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”The legislation passed in a nearly-unanimous vote and now heads to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni‘s desk.“The Anti-Homosexuality Act passed by the Ugandan Parliament yesterday would undermine fundamental human rights of all Ugandans and could reverse gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a far-right Christian nationalist extremist, kicked off her speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday morning by telling the room filled with many empty seats that the left is “coming for our children,” in her hate-filled, lie-filled, fear-mongering, anti-LGBTQ speech portraying her cause as virtuous because, she preached, “our God is bigger.” That God, she promised, would help her pass anti-transgender legislation that “will make it a felony to perform anything to do with gender-affirming care on children.”“The left has told us something that should put fear in the heart of every parent,” Greene said as she began her speech.

told USA Today.“Sometimes rejecting faith, sometimes rejecting God even, in a period of being pretty angry about it. Like, ‘Where were you?’ That kind of thing. But I have come to terms with it and have found great peace in my faith and in Jesus.”“It’s not cavalier.

“Today” show with an ashen smudge on his forehead — a symbol of Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent, for some Christian denominations. For worshippers, these six-and-a-half weeks leading up to Easter commemorate the death and resurrection of their prophet Jesus Christ.Wahlberg noted how religion has helped him stay disciplined in his film career.“[Faith] is everything, it’s afforded me so many things,” the “Father Stu” star, 51, said, adding that exercising his religion publicly is “a balance” and he doesn’t “want to jam it down anybody’s throat.”“It’s not popular in my industry, but, you know, I cannot deny my faith.

Sydney Catholic Schools’ production of School of Rock has left parents clutching their pearls at the show’s “adult themes,” forcing the school to apologise. The show, which took place at the Qudos Bank Arena, was billed as “extraordinary” and a “musical extravaganza” by Sydney Catholic Schools. A casting call video from earlier this year, featuring Sydney Catholic Schools Executive Director Tony Farley, teased, “Our School of Rock arena spectacular will be on a size and scale never seen before in our system of schools.“4000 performers from our 150 schools will perform this worldwide hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and be part of one of the largest musicals ever seen in the City of Sydney.”However, the “extravaganza” was overshadowed by an uproar from parents over a brief scene involving a same-sex couple, played by two male students. According to Sydney Morning Herald, Parents also complained about the language, disrespect for authority, and a scene where the children “prayed to the God of Rock.” The brief scene with a same-sex couple, however, was the transgression that really caused a stir. “Concerns have included language used in the show that is clearly unacceptable in a school or family setting, adult themes that are alluded to in the show which are in no way endorsed by Sydney Catholic Schools, and disrespect for authority that caused some concern.“Sydney Catholic Schools sincerely apologises and takes responsibility for any elements which caused offence and are undertaking a full review of all aspects of the production which will ensure that a situation such as this will not occur again.”School of Rock is the first time students from across the Sydney Catholic Schools system put on a show of this magnitude. ©