In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a team of researchers from the Washington University in St. Louis in Missouri revealed some vexatious frames of mind from ultra-conservative Christians.
On Aug. 19, Inoke Tonga — a volleyball coach at Valor Christian High School — was invited to meet before a session with his team. “Our interactions prior to that day were always so refreshing,” Tonga said. He happily complied with Brian Bonn, the Athletic Director, and the campus pastor’s request to meet.
On August 18, 2021, Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva, 60, of the Catholic diocese of São José do Rio Preto, resigned. The resignation happened days after a video leaked where he is seen playing with his genitals.
Around the same time da Silva submitted his resignation, he also acknowledged that the man in the video is him. He also believes the video was leaked by someone “living with him.” The bishop added that he would be working with his attorney and the local police to rectify the matter.
On July 26th, the U.S. Court of Appeals held the lower court’s decision to deny a web designer’s petition to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado. There have been many other court rulings in the United States deciding if a business that denies service to LGBTQ+ people is considered prejudice or exercising their right to religious freedom.
From the 19th to 20th centuries, Canadian churches operated at least 150 boarding schools for children of aboriginal tribes. Officials have exposed hundreds of unmarked graves on the surrounding properties. Approximately 150,000 native children attended these schools for more than a century. Sadly, the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada determined 3,201 native children died due to unsatisfactory conditions, malnourishment, and abuse.
Fantasies on 5th, a strip club in Anchorage, Alaska, was plagued by wage issues and the Supreme Court of Alaska blocking its liquor permit renewal had to give way to a new establishment. In October 2020, amidst the global pandemic, the Open Door Baptist Church opened in the same building where the strip club used to be.
In Ohio, a Catholic-run school, Mt. Saint Joseph University (MSJU) confirmed that they would be hosting CNN’s town hall meeting where President Joe Biden will attend. The university confirmed the meeting on Tuesday, July 20; the town hall meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 21.
In a press release posted on the Ex-Muslims of North America's website, the group's director, Sarah Haider, responded to a letter from the Director of Content Policy Stakeholder Engagement for Facebook, Peter Stern. In her response, Haider explained how and why Facebook's new Content Policy is facilitating harm for marginalized groups such as atheists and other non-religious communities.
On July 15, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (US) signed an executive order that effectively bans the practice of conversion therapy to minors. A win for the LGBTQIA+ community in the state, and yet a divisive move in the politically mixed state. Many on the religious right-wing have expressed their outrage on the executive order with bad-faith arguments that go beyond the first amendment.
