Sam Harris

Recently NC passed an amendment that banned gays from marrying, forming civil unions, etc.  Just before the election a pastor in the Berean Baptist Church was filmed saying that parents should smack their kids if they begin to show signs of being gay.

Many, especially religious supporters of gay rights, pacify their consciences by writing this off as an isolated incident; that these are the words of one ill-tempered preacher who simply misspoke.  But I feel that this type of passive-aggressive persecution in religious communities is more widespread than most are willing to admit. One simply needs to read the official positions of the major US religious sects toward marriage to understand the breadth of this problem.  Am I wrong here? Will these states ever evolve to afford people basic rights?

The full article discussing the roots of intolerance is here if you’re interested:

http://ology.com/post/77369/roots-of-prejudice-part-1-the-survival-of-intolerance

Brian

There are plenty of young gays here in Atlanta and they are most certainly “out.” As the southern baptist convention admitted itself, their congregations are shrinking inexorably downward. I believe the quotable bit was they expected 4% of the current children born to their members to grow into adult believers themselves.

Not to suggest this region of the country is socially progressive, but I suspect the times are a changing more quickly than many suspect. Once the baby boomer church-going vanguard dies out, you’re quite likely to notice these absurdities fall by the wayside.

btmurphy - 16 May 2012 11:08 AM

Recently NC passed an amendment that banned gays from marrying, forming civil unions, etc.  Just before the election a pastor in the Berean Baptist Church was filmed saying that parents should smack their kids if they begin to show signs of being gay.

Many, especially religious supporters of gay rights, pacify their consciences by writing this off as an isolated incident; that these are the words of one ill-tempered preacher who simply misspoke.  But I feel that this type of passive-aggressive persecution in religious communities is more widespread than most are willing to admit. One simply needs to read the official positions of the major US religious sects toward marriage to understand the breadth of this problem.  Am I wrong here? Will these states ever evolve to afford people basic rights?

The full article discussing the roots of intolerance is here if you’re interested:

http://ology.com/post/77369/roots-of-prejudice-part-1-the-survival-of-intolerance

Brian

No one chooses to be gay.
No one chooses to be anti-gay.