PERMISSIBLE PREJUDICES: Responding to Religion-Based Bigotry Our Biggest Obstacle, Part V

Op-ed excerpt from Faith In America’s Founder Mitchell Gold in the Washington Blade

“As thousands converge on the nation’s capital this weekend for the National Equality March, our demand is simple: We want full equality.

Now. Although there has been great progress in the last 50 years, the equality movement for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans has not moved forward as quickly as we should and could have. In the final analysis, it is because we have not effectively addressed the biggest barrier between us and our equality: religion-based bigotry and prejudice.

For those who do not realize the significance of religion and the impact religion-based bigotry has on our struggle for equality, they will continue to wander about aimlessly, dragging the pink elephant in the room behind them, holding them back.”

¨RELIGION-BASED BIGOTRY CAUSES UNTOLD HARM TO MILLIONS, ESPECIALLY YOUTH¨

RELIGION-BASED BIGOTRY is a giant pink elephant in the room. It is the cause of incredible harm to millions of people and especially vulnerable adolescents and teens
To be clear, I am not anti-religion. I am anti-religion based bigotry. I feel truly blessed to have former Rev. Jimmy Creech, Bishop Gene Robinson, Revs. Welton Gaddy, Reggie Longcrier, Benny Colclough, and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum in my life.¨

····Bishop V.Gene Robinson of the The Episcopal Church diocese of New Hampshire. Consecrated in 2003, Bishop Robinson is the first openly Gay/Partnered Bishop in The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Communion (of course there have been, and currently are, many other Gay Bishops, of many denominations, who were or remain ¨closeted¨).

····Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum is since 1992 of New York City’s Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (CBST), Sharon Kleinbaum is as immersed in politics as one can get. She is the openly lesbian leader of the world’s largest gay religious congregation, and is at the forefront of the movement to secure basic civil rights for lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

····The Reverend Dr. Bennie Colclough named as winner of the 2008 Trailblazer Award, which recognizes an individual who has a record of consistent and significant contributions to the LGBT community and is seen as a role model to others, will be presented to the pastor of the Providence Christian Church, Manning, South Carolina.

····The Reverend Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Interfaith Alliance, Washington D.C. While ministering to churches with a message of inclusion, Welton emerged as a leader among progressive and moderate Baptists. Among his many leadership roles, he is the immediate past President of the Alliance of Baptists and is a twenty-year member of the Commission of Christian Ethics of the Baptist World Alliance. His past leadership roles include serving as a member of the General Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, President of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Chair of the Pastoral Leadership Commission of the Baptist World Alliance.

¨But moving from New York to North Carolina in the 1980s, I discovered just how pervasive and deep anti-gay sentiment is beyond our urban centers. As I traveled to many areas across our country, it became apparent that the condemning and hateful attitudes and actions could be traced to one source: church teachings.

I spoke to many people who have been victimized by rejection and condemnation. I was burdened most by the young people I had met who had been discarded by their families, churches, communities and lost their own self worth from the onslaught of anti-gay religious language and actions they experienced. I met mothers and fathers who had lost a son or daughter to suicide — young people who believed they'd be better off dead than growing up gay in America...¨

· read it all, from The Washingtonblade, click HERE

·The Reverend Dr. Welton Gaddy/Day1 is the voice of the mainline Protestant churches on the radio and online, offering life-enriching sermons, community, and other resources to help you grow in faith.¨ click HERE

·The Rt. Reverend Robinson is widely known for being the first openly gay, non-celibate priest to be ordained a bishop in a major Christian denomination believing in the historic episcopate. His sexual orientation was privately acknowledged in the 1970s, when he studied in seminary, was ordained, married, and started a family.¨ click HERE

· Going Head to Head with the Religious Right, An Interview with Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum.¨ read it all click HERE

· The Reverend Dr. Colclough has given much time and effort working as an advocate and straight ally for the South Carolina Equality Coalition (SCEC), the South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement (SCGLPM), Faith In America and HRC. A native of Sumter, S.C., Colclough served in the United States Marine Corps for six years with a tour of duty in Vietnam, and is a graduate of Yale University Divinity School. click HERE

·Thanks to The Washingtonblade
·Thanks to Jewish Currents
·Thanks to Wikipedia
·Thanks to Day1 (voice of mainline Protestant churches)
·Thanks to Truth Wins Out
·Thanks to Faith in America
·Thanks to Mitchell Gold
·Thanks to The Human Rights Campaign Carolina´s
·Thanks to Wayne Besen
·Thanks to Matt Comer