Religious Institute's blog

Nearly twenty-five years ago, I was the Director of Education for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitian Washington. A major part of our work involved going into the public schools in the D.C. area to supplement the meager sex and health education that the schools were able to offer. We were often asked to do one class on contraceptive methods, but our response was always to ask to do multiple sessions so that we could talk with young people about responsible decision making, abstinence, their changing bodies, and their relationships.

Ruby Ordena was found murdered last week in the San Francisco Mission District, and I want to know why more of us haven't heard that. She was a 27 year old transgender Latina and according to Gender Pac, hers was at least the 50th known violent murder of a transgender person since 1995.

"Ruby's murder is not an exception. Gender non-conforming young people – who have often been shut out of employment, housing, and safe environments because of their gender identity or expression – are dying at a rate of about one every three months," said Riki Wilchins, Executive Director of the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC). "We mourn the tragic loss of yet another young life."

The Religious News Service headline reads, "Top Episcopal Bishop Urges Fasting on Gay Issues." My first reaction -- before I read the article -- was, "It's bad enough that churches are tearing themselves up over these issues but now they can't eat!"

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori meant it metaphorically, of course. She was responding to the Anglican primate's directive to the American bishops, which I blogged [http://debrahaffner.blogspot.com] about earlier this week.

Today the Religious Institute is releasing a new "Open Letter to Religious Leaders on Adolescent Sexuality." It's the first multifaith theological framework calling for religious institutions to recognize adolescent sexual rights and to assist them in discerning their readiness for mature relationships.

To download the letter, go to www.religiousinstitute.org.

The Open Letter affirms that "most adolescents are not developmentally ready for mature sexual relationships that include intercourse of any kind" but calls upon faith communities to recognize that many adolescents will become involved in sexual relationships during their teenage years. It urges religious leaders to advocate for adolescent sexual health through comprehensive sexuality education and reproductive health care.

Yesterday, the National Center for Health Statistics announced the latest teenage birth rate -- it's dropped to 40 per 1000, the lowest rate ever recorded, the lowest rate in the past 65 years.
This is a remarkable public health accomplishment. Sex education programs that promote abstinence AND contraception AND better availability of family planning services as well as better contraceptive methods have made a difference.

Rev. Debra Haffner of the Religious Institute writes:

"Rev. Paul Barnes resigned on Sunday from his 2,100-person evangelical megachurch after "confessing" in a 32 minute video that he had had sex with men during his marriage. Barnes, who was apparently about to be "outed", called his attraction to men "the thorn in my flesh" and recounted a not unfamiliar story of homophobic comments from his father and his church and desperate attempts to deny his sexual orientation. He said that he had been to counseling about these issues three times but he could 'never find anyone to talk to.'

Rev. Debra Haffner of the Religious Institute writes today (http://debrahaffner.blogspot.com):

Yesterday a high-level group of Conservative Rabbis voted to allow seminaries to ordain openly gay and lesbian Rabbis and to allow their Rabbis to perform commitment ceremonies for same sex couples. They join the Reform and Reconstructionist Jewish denominations, and a number of Christian denominations, in moving to full inclusion of gay and lesbian people.

Rev. Debra Haffner blogs today on the New Jersey Supreme Cout decision: "I am increasingly of the mind that we should move to the European system. The state should perform civil unions for couples -- both same sex and other sex. Religious bodies should perform marriages -- and each religious body should determine for itself their criteria for who should be eligible for sacred ceremonies."

Read more on www.debrahaffner.blogspot.com

USA Today reports this morning that the Right has gone beyond blaming the Foley scandal on the former Congressman's homosexuality. It now suggests, in the words of Tony Perkins, that "the social agenda of the GOP been stalled by homosexual members or staffers" working on Capitol Hill. Read about it: http://www.usatoday.com/... ty-crisis_x.htm

Meanwhile, the erroneous "gays are pedophiles" accusations continue to fly.