365Gay, Besen: Can conservative religions reconcile with gays?

FROM 365GAY.COM:

By Wayne Bensen, Columnist, 365gay.com

On Sunday, New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof discussed religious and cultural extremism in Pakistan, where a new cabinet member, Israr Ullah Zardari, defended the torture-murder of five women and girls who were buried alive (three girls wanted to choose their own husbands, and two women wanted to protect them.)

The Times had another article on Monday about an all-girl rock band in Saudi Arabia that is forbidden from playing live concerts because of their gender.

At home, former Arkansas governor and pastor, Mike Huckabee, appeared on ABC’s “The View” and said that gay and lesbian equality was not the same as civil rights because homosexuals have not had their skulls cracked and were not hosed down by police. Apparently, he is unaware of the latest FBI hate crime statistics that show bias attacks based on sexual orientation making up 15.5 percent of all reported hate crimes.

In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI is being criticized this week for questioning the usefulness of Interfaith dialogue in a letter he wrote to Italian politician Marcello Pera. What the Pope fails to point out is that thanks to intransigent absolutists, like the pontiff, finding common ground is nearly impossible.

How can we expect interfaith dialogue when we can’t even have Interstate dialogue between two Mormon universities 45 miles apart because they have literally turned religion into a political football?

When the secular University of Utah played its religious school rival, Brigham Young University (BYU), last weekend, the teams treated the End Zone as if it were the Promised Land.

“It’s like a lot of other rivalries, except for those at the extremes,” Michael Anastasi, managing editor of the Salt Lake Tribune told the New York Times.”For them, it’s not only that your school is weak, you’re going to Hell too.”

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