Watch your language and your beliefs, sex abuse survivor tells the church
“These are the characteristics we associate with men, and having a God like that essentially reinforces and justifies men having exclusive power over women, children, feminized men and marginalized other people,” Shaw said during a recent episode of The State of Belief, a podcast moderated by Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush.
“We really wanted to explore the ways those images, that language and those beliefs have created a framework that enables abuse in the church and then at the same time minimizes what happens to survivors because they’re merely women or they’re less important.”
Faith, Freedom, and Reproductive Rights
At the heart of our democracy is the belief that individuals should be free to make decisions guided by their own conscience, values, and beliefs, especially when it comes to their health care. The growing efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care under the guise of religious or political authority is deeply concerning and recent legal challenges across the country threaten not only access to care but also the foundational principle that no single religious tradition should determine public policy for everyone.
Do No Harm: Resisting the Misuse of Religious Exemptions
When does the right to religious freedom become a justification for harm? This question is at the heart of the misuse of religious exemption laws. These laws – protections granted under the First Amendment and utilized for centuries by individuals of all faiths – have been exploited by Christian Nationalists to undermine other fundamental rights, including equality and non-discrimination.