JK Rowling (left) and Caroline Farrow (right). (Getty/Jim Spellman and YouTube/ Good Morning Britain) JK Rowling took to Twitter on Saturday (12 March) to send “big love” to anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-abortion Catholic activist Caroline Farrow. Farrow had tweeted that she was feeling emotional, both because her daughter was turning 18 and because her life had
Religion
Tory equalities minister Mike Freer. (Facebook/ Mike Freer MP) Tory equalities minister Mike Freer has signalled that a UK conversion therapy ban will protect trans people and cover religious practices. A consultation document on banning conversion therapy produced by the government last year raised significant concerns when it proposed religious exemptions, exemptions for “consenting adults”,
Demonstrators in favour of LGBT+ rights rally outside the US Supreme Court in Washington DC, 8 October 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty) The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a Christian woman who designs websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples despite a Colorado anti-discrimination law. The court will hear a claim
Bishop condemns church leaders’ calls for barbaric conversion therapy to continue (coldsnowstorm/Getty Images) The Bishop of Dorchester has asserted that the LGBT+ community is “safe and welcome” in church after 2,500 Christian officials objected to Britain’s conversion therapy ban. Authored by 11 Christian faith leaders from churches across the country and addressed to minister for
Students walk across the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. (Getty/George Frey) The US Department of Education has dismissed an investigation into how LGBT+ students are treated at Brigham Young University (BYU). The university is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. BYU’s main
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images) Australian faith-based schools will be banned from expelling gay students but could still freely oust trans pupils in proposals agreed by ruling party lawmakers. In the confusing and contentious saga of prime minister Scott Morrison’s Religious Discrimination Bill, ministers have repeatedly see-sawed between protecting Christian groups and
India’s parliament is trying to change the GAY airport code for Gaya airport. (Envato) Gaya airport in New Delhi, India, is desperate to lose its GAY airport code because of its status as a holy city, with a parliamentary panel branding it “inappropriate”. In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Gaya is the place where where Rama, Sita and
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images) Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has vowed to stop students from being expelled for their sexuality or gender identity by religious schools. In an unexpected turnaround, the right-wing leader who has long been upfront about his evangelical Christian faith, promised to stop faith-based schools from discriminating against
Pope Francis meets with attendees during the weekly general audience at Paul-VI Hall in the Vatican on 26 January 2021. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty) Pope Francis has urged parents worldwide to unconditionally support, not condemn, their children if they are gay. The leader of the Catholic Church made his latest gesture of outreach to the
France bans barbaric conversion therapy once and for all (Kay Nietfeld – Pool/Getty Images) France’s law banning conversion therapy has passed its final stages, with president Emmanuel Macron declaring “being yourself… is nothing to be cured”. The sweeping ban, which gives no exemptions for religious conversion therapy, was voted in by parties on both sides
MP Päivi Räsänen arrives at the Helsinki District Court in Helsinki, Finland on 24 January. (AFP via Getty/ Lehtikuva / ANTTI AIMO-KOIVISTO) An MP in Finland went to trial on Monday (24 January), accused of hate speech after she said that gay people have a “developmental disorder”. Päivi Räsänen, a seventh-term member of the Finnish
The Cologne Cathedral (L) and the church Gross St Martin (R) are seen in the background as a man hoists a rainbow flag. (OLIVER BERG/DPA/AFP via Getty Images) More than 120 German Roman Catholic priests and officials have jointly come out as LGBT+ and called on the church to do better by queer Catholics. Presenting
Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi and J Mase III are holding their fourth iteration of their #TransphobiaIsASin Campaign. (Instagram/@jmaseiii) A group of activists invite social media to join their campaign to ‘disrupt the religious violence trans people experience every day’. Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi and J Mase III edited the Black Trans Prayer Book to dismantle
Xavier Novell, a former bishop who was known for conversion therapy, now works in “artificial swine insemination”.(YouTube/ Euronews) A bishop who was known for performing exorcisms and conversion therapy has been formally stripped of his powers after marrying a Satanic porn writer. Xavier Novell, 52, the former Bishop of Solsona, Spain, made headlines around the world when
Lifelong campaigner for human rights Archbishop Desmond Tutu. (UN Free & Equal) Archbishop Desmond Tutu has compared anti-LGBT+ laws and violence to apartheid, insisting that he opposes them with the “same passion”. The 90-year-old Archbishop Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has spent his life campaigning for human rights. He was a major opponent of South
Queer rabbis Becca Walker (left) and Ariella Rosen (right).(YouTube/ Women’s League for Conservative Judaism) Two queer, female Conservative rabbis have tied the knot, in a historic first for the Conservative Judaism movement. Conservative Judaism is the second-largest denomination of Jewish people in North America, and over the last two decades it has become increasingly inclusive
A lesbian couple hold hands at Tel Aviv Pride. (David Silverman/Getty) A rabbi in Israel has called on a local mayor to ban gay lecturers and teachers from working in the city of Rishon LeZion. Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, a Rishon LeZion councillor and regional chairman of the Shas Party, wrote a letter to mayor Raz
The Church in Wales’ Bench of Bishops. (Facebook/ The Church in Wales) The Church in Wales is set to vote next month on whether same-sex couples should receive blessings for the first time. A bill to allow the blessings, introduced by the church’s bench of bishops, will be considered by the church’s governing body at
Father Paul Newbery came out as gay 20 years ago. (Facebook/ Paul Newbery) A gay Catholic priest in Liverpool has been left “petrified” after he was subjected to homophobic abuse in a “disgusting” hate crime. Father Paul Newbery is a priest at Merseyside Open Community Church in Liverpool, which is part of the LGBT-inclusive United Liberal
Elin Stillingen was honoured in the first church name changing ceremony in Norway. (Facebook/ Elin Stillingen) A church in Norway held a beautiful naming ceremony for a trans person, in what is thought to be the first ceremony of its kind in the country. Elin Stillingen, 49, came out as transgender nine years ago, and
Pope Francis. (Christopher Furlong/Getty) Italy’s prime minister Mario Draghi has rejected Vatican efforts to interfere with the passage of an anti-discrimination law. There was widespread outrage among LGBT+ groups in Italy when it emerged that the Vatican had stated its opposition to the proposed law, which would extend anti-discrimination protections to women, LGBT+ people and
Pope Francis. (Getty/Franco Origlia) Hundreds of Catholics stepped forward to bless LGBT+ people during a virtual service in response to the Vatican’s ban on blessings for same-sex couples. The live-streamed event was hosted by Dignity USA, an organisation that works to secure justice and equality for LGBT+ people in the Catholic Church, and was run
Televangelist Andrew Wommack believes “homosexuality is three times worse than smoking”. (YouTube/ Andrew Wommack) Viciously anti-LGBT+ televangelist and pastor Andrew Wommack has insisted that LGBT+ people should wear a “warning label” on their foreheads. Wommack decided to discuss LGBT+ rights and the Equality Act on his “Truth and Liberty Livecast”, joined by guest and homophobic, anti-abortion
Bethany Church leader Jonathan Stockstill has apologised for the “painful experiences” of the bootcamp’s participants. (Facebook/ Jonathan Stockstill) A Christian bootcamp run by the Bethany Church megachurch allegedly used homophobic and racist slurs against teens, and forced them to fight each other until they were bleeding. The “220i” leadership programme was run Bethany Church, a
Lil Nas X features in a photoshoot for GQ Style SS21, available on newsstands 13 May 2021. (Photo by Luke Gilford) Lil Nas X has revealed that he thought God was “tempting” him with his feelings for men, admitting he “never wanted to be gay”. The “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” rapper graced the cover
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images) Labour Party leader Keir Starmer apologised Monday evening (5 April) for visiting an anti-LGBT+ church called Jesus House and the response was, well, mixed. The apology tweet, sent at 9:09pm three days after the visit to London’s Jesus House, affirmed Starmer’s support for queer rights as he
A federal court has ruled in favour of a Christian student group banned for its discriminatory leadership requirements. (Stock photograph via Elements Envato) A judge has ruled that University of Iowa administrators can be sued by a Christian student group that was placed under a ban for religious homophobia. In 2017, a Business Leaders in Christ group
Father Helmut Schüller leads the Pfarrer-Initiative, a group of dissident rebel Catholic priests who support the blessing of same-sex unions. (YouTube/ kondomsteuer) A group of rebel Roman Catholic priests have vowed to defy the Pope’s orders prohibiting the blessing of same-sex relationships, insisting: “We will not reject any loving couple.” The Pfarrer-Initiative (Priests’ Initiative) was
‘Ex-lesbian’ Lisa Miller kidnapped daughter Isabella from her partner Janet Jenkins An ‘ex-lesbian’ woman who kidnapped her seven-year-old daughter amid a custody dispute with her ex-partner has been arrested after 12 years on the run. It has emerged that Lisa Miller turned herself in at the US embassy in Nicaragua in January, and faces charges
A lesbian said she was forced out of her church after coming out. (Envato Elements) A lesbian was left needing counselling after she was pushed out of the Church of England for daring to be openly gay. Rachel Gillingham, a primary school teacher, said she was pushed out of St Luke’s Church in Oseney Crescent,