Anthony Annett and Patrica Miller Respond to Catholic Neocons Calling on Catholics to Stop Trump: "These Issues Are All—to Coin a Phrase—Non-Negotiable"

At Commonweal, Anthony Annett responds to the appeal of Catholic neocons Robert George and George Weigel to Catholics to stop Donald Trump in his tracks, which I discussed earlier today (and here):

Racism Is Not a Non-Negotiable: White Catholic Voters and Trump, Responsibility of the U.S. Bishops and Catholic Neocon and Centrist Lay Leaders

And so who's voting for Donald Trump in the primaries now being held around the country? The "surprising" (but entirely predictable, for those of us with close ties to white evangelical culture) finding that white evangelicals are gung-ho about Trump keeps being noted and is no longer surprising to anyone, though it apparently presents quite a conundrum for political and religious commentators who have blinded themselves to solid evidence for several decades now that the defection of white evangelicals in the South from Nixon forward has been all about race.

Easter Monday Collage: "They Wanted to Silence the Voices of Love, but the Words of the Resurrected . . . Hammered Upon Their Minute Brain"

An Easter Monday collage for you: articles I've read and shared this morning with friends on Facebook, all of which seem to me to have Easter pertinence, since, as Julia Esquivel writes in her magnificent Easter poem Threatened with Resurrection, 

As Southern States Call for "Secession by Another Name" in Response to Marriage Equality, Catholic Right-Wing Leaders Prepare to Issue Follow-Up to Manhattan Declaration

Two days ago, I commented on what's happening out in the U.S. heartland after the Supremes announced they'll take same-sex marriage cases in their upcoming session, and after judges in one state after another (most recently, the Deep South state of Alabama) knock down bans on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. As my posting notes, Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern (whose husband is a Southern Baptist minister) has introduced what David Badash calls a "trifecta" of bills whose plain intent is to inform LGBT citizens of her state that they're unwelcome there.

Mormons Celebrating Pope Francis's Affirmation of Traditional Family Values: Wait, What?

Big headline in Salt Lake City's Deseret News yesterday:

Two Takes on "Religious Freedom" Debate about "Right" of Florists and Bakers to Discriminate: Nathaniel Frank and Matt Bruenig

Nathaniel Frank on the absurdity of the argument that opposing gay marriage is rational, while it's irrational to oppose interracial marriage:

Final Two Installments in Miranda Blue's Series on Globalizing Homophobia and Role of U.S. Religious Right

Miranda Blue has now published the final two installments in her Right Wing Watch series about the role of the religious right in globalizing homophobia (especially in Russia). I blogged about the first two essays in the series several days ago. I'm grateful to reader Chris Morley for pointing out in a comment responding to that posting that the other essays in the series have now been published.

Fred Clarkson on Christian Right's Determination to Renew Itself by Alliance of Catholic Leaders and Evangelical Right: Important Discussion

As one week ends and another begins, I want to take note of a very important new article by Fred Clarkson  at the Political Research Associates' website. It's entitled "Christian Right Seeks Renewal in Deepening Catholic-Protestant Alliance." Fred's thesis is that, far from being moribund, as many political commentators keep suggesting, the religious right is alive and well in American politics, and is now renewing itself via an alliance between the U.S. Catholic bishops and right-wing evangelicals.

Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: "Equating Marriage Equality with a Loss of Religious Freedom . . . Is Utter Nonsense"

This is one of the good ones, and not the kind that need to go into the compost heap because they're so noisome there's no other place to put them--David Hart responding to an article by Brian Roewe on how various states are propelling the push for marriage equality in the U.S.:

Saving Monsignor Ryan: Frank Cocozzelli Announces Documentary

You wouldn't know this now, but there was a time when Catholics were known in American culture and politics for defending the rights of workers and the poor.  Catholics used to be known for their emphasis on communitarianism--on building just societies in which everyone was included, and, in particular, in which those shoved to the margins were drawn into social participation and allowed to use their talents to the fullest and lead fulfilling lives.