Report: US Christian right presses anti-gay policies in Africa

[CriticalThought]

Report: US Christian right presses anti-gay, anti-abortion laws using front offices in Africa - The Washington Post

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Conservative U.S. Christian groups are setting up fronts in Africa to fight for anti-gay and anti-abortion legislation to promote their convictions, a report by a Boston-based think tank said Tuesday.

It accuses evangelical stars such as Pat Robertson and Rick Warren as well as Catholic and Mormon groups of setting up institutions and campaigns in Africa that are “fanning the flames of the culture wars over homosexuality and abortion by backing prominent African campaigners and political leaders.”

The report — “Colonizing African Values: How the U.S. Christian Right is Transforming Sexual Politics in Africa” — was presented by the Political Research Associates of Boston, a think tank that describes itself as “progressive” and focusing on what it calls attacks on civil liberties by the political and Christian right.

Christian Evangelicals like Scott Lively are the ones responsible for the anti-gay bill in Uganda and the violence that has erupted there against gays. They push arguments like "gays are out to molest children and destroy families" and "all the Nazis were homosexuals". It isn't a surprise when you are a bunch of liars, distorting and twisting a religion to fit your hatred and bigotry towards a group of people that you would resort to lies and deception to push your views on people in countries that lack educational resources. What surprises me is that decent Christians are not condemning this kind of behavior.

 

[X Factor]

Why would you be surprised? You've been posting threads for years pretty much saying all Christians are the same and think the same way. /shrug

 

[Omgitsme]

Report: US Christian right presses anti-gay, anti-abortion laws using front offices in Africa - The Washington Post



Christian Evangelicals like Scott Lively are the ones responsible for the anti-gay bill in Uganda and the violence that has erupted there against gays. They push arguments like "gays are out to molest children and destroy families" and "all the Nazis were homosexuals". It isn't a surprise when you are a bunch of liars, distorting and twisting a religion to fit your hatred and bigotry towards a group of people that you would resort to lies and deception to push your views on people in countries that lack educational resources. What surprises me is that decent Christians are not condemning this kind of behavior.

That line reminds me of the people who think that muslims should of publicly condemn 9/11. I dont see the point of that. The vast majority of Christians dont condone violence against homosexuals.

 

[Darrell]

That line reminds me of the people who think that muslims should of publicly condemn 9/11. I dont see the point of that. The vast majority of Christians dont condone violence against homosexuals.

That is true.

 

[wolv67]

That's why I'm highly skeptical of half-endorsements of different figures and individual churches here, when some of them turn right around and do the opposite on another continent. Some of the same churches here that take a non-stance like "well it's a sin but everyone sins, let's move on" belong to an organization that funds life sentence initiatives elsewhere. Who are they trying to fool? Unless they severe ties with that organization and form another sect, or at the very least get with the times and embrace different sexualities, I don't see reason to not lump them together.

The church is now heavily investing in Africa I guess because news travels slowly there and they haven't had a huge pedo scandal yet, so that's the largest opportunity for new customers. It's simply taking advantage of cultures that in many ways haven't caught up to modern times.

 

[ChuckBerry]

What surprises me is that decent Christians are not condemning this kind of behavior.

What surprises me is that you didn't notice that the author of the study that is covered in the article you cited is an Anglican priest. So obviously, decent Christians are condemning this kind of behavior.

And while we're at it, let's draw a few clearer lines around things than the article does...Human Life International is an organization run by Catholics to promote the Catholic views on life and marriage, but the organization has nothing financially or structurally to do with the Church. They even link to their tax returns on their website to demonstrate this. HLI is an international organization with offices in many countries around the world, including those in the continent of Africa.

And this quote "By hiring locals as office staff, ACLJ and HLI in particular hide an American-based agenda behind African faces, giving the Christian Right room to attack gender justice and (the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people) as a neocolonial enterprise imposed on Africans and obstructing meaningful critique of the U.S. right’s activities,” the report said", making it seem sinister that locals are hired for office positions. What nonsense.

Persecution of homosexuals is certainly unChristian, and no decent person of any religion ought to tolerate it. Clearly it should not be illegal to merely be homosexual. But this report unfairly lumps HLI in with more politically motivated and pointedly anti-gay groups.

Here's a link to the actual report if you're interested.

 

[Smart]

Report: US Christian right presses anti-gay, anti-abortion laws using front offices in Africa - The Washington Post



Christian Evangelicals like Scott Lively are the ones responsible for the anti-gay bill in Uganda and the violence that has erupted there against gays. They push arguments like "gays are out to molest children and destroy families" and "all the Nazis were homosexuals". It isn't a surprise when you are a bunch of liars, distorting and twisting a religion to fit your hatred and bigotry towards a group of people that you would resort to lies and deception to push your views on people in countries that lack educational resources. What surprises me is that decent Christians are not condemning this kind of behavior.

They eat the poo-poo, why wouldn't they ban them?

 

[cpwill]

That line reminds me of the people who think that muslims should of publicly condemn 9/11. I dont see the point of that. The vast majority of Christians dont condone violence against homosexuals.

yeah. when you have gotten to the point where you are accusing Rick Warren of inciting mass-murder... you are officially off in the deep end.


anywho, anyone who thinks that the discussion of homosexuality within the Christian Churches has been dominated by the imposition of a conservative line by the Americans on the Africans has no idea what they are talking about. The reverse is true.