Religion – Bridge Agents

Why ‘Judeo-Christian values’ are a dog-whistle myth peddled by the far right

December 7, 2017 Bridge Agents Bridge Agent, Conversation, Dog Whistle, Featured, greed, Judeo-Christian, Justin King, Religion, Right Wing, The Fifth Column, Trump

United States (Conversation) – The phrase “Judeo-Christian” has been around since the 1930s but US President Donald Trump recently resurrected it in a deeply problematic speech on October 13, 2017 in which he said: “We are stopping cold the attacks on Judeo-Christian values … We’re saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again.” [embedded content] It might seem neighbourly, even pluralistic, to include Judaism in a declaration of purported Western values. But in reality this isn’t how the term has functioned, either historically or more recently. Instead, the phrase is used to exclude rather…

Conservative Christians need to stamp out clergy wife abuse – starting with ending endemic sexism

November 30, 2017 Bridge Agents Bridge Agent, Church, Clergy, conservative Christian, Conversation, Featured, greed, Justin King, Religion, The Fifth Column

(Conversation) – On Wednesday night, viewers around the nation were likely shocked by the story of clergy wives’ abuse on the ABC’s 7.30. Survivors bravely spoke out about the rape and abuse they’ve suffered at the hands of their husbands who are priests. In some cases, these men have been aided by church hierarchy, who have hidden or overlooked their controlling and abusive behaviour. Unfortunately, I was not shocked to hear these women’s stories. I’ve sat in groups at conservative Christian conferences where male-headship is taught, and where women discussed…