just saying within any organization there are opinions and it all comes down to vision. Right now the catholic church vision as seen by the new Pope is not harsh anti gay......just saying

his position is softer and is a (small) step in the right direction. I'll take what I can get from them, while continuing to push the to move further.

is certainly going down, especially among the young. This will just hasten it.

They are leaving a vacuum that will be filled by more progressive groups, imo.

From school boards to US Congress, the theocrats who espouse a radical view they falsely call Christianity are the ones deciding which revised idea of science & history will be taught and making the laws which rule our lives.

Studies show millenials shun politics; that gov't isn't an answer. Those progressive groups you envision need to convince millenials and others that politics and gov't play an imp't role in a country's direction. Undoing discriminatory laws takes longer than passing them. And as long as we think we have a nation built on equality & justice* we need the laws to reflect that idea.



*Yes, I know. We're hypocrits on both equality & justice ideas. But it is a founding principle to be proud of and a worthy goal.

I think the alarms are being raised and the public consciousness growing.

There is data that there is a rising number of people who consider themselves religiously unaffiliated and one of the main reasons they are leaving is because of the positions that their churches have taken in regard to issues such as GLBT rights, a woman's right to choose and other social issues.

Miillenials shun politics? Who were the most active in the OWS movement?

I remain very hopeful and I think the religious groups in this country are going to have to change or die. I'd bet on them changing.

Catholics could not marry non-catholics.

My son just married into a catholic family. There was no requirement that he convert, but he did have to jump through some hoops. OTOH, they weren't such bad hoops for a young couple to go through.

Then again, my daughter married a muslim and had to "convert" in order for his family to not completely reject him.

As families become more and more mixed, I think we will see those rules continue to soften, don't you?

very slowly.

It will change again…..

and again.

The Episcopal Church--"the Republican Party at prayer"--has changed radically over the last thirty years. In the eighties they were still battling over women priests; now they have a woman presiding bishop and LGBT'at all levels of clergy. The polity of the church has also shifted well left of center. Three decades seems a long time, but ecclesiastically speaking, it's breakneck speed.

The episcopals have certainly shown that to be true.

The RCC trails behind in general, but they also move forward.

Those that refuse to change are going to lose, imo.

Not only by millenials but the general population. I don't think I've seen such a widespread focus on equality issues for years. Yes, conservatives have outmaneuvered progressives electorally, especially in state and local races. Yet, in going national they may have overplayed their hand.

I see a wake up call to progressives in all spheres - social, religious and political. Whether our historically diverse and sometimes fractious elements will coalesce for an effective response remains to be seen. I think it's doable.

We have to join forces here and those that continue to push divineness in this party need to step aside. It's time to get the bigger picture.