https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to catholicism en https://politicalresearch.org/2025/10/15/its-not-backlash-its-strategy In this roundtable, Chelsea Ebin, Matthew Taylor, and Julie Ingersoll discuss the intersection of today’s New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and the New Christian Right of 1970s and 1980s formed by conservative Catholics and Protestants. Building from Ebin’s The Radical Mind… Wed, 15 Oct 2025 12:00:00 EDT Matthew Taylor, Julie Ingersoll, Chelsea Ebin 6d798d19-9554-49e6-972b-e5e5aff1507a https://religiondispatches.org/2025/05/15/leo-xiv-great-migrations-pope Ever since those velvet curtains parted to reveal that Robert Francis Prevost—aka Leo XIV—was the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church, journalists and meme-makers alike began joyously delighting in his peculiarities. The first pope born in the United States… Thu, 15 May 2025 03:54:04 EDT Matthew J. Cressler 03d75648-a2a8-422d-b95d-445abf6b0ab7 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/05/08/habemus-papam-new-pope-selection-signals-churchs-concerns-about-spread-us-global White smoke emerged over the Sistine Chapel this afternoon, notifying the world that the College of Cardinals has elected a new pope. While many Catholics are still mourning Francis, among best beloved and most complicated popes in recent history, the… Thu, 08 May 2025 04:45:13 EDT Megan Goodwin 8c9bd9c4-3955-4690-a689-a7ae8d3700ca https://religiondispatches.org/2025/05/08/new-wa-mandatory-reporter-law-only-anti-catholic-if-catholic-means-protecting-sexual In our latest installment of “somehow this is actually happening,” Trump’s DOJ announced this week—with no apparent sense of irony or shame—that it will investigate whether a new Washington state law requiring clergy to report child sex abuse allegations is… Thu, 08 May 2025 01:57:01 EDT Megan Goodwin 00dae046-22de-4344-a55f-03a3153ea996 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/04/21/francis-roman-catholic-churchs-first-latin-american-pope-leaves-behind-complicated As you probably know by now, Pope Francis has died. (Mere hours after meeting with—how is this real life—US Vice President James Donald Bowman, aka James David Hamel, who prefers to be called JD Vance .) We’ll be offering more… Mon, 21 Apr 2025 03:47:49 EDT Megan Goodwin 8a79192d-333b-4a59-92b8-ae765d8c33e0 https://religiondispatches.org/2023/12/01/documenting-struggle-and-suicide-young-woman-dear-alana-podcast-raises-questions-about In advance of the Catholic Church’s recent global gathering, Pope Francis raised the hopes of LGBTQ Catholics that progress may be on the horizon through a series of letters and reports that hinted at possible advancements through the Synod on… Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:25:45 EST Abigail Battles dc543d70-9c7e-4a34-9cde-2d3a70c5fa01 https://religiondispatches.org/2023/07/21/why-roman-catholic-church-should-not-ordain-women-deacons For the first time in centuries the ordination of women is on the table in the Roman Catholic Church. It has arisen as a real possibility through the Synod on Synodality , which was launched by Pope Francis in October… Fri, 21 Jul 2023 04:00:54 EDT Father Anne 913748d1-4682-429a-91f3-64ab6e22b539 https://religiondispatches.org/2023/04/27/repudiation-its-devastating-doctrine-discovery-vatican-masks-history-and-responsibility What are the responsibilities of the Catholic Church when considering the historical realities of settler colonialism in what we now call the Americas? This question lies at the heart of recent conversations about March’s joint statement from the Vatican repudiating… Thu, 27 Apr 2023 04:39:04 EDT Elisha Chi a89152df-1bed-41fa-bedc-bcce9c41a348 https://religiondispatches.org/2023/03/29/intellectual-source-code-national-conservatism-can-be-found-niche-catholic-publication First Things describes itself as “America’s most influential journal of religion and public life.” You might not have heard of First Things —the magazine’s circulation wouldn’t drain a bathtub and its web traffic is quite modest—but its slogan is no… Wed, 29 Mar 2023 02:20:26 EDT Peter Schwartz 77931983-8a56-49d2-92c5-775c6ed40d44 https://religiondispatches.org/2023/02/13/who-could-possibly-take-issue-human-dignity-beware-trojan-horses Upon the recent death of the conservative British historian Paul Johnson, the right-wing journal Public Discourse praised Johnson as the “historian of human dignity.” Another recent piece in the Washington Post by Justin Dyer—executive director of the conservative Civitas Institute… Mon, 13 Feb 2023 02:48:58 EST Peter Schwartz ad4f02c0-36f0-4a1b-8a47-12c957abe0fc https://religiondispatches.org/2022/06/29/problems-pregnant-people-increase-catholic-bishops-claim-theyre-heroes-ending-abortion Now that Roe and Casey have been overturned, the roles of the institutional Roman Catholic Church and of most of the Catholic Supreme Court justices are transparent. Their ‘victory’ was the fruit of long, persistent work that many Catholics, myself… Wed, 29 Jun 2022 04:21:34 EDT Mary Hunt df21a91b-7295-4c4a-a01f-bb78f46c7970 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/10/end-roe-comes-courtesy-catholic-church-dorothy-day-abortion-fund-st-vincent-de-paul No matter how Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is decided finally, restrictions unto bans on abortions will be courtesy of the institutional Roman Catholic Church. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, their Pro-Life Activities Committee, and colleagues will… Tue, 10 May 2022 03:41:31 EDT Mary Hunt 1c7ff8e2-da71-42af-a292-a2f7ca74b98a https://religiondispatches.org/2020/07/07/its-catholic-bishops-not-those-who-toppled-junipero-serra-statues-who-have-failed-test Apologies are not enough. As protesters have taken to the streets throughout the world in opposition to anti-Black racism, they’ve also attacked statues symbolizing dominating violence, precisely because so many statues present in city centers represent the continuation of structures… Tue, 07 Jul 2020 01:04:55 EDT Jacqueline M. Hidalgo cf81fe49-5dde-4544-b567-def14386a277 https://religiondispatches.org/2018/08/27/colonialism-and-crisis-inside-crisis-catholic-sexual-abuse The emphasis on largely white contexts in national media coverage of Catholic clerical sexual abuse in the United States obscures the ways race and colonialism have structured the crisis in other communities. Mon, 27 Aug 2018 03:48:34 EDT Kathleen Holscher 7f66f987-092c-40fc-b3bb-9b5a242e5c41 https://religiondispatches.org/2018/08/23/why-changes-reporting-wont-fix-catholic-churchs-sexual-abuse-problem Even if the Church implemented safeguards it wouldn’t be enough. That’s because the Catholic clergy’s sexual crimes against children are a consequence, not a cause, of the church’s criminality. Thu, 23 Aug 2018 04:36:19 EDT Angela Bonavoglia 244552a3-d469-4233-98a6-96012b319c95 https://religiondispatches.org/2018/07/24/story-behind-catholic-churchs-stunning-contraception-reversal Behind the official explanation for the continued ban on birth control was the need to maintain the link between sex and procreation, which was essential to the maintenance of the traditional, subordinate role of women, a key concern of the Catholic Church. Tue, 24 Jul 2018 01:26:59 EDT Patricia Miller b35f7da8-6a7f-459f-8338-c744f3587a88 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/21/australians-vote-overwhelmingly-marriage-equality-and-more-global-lgbt-recap Australia: Voters overwhelmingly support marriage equality; opponents seek religious exemptions Australian voters overwhelmingly expressed support for marriage equality in a non-binding mail referendum whose results were released on November 15. The win came in spite of a “well-organized religious campaign”… Tue, 21 Nov 2017 03:37:54 EST Peter Montgomery 35e156c5-5d85-4591-a61c-e17edba1c54a https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/13/will-international-criminal-court-bring-charges-against-isis-gender-based-persecution Gay Times (U.K.) has compiled a map with nations marked by colors representing eight legal status categories for LGBT people, ranging from marriage equality to death penalty. “Original Sin,” a book by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, alleges “a host of… Mon, 13 Nov 2017 11:44:45 EST Peter Montgomery e4dc4ef6-82c3-42c7-9084-8754ee3a69ef https://religiondispatches.org/2017/11/06/anti-lgbt-culture-warriors-march-more-global-lgbt-recap International ILGA published its 2017 Global Attitudes Survey on Sexual, Gender and Sex Minorities, which it calls “the largest investigation of attitudes towards sexual, gender and sex minorities around the world ever conducted.” A section of the survey asks whether… Mon, 06 Nov 2017 12:14:03 EST Peter Montgomery 6a889402-6d5f-4d5c-a9f5-2f72451aca19 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/09/25/lgbt-muslim-clash-aiding-rise-right-europe OutRight Action International has published quotes from speakers at the meeting of the LGBTI Core Group during the recent United Nations General Assembly. The LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey held its annual conference in Podgorica, Montenegro… Mon, 25 Sep 2017 03:11:10 EDT Peter Montgomery aed81aaa-ad4b-42f5-8d87-246f5235af49 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/09/18/australian-church-nixes-straight-couples-wedding-over-their-marriage-equality-support Vitit Muntarbhorn, a Thai lawyer and diplomat, cited health problems in resigning effective October 31 as the United Nations’ first independent expert charged with investigating violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The creation of… Mon, 18 Sep 2017 10:15:53 EDT Peter Montgomery 9defd6a8-24de-421a-a119-e18e92fc3817 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/09/05/catholic-cardinal-slams-jesuits-bridge-building-book-and-more-global-lgbt-recap Reports from several international LGBT gatherings: The Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA), founded in 2016, reported on its August gathering in Accra, Ghana, which drew more than 30 delegates from 10 countries, for interfaith worship and conversations about… Tue, 05 Sep 2017 11:26:44 EDT Peter Montgomery de0731a2-d5ea-4f4c-b711-320073d2610a https://religiondispatches.org/2017/08/30/ex-kkk-priest-and-subtle-terrorism-anti-abortion-movement Largely lost in the coverage of the Rev. William Aitcheson, the priest serving in a Northern Virginia Catholic Church until he was revealed as a former member of the KKK, is his history of abortion clinic protests. According to the… Wed, 30 Aug 2017 05:02:52 EDT Patricia Miller 5787b9c4-c76e-43d7-9255-f0468c3c45bb https://religiondispatches.org/2017/08/21/some-christian-and-muslim-leaders-urging-no-vote-australian-mail-ballot-marriage Author Michael Muhammad Knight writes at Vice on “Editing Homophobia Out of the ‘Islamic Tradition.’” New Ways Ministry’s Bob Shine reflects on an interview conducted with former Vatican official Krzysztof Charamsa that was published in Religion and Gender at the… Mon, 21 Aug 2017 04:13:12 EDT Peter Montgomery d3e1e04a-5501-4520-81a5-bacd506d9f1c https://religiondispatches.org/2017/08/14/challenging-both-homophobia-islam-and-populist-bogeyman-homophobic-muslim-and-more Taken together, several articles published this week challenge populist portrayals of the “homophobic Muslim” as a threat to Western values in various countries, while also challenging conservative Muslim teachings that queerness and Islam are incompatible. In the Guardian, Moustafa Bayoumi… Mon, 14 Aug 2017 10:00:10 EDT Peter Montgomery 6d519c21-6dba-43bb-a073-260ecc864c3d