Saint Wilgefortis is a Popular Figure of the Religious Imagination

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

Saint Wilgefortis in the Museum of the Diocese Graz-Seckau in Graz, Austria, 18th century

AUSTRIA---Some of the most fascinating Christian art stories get shared weekly on "Jesus In Love," a popular gay Christian art blog. Each week, there is something new to astound me. Recently, I read about a 14th century bearded-lady who was also a Roman Catholic Saint: "Legend says that Wilgefortis was the teenage Christian daughter of a king in medieval Portugal. She had taken a vow of chastity, but her father ordered her to marry a pagan king. She resisted the unwelcome marriage by praying to be made repulsive to her fiancé. God answered her prayers when she grew a beard. Unfortunately her father got so angry that he had her crucified and Wilgefortis joined the ranks of virgin martyrs." [link]

“Santa Wilgefortis” from “Queer Santas” series by Alma Lopez

Read More

Signapore Halts Destruction of "Pro-Gay" Children's Books

GLOBAL POST

The three pro-gay books which faced government censorship in Singapore (Photos: internet)

SINGAPORE---Singapore on Friday stopped its national library from destroying two children's books with gay themes following an outcry over literary censorship in the tightly regulated city-state. Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim ordered the books moved to the adult section, where parents can borrow them for their children, after another title had already been "pulped" by the National Library Board (NLB). The two books to be moved to the adult section of public libraries are "And Tango Makes Three" -- a true story about two male penguins in a New York zoo that raised a baby penguin -- and "The White Swan Express", which features children adopted by straight, gay, mixed-race and single parents. The book that has already been destroyed is "Who's In My Family", which discusses different types of families, including references to gay couples. [link]

Read More

New Rainbow Crucifix and Rainbow Madonna Unveiled by Richard Stott

JESUS IN LOVE BLOG
By Kittredge Cherry

“Solidarity” by Richard Stott (Photo by Rebecca Litchfield)

UNITED KINGDOM---Rainbow clothing gives a queer quality to Jesus and his mother Mary in new paintings by gay British artist and minister Richard Stott. The two rainbow Christian images made their debut recently as part of the exhibit “Sacred Stories of the Body: Gender, Sexuality and Spirituality” in the United Kingdom. It was on display during May and June in the gallery at 35 Chapel Walk in Sheffield, England. The show featured five artists with a range of sexual identities and religious traditions. [link]

Read More

Rituals: A Relationship Where Marriage is Freedom

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Michael M. Grynbaum

Randy Florke (left) and Sean Patrick Maloney were married
at the Episcopal Church of St. Mary-in-the-Highlands, in Cold Spring, N.Y.

Mr. Florke, 51, and Mr. Maloney, 47, who was elected in 2012 as New York’s first openly gay congressman, were married last month at a church near their home in Cold Spring, N.Y., as their three children looked on. After two decades together, marriage was not a priority. But last year, Mr. Florke traveled to Washington to hear the arguments before the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage. He left profoundly shaken, hurt by the words of those who spoke against change; he thought of friends who died of AIDS and what they had missed. That summer, driving upstate, he heard on the radio that the court had struck down the Defense of Marriage Act — followed by the voice of Mr. Maloney, being interviewed about the decision. Mr. Florke felt something stir. “When something is not really accessible to you, part of your brain pretends like it doesn’t want it,” he said. [link]

Read More

Monday's Madonna & Child by Catherine Opie

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

Catherine Opie, Self Portrait/Nursing, 2004, C-print, 40x32in. Courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects.

NEW YORK---It's not your conventional "Madonna & Child" but why start your week out with conventional Christian art? The Leslie-Lohman Museum's "After Our Bodies Meet: From Resistance to Potentiality" explores queer feminist artists' responses to dominant notions about the body from the 1970s to the present day through August 3. Reflecting the ever-growing diversity of feminist art, this exhibition provides a cross-cultural examination of how artists represent the body to challenge past and present forms of oppression and to envision a queer future.

Read More

Coming Out: Growing up Gay and Muslim in America

ALJAZEERA AMERICA 
By Edward Wyckoff Williams

Gay rainbow flag with Islamic symbol of faith

NEW YORK – Born in the suburbs of Seattle to a close-knit middle-class American family, Omar said he felt pressure to live up to his family’s expectations, as a man and as a Muslim. At UCLA, he attended prayers and participated in the Muslim Student Association. But in secret, he started dating men. Unable to reconcile being gay with his faith, he stepped away from Islam. Since moving to New York City five years ago, Omar has lived as an openly gay man. Traditionally, Islam does not tolerate homosexuality. Of the estimated 4 to 7 million Muslims living in the U.S., many are first-generation immigrants, who, like Omar’s Pakistani parents, came from countries where same-sex relationships are stigmatized, criminalized or even punishable by death. [link]

Read More

Gay Christian Conservative Employee Sues Gay Bar for Sexual, Religious Harassment

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Eugen Volokh

WASHINGTON, DC---The case is Parker v. Side by Side, Inc. (N.D. Ill. June 27, 2014). An excerpt: "Plaintiff is a practicing non-denominational Christian. Plaintiff bases his claim for religious harassment on purportedly anti-Christian video clips Sidetrack played during comedy nights, offensive performances ridiculing Christians at special events, and degrading comments Sidetrack employees, particularly Lee Trudell and Defendant Oakes, made to Plaintiff because of his religion and his relationship with [Kevin DuJan, a Christian conservative blogger]." In making this determination, the Court notes that the allegedly offensive anti-Christian video clips about which Plaintiff has complained do not contribute to the alleged hostility of his work environment. [link]

Read More

Unearthing The Surprising Religious History Of American Gay Rights Activism

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Jaweed Kaleem

Bay Area Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal and United Church of Christ clergy and gay activists had formed the Council on Religion and the Homosexual to promote the "need for a better understanding of human sexuality" and its "broad variations and manifestations."

On New Year's Day 1965, hundreds of gay San Franciscans arrived at 625 Polk Street in the city's Tenderloin district for a much-anticipated "Mardi Gras Ball." Perhaps the most striking aspect of the San Francisco ball, however, was its purpose beyond merriment: It was held as a fundraiser for pro-gay clergy. Today, although Americans for and against gay rights cite their religious beliefs, those who oppose same-sex marriage and other civil rights for LGBT individuals have been especially vocal in declaring that God is on their side. That's not always been the expectation about the faithful. In the mid-1960s, LGBT activists often looked to men of the cloth as allies in their fight for justice and human rights, according to historians. [link]

The first issue of Affirmation, a newsletter for gay and lesbian Mormons, was printed in 1980.

On Dec. 7, 1964, a front-page article in the San Francisco Chronicle
announced the launch of the Council on Religion and the Homosexual.

A mid-1970s fact sheet and flyer for New York's Congregation Beit Simchat Torah.

Read More

INSPIRE ME! July Artist of Month - Marsden Hartley (1877–1943)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

"Men who are highly imaginative, create by feeling 

what they do not or cannot know. It is the sixth sense of the creator."

~ MARSDEN HARTLEY

"Three Friends" (1941) by Marsden Hartley. Indiana University Museum of Art

By TAHLIB

Marsden Hartley is the July INSPIRE ME! Artist of month. He was one of a circle of American modernist painters championed by Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keefe, and Gertrude Stein, and he was also a Gay. Hartley is most well known for hius landscapes, but it is his approach to religious themes that captured my attention since first spotting his work at the Indiana University Art Museum (See above). "I am not a "book of the month" artist," Marsden Hartley (1877-1943) wrote his sister at the end of his life, and I do not paint pretty pictures; but when I am no longer here my name will register forever in the history of American art." Born in Maine in 1877, he traveled the world painting but returned to Maine again in his later life, passing away in 1943. A retrospective of his work ended in Germany on June 29 but travels to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in August.

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943)

"Santos" (1918-19) by Marsden Hartley. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

"The Warriors" (1913) by Marden Hartley

"Handsome Drinks" (1916) by Marsden Hartley, Brooklyn Museum

"El Santo" (1991) by Marsden Hartley, New Mexico Museum of Art 

"Christ Held by Half Naked Men" by Marsden Hartley

Marsden Hartley Fisherman's Last Supper 1940-41.

Marsden Hartley Indian Composition 1914

"The Last Look of John Donne" (1940) by Marsden Hartley

Read More

Sir Elton John: Jesus would have supported gay marriage

THE GUARDIAN

By Press Association

UNITED KINGDOM---Jesus would have been a supporter of gay marriage, Sir Elton John has claimed. The musician, who plans to marry his civil partner David Furnish next year in a "very quiet" ceremony, said that rules preventing gay clergy from marrying and requiring Catholic priests to be celibate were "old and stupid things". [link]

Read More

Federal judge in Kentucky Strikes Down Marriage Ban for #23 in 1 Year

FREEDOM TO MARRY
By Adam Polaski

KENTUCKY---Today, July 1, 2014, U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II ruled in favor of the freedom to marry, striking down a constitutional amendment in the state that restricts marriage to different-sex couples. The Kentucky cases were filed last summer (with the intervening couples granted permission in February) by private lawyers from Clay Daniel Walton & Adams and Fauver Law Office in Louisville, KY. Bourke v. Beshear will be considered by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit this summer, with oral arguments scheduled for August 6, 2014, the same day that oral arguments will be heard in marriage cases from Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. For more information about the 6th Circuit marriage cases, click here. [link]

Read More

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

This past week, the Center for Civil and Human Rights opened in Atlanta and gay couples earned their freedom to marry in Indiana. For three days, gay couples married as part of the equality movement inspired by Civil Rights heroes like Coretta Scott King, Bayard Rustin, and current Congressman John Lewis. It is Lewis's life and example that are told in 37 expressionistic works by Georgia artist Benny Andrews, now in the center's collection. The works feature John Lewis’s recollection of key episodes in his life and his unwavering fight for civil rights. For a week when freedom both waxed and waned, "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking" (above) by Benny Andrews is my NEWS OF WEEK.

In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhist Art of Week: New book, "Artful Contemplation" from Bhutan [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: Pat Robertson says Christian tattoos are "heathen" [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: Smithsonian's yoga exhibition illuminates in Cleveland [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: Capture the Spirit of Ramadan" returns for holymonth [More News]
• Judaic Art Week: ArtFest - 4 days of art, performance, music & writing [More News]

Join the journey. When you follow religious artists, you look for others who do the same. Some of us join as "Collectors" and make policy decisions; others join as "Friends" who gather for the dialogues; and most of us join as "Subscribers" to this "free" weekly newsletter; (or follow on: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, or Soundcloud).

Read More

Stay on Same-Sex Ruling Leaves Gay Couples With Questions

WTHR CHANNEL 13 | NBC
By Emily Longnecker - Bio | Email 

Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton, co-founders of
Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts

INDIANA---Members of the gay community are upset with Friday's appeals court stay of the ruling that allowed same-sex marriage in Indiana. They see it as a fight to protect their rights and this ruling calls that into question. The ink was barely dry on their marriage license from Wednesday when Ernest and Greg Disney-Britton learned other gay couples still wanting to get married would have to wait. "That's why its even more of a letdown, because it was unexpected to even happen and then you rip it away," said Greg. "I thank God for Wednesday and Wednesday's going to come again," Ernest added. It has to, they said, and they believe most Hoosiers agree with them. [link]

Watch Video: [Same-sex couple reacts to stay]

Read More

Gay Marriages in Indiana 2014 (Slideshow)

NUVO MAGAZINE
By Mark A. Lee

Ernest Britton and Greg Disney hold hands as Beth White
officiates their wedding on Wednesday. Their union was originally
blessed on January 28, 2008 at Life Journey Church in Indianapolis.

INDIANA---Chief Judge Richard Young's historic decision on marriage equality in Indiana opened up the doors to over a thousand Hoosiers getting married on Wednesday June 25th, 2014. The City County Building in Downtown Indianapolis stayed open past 10PM to perform ceremonies. [Slide Show]

Read More

Federal Judge Rules Indiana Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

FREEDOM TO MARRY

INDIANA---Today U.S. District Judge Richard Young ruled that Indiana’s state law denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry violates the U.S. Constitution, becoming the latest of more than 20 federal and state judges to rule in favor of the freedom to marry in recent months. Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement:m"Judge Young held today that there is no justification for denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry, the latest in a unanimous wave of favorable rulings over the past few months. The judge noted the harm marriage discrimination inflicts on Indiana families, while benefiting no one. With more than 70 marriage cases pending and a strong majority of Americans backing the freedom to marry, today's decision out of the heartland underscores that America is ready for the Supreme Court to bring an end to marriage discrimination once and for all." [link]

Read More

Islamic Artist Trying to Change Thinking About Being Gay And Muslim

VOX MAGAZINE
By Brandon Ambrosino

Promotional poster for 'Just Me and Allah.'

When Samra Habib started attending art shows as a teenager, she quickly realized something: queer Muslims are seriously underrepresented in art. As a result, she says, many Muslims "don't have the cultural understanding about how to talk about these issues — they just don't have the tools." Habib decided to try to correct this problem with a photography exhibition that opened this week at Toronto's Parliament Street Library. The exhibition, titled Just Me and Allah: Photographs of Queer Muslims, features ten close-up photographs of out queer Muslims from all over the world. Habib's subjects represent a "range of religious beliefs." Some of them pray five times a day, while others merely observe certain holidays. All of them, however, have two things in common: they were raised in Islam, and they currently identify as queer.[link]

Read More

Obama to Extend Array of Marriage Benefits to Gay Couples in all 50 States

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Michael Shear

Detail from May 2012 NEWSWEEK cover. Courtesy of Politico.

WASHINGTON, DC---The federal government on Friday will extend a wide range of marriage benefits to same-sex couples, making good on a promise by President Obama after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act last year. After decades of blocking gay married couples from receiving the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts, most federal agencies will now treat married couples alike, regardless of gender. The changes in regulations across the federal government will be announced Friday. [link]

• Under the changes, same-sex spouses of Defense Department employees will receive all the benefits of heterosexual husbands and wives. 
• Federal immigration law will apply equally to gay and straight married couples. The Internal Revenue Service will recognize the marriages of all gay couples. 
• The spouses of gay federal employees will get health insurance, life insurance and flexible spending accounts.
• Federal employees will be able to take leave to care for a same-sex spouse, something that has long been limited to heterosexual married couples.
• However, the Administration is unable to provide benefits for two agencies: Social Security and Veterans Department simply by changing regulations .

Read More

Hindu Mythology and American Science Fiction Inspires Exhibition at Gay Museum

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Chitra Ganesh, Atlas, 2013, Archival chromogenic print, 70 x 52 in. Courtesy of the artist.

NEW YORK---Manhattan's Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art presents "After Our Bodies Meet: From Resistance to Potentiality" through July 27, 2014. The exhibition explores queer feminist artists’ responses to dominant notions about the body from the 1970s to present day, and features ten artists including Chitra Ganesh. The ditial collages of Ganesh are inspired by Indian comic books, Hindu mythology and American science fiction, but also draw from disparate materials and cultural sources to offer alternate narratives of female sexuality and power.  In Ganesh’s work, the body serves as a site of transgression and revision, tearing apart stereotypes and histories only to reassemble them into a radical vision of corporeality, citizenship and desire.

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art: "After Our Bodies Meet: From Resistance to Potentiality" (Ends July 27); 26 Wooster Street, New York, NY; (212) 431-2609; LeslieLohman.org

Read More

Show on African Homosexuality Shut Down After Fundamentalist Attack

THE ART NEWSPAPER
By Anny Shaw

The Nigerian photographer's ongoing series "Who We Are" portrays gay men from Lagos

SENEGAL---The Senegalese government has shut down one of the first exhibitions in Africa to focus on homosexuality on the continent. The move comes several weeks after an attack on the Dakar gallery by Muslim fundamentalists, says the French-Algerian artist Kader Attia. “Precarious Imaging: Visibility and Media Surrounding African Queerness” opened at Raw Material Company on 11 May, but a day later, the non-profit art centre was vandalised and the building damaged, according to Attia, whose video about the lives of transsexuals in Algiers and Mumbai was included in the show. No one was hurt in the attack. [link]

Read More

Ugandan Extremist Named to Head U.N. Assembly

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By Carol Williams

Masked Kenyan supporters of the LGBT community stage a protest against Uganda's anti-gay bill in Nairobi. 

UGANDA---Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa, who is set to take over the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, has a decades-long legacy of corruption, military aggression and human-rights abuses, according to opponents of his selection as ceremonial head of the world body.  Kutesa also defended Museveni's introduction of an anti-gay law last year that imposes life sentences to those convicted of "aggravated homosexuality," a charge applied to same-sex couples openly living together. Milton Allimadi, a Ugandan journalist based in New York and editor of the Black Star News website, has been circulating an online petition appealing to the U.S. State Department to revoke Kutesa's visa so he cannot attend Wednesday's administrative session, where he is to assume his presidential duties. [link]

Read More