RNS Morning Report: Biden Addresses Muslim Voters; Transgender Seminarians; Rejecting Hate

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit on March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Need to know: Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Biden makes bid for Muslim voters at virtual summit: ‘I want to earn your vote’

In an address to Muslim voters, former Vice President Joe Biden promised to ‘earn’ their communities’ support and, if elected to the Oval Office, sign hate crime legislation, appoint Muslim staffers and immediately repeal the Muslim travel ban.

As seminaries welcome openly transgender students, church lags behind

As mainline and non-denominational Christian seminaries are making strides toward becoming transgender-inclusive, transgender seminarians still encounter hurdles to ordination and finding a pulpit.

Rejecting symbols of hate is more than symbolic

A nation that still honors Confederate signs in public places signals its belief that Black people are less important than white people, that Black people’s trauma can be disregarded, writes Jim Wallis.

Unspecified changes underway for Mormon temple ceremony

The LDS Church announced changes to its temple endowment ceremony, but has not yet specified what those changes are. One possibility is that they will remove or lessen physical touch in the ritual, writes Jana Riess.

The Talmud has a lesson for our cancel-culture world

As our ancient rabbis understood, debate — and the people who engage in it — is vital to advancing society, writes Will Berkovitz.

A Buddhist teacher’s meditations on confronting white supremacy

Mindfulness, as it’s taught in the mainstream, will not be enough to undo trauma, racism and so forth. Buddhist mindfulness is about liberation through cultivating awareness and ethics.

 


 

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Pompeo’s rights commission delivers an implicit critique of Trump

A report with a more expansive of human rights than the secretary of state — or his boss — may have anticipated, writes Mark Silk.

Anti-maskers: You are the reason we can’t have nice things

(RNS) — Instead of rejoicing that masks give us a safe, cheap and effective way to stop the spread of COVID-19, some Americans are resisting in the name of ‘freedom.’ Freedom for whom?

From King to Gandhi, racial justice brings faiths together

Racial equity is a movement where people from different faiths meet, are inspired by one another and advance a cause that we view as a sacred command, writes Eboo Patel.