With our fairly steady torrent of invectives against the latest idiocies of the religious right, one could easily assume that a) Re:Generator has it out for all Christians and b) we turn a blind eye to the gross outrages perpetrated by fundamentalist sects of other denominations.
Neither assumption is accurate.
The culture wars waged by fundamentalist christians have the most impact on the way people like us – who don’t share their values – live our lives. They have real political power and they are franchised, despite shallow claims to the contrary – disproportionately so, demographically speaking. So when they’re pushing their morally authoritarian agenda, it makes sense for us to fight back. We believe in freedom of religion and freedom from religion.
Still, they’re hardly the only repressive assholes inhabiting the world.
Come with us, if you will, on a tour de force through religiously perverted trains of thought, starting with the familiar then heading to parts unknown (for most Americans, at least).
“God Hates the World”
It’s redundant to note that the Westboro Baptist Church, that same miniscule Christian sect that pickets soldiers funerals for being quote “fag enablers,” is culturally behind the times. But horror of horrors, it seems they finally made it to the 1980s and heard “We are the world.” Pastor Fred Phelps thought the music was good, but fancied his church could do better lyrically than known degenerates Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Thus, “God hates the world” was born.
Hot Islamic makeouts
Germany’s Der Spiegel recently documented myraid underground expressions of sexuality in Islamic countries. It paints an extremely patriarchal picture, to be sure, but also touches on aspects of Muslim sexuality Westerners may not be familiar with.
There is one exception, and it’s even sanctioned by the Islamic faith: the “temporary marriage” or “pleasure marriage” — not a bond for life but one designed for intimate sins. Such agreements, presided over by imams, are not regulated by the state. They can be concluded for only a few hours or they can be open-ended. But particularly romantic they are not.
However, there is still much to be outraged about, including an anecdote about a journalist and his girlfriend being thrown in jail overnight because he had an unused condom in his shirt pocket. We highly recommended reading the full article.
Flying in the face of Hindu tradition
Earlier this month, British actress Elizabeth Hurley married businessman Arun Nayar the way they saw fit in a ceremony in Nayar’s native India. That didn’t sit too well with Indian Hindus, who decried the couple’s public displays of affection, drinking before the ceremony and Hurley’s refusal to take off her leather footwear near the sacred fire. One man is even attempting to bring legal charges against them.
Vishnu Khandelwal, a resident of Jodhpur in the northern state of Rajasthan, reportedly filed the case after seeing pictures of the lavish nuptials. Hurley sold her wedding pictures to Hello! magazine for $5 million, and the plaintiff’s attorney plans to use some of those photographs to prove his case against the couple.Khandelwal has never met the newlyweds, who also had a grand wedding ceremony in Britain before their Indian rites, but his case may get some high-profile help. Vinod Nayar, the estranged father of the groom, reportedly got in touch with Khandelwal’s lawyer, offering to disclose “some important facts” that could help.
Talk about an in-law from hell.
If found “guilty,” the couple could spend up to three years in prison.
