Christianity

Gay marriage campaign: a wise tactical move

Most self-respecting LGBT people do not aspire to religious doctrines to sanctify their relationships. Those who want to have a legal union are catered for by civil partnerships which ease some immigration restrictions for LGBT couples, make passing on and sharing property a bit easier, and in a society as a whole provide the social status of a “committed” relationship — in the communities that matter to us, of course. But Stonewall’s campaign for gay marriage rights is not just about the practical application of recognition of LGBT relationships under the Church, it does something incredibly...

Feminism vs religion

This year in Britain we’ve seen Christian fundamentalism asserting itself. In London, Brighton and Manchester we have seen pro-life pickets outside abortion clinics, where women are harassed and told lies about the effects of abortion. Fourtunately those pickets have not gone unchallenged by pro-choice campaigners. But increasingly, on our streets and university campuses, pro-life organisations hold stalls and workshops distributing anti-abortion propaganda. Now Catholic (“pro-life”) charity Care Confidential is seeking to bring all its affiliated centres up to “commissioning status” standard...

Assimilation or liberation?

The government has launched a consultation on marriage reforms, which would allow gay couples in England and Wales to enter into civil marriage. We have already witnessed an unrestrained fit of homophobia from many religious leaders and anti-gay groups, including the Coalition for Marriage. They say same-sex couples may choose to have a civil partnership but no one has the right to redefine marriage for “the rest of us”— presumably those who support the existing patriarchal concepts of marriage and sexuality. The key proposals of the consultation are: • to enable same-sex couples to have a...

Separate religion from politics

A High Court ruling has stated that councils have no statutory right to hold prayers at meetings. The case, brought by the National Secular Society, has resulted in outrage from Tory MPs, the Daily Mail, the Christian Institute and churches. They say this is discrimination against believers and an attempt to destroy Christianity. They claim it will lead to the end of prayers before Parliament, at remembrance services and that even the Coronation oath will have to be abolished. The Christian Institute also complains that the logic of this decision is that councils won’t even be allowed to sing...

"The Treason of the Intellectuals": buy here and contribute to AWL fund drive

"The Treason of the Intellectuals, and other political verse" by Sean Matgamna includes political verse previously published in Solidarity and its forerunners. All proceeds from sales of the book, above printing and dispatch costs, go to the AWL fund drive. £9.99. Buy by clicking on the button below. or click here .

Is Ireland becoming a proper bourgeois republic?

If you’ve been following the news from Ireland you will be aware that the 26 counties are throwing off Rome rule and becoming a republic, a proper modern capitalist secular republic. The latest investigation into child abuse in the Cloyne Diocese has revealed that the Vatican has been advising the Vicar General of the diocese that the joint State-Church guidelines on reporting sexual abuse are optional. This is the third diocese to be exposed for systemic abuse. The UN initiated an investigation into the “Magdelene Laundries” concentration camps for girls and young women who had babies out of...

Justice for Magdalenes

The campaign on behalf of women incarcerated in laundries by Ireland's religious orders has welcomed the announcement this week by the Irish government of an official inquiry into its involvement in their abuse throughout the twentieth century. Irish Senator Dr. Martin McAleese is to chair an Inter-Departmental Committee looking into the State's relationship with the Magdalene laundries that will report within three months. The Justice for Magdalenes campaign is calling for an official apology and for reparations to be paid to the survivors. Although they had existed from the eighteenth...

A collection of short articles from Workers' Liberty 12-13, August 1989

Click here to download the pdf including all these short articles from Workers' Liberty 12-13, August 1989. Strikes in Stalinist and ex-Stalinist states; Rushdie; EU; Dock Labour scheme scrapped; more on USSR strikes; strikes in UK; abortion rights in USA; world economy; British economy; Scottish left and Assembly; independent union in China. The heirs of Stalin face the workers: In China, in Yugoslavia, in Poland, in the USSR, the working class is becoming an independent force for the first time in many decades. Rushdie and the labour movement: The Labour movement, Muslim zealots and Salman...

Marx on Christianity

"The social principles of Christianity have now had eighteen hundred years to be developed, and need no further development by Prussian Consistorial Counsellors. "The social principles of Christianity justified the slavery of antiquity, glorified the serfdom of the Middle Ages and are capable, in case of need, of defending the oppression of the proletariat, with somewhat doleful grimaces. "The social principles of Christianity preach the necessity of a ruling and an oppressed class, and for the latter all they have to offer is the pious wish that the former may be charitable. "The social...

Pope Benedict and his "Red" Army

For much of the 20th century, in large parts of the world, the Stalinist movement on the one hand, and the Catholic Church and its political and social movements on the other, were the great antagonists. Yet the Stalinist movements and the Catholic Church were, as was often pointed out, in many respects similar, parallel in their mindset and organisation. It now turns out that they were similar in their attitude to mass rape by their "soldiers" in the field. In 1945, when the gruesomely misnamed "Red" Army advanced into enemy countries in Eastern and Central Europe, the soldiers of Stalin's...

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