FāVS News News and Commentary about Religion and Ethics in Eastern Washington and North Idaho
In a press release sent out this week The Humanists of the Palouse, a chapter of the American Humanist Association, publicly condemned the comments of area pastor, Doug Wilson, regarding slavery and marriage equality.
Wilson, as pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, is a prominent and outspoken member of the community and a national figure. He recently stated on his blog that supporting same-sex marriage is a “far more serious” problem than supporting slavery.
“Wilson is already well-known for his strong opposition to LGBTQ rights and his white-washing of American slavery, but his recent comments callously unite the two in one deplorable statement. We are appalled at the assertion that systematic ownership of human beings would be considered more moral than legalizing marriage between two consenting adults,” the Humanists’ release read.
Members of the Humanists of the Palouse, along with many residents of Moscow, Idaho, said they celebrate the United States Supreme Court’s ruling regarding marriage equality and will continue to fight for the rights of the LGBTQ community and of all individuals.
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
A Facebook recently referred to Wilson as a “toolbag.” I think that’s accurate.
I’m a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse in Moscow. We called an openly lesbian minister (and her wife) and were performing same sex marriages starting more than 20 years earlier. There are a lot of us good people in Moscow on the right side of the supposed culture wars. Please don’t judge us solely on Doug’s example.