Unearthing The Surprising Religious History Of American Gay Rights Activism

[DriftingCrow]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/28/gay-religious-history_n_5538178.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post

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.

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.

The network's [LGBT Religious Archives Network] website offers a series of profiles of and oral history interviews with Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Pagan LGBT clergy and religious activists, living and dead.

"What we know of the face of religion and gay rights has been shaped by a shift that occurred in the 1970s with the rise of conservative Christianity. It's a consolidated political force that wasn't in place before then. [. . .says White].

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