Social Scientists Defend Mark Regnerus' Controversial Study on Same-Sex Parenting

Michael Emerson, Christian Smith, and others defend sociologist accused of being "anti-gay," "breathtakingly sloppy," and getting "everything wrong."

Jeremy Weber

An influential group of social scientists -- including many who have appeared in CT's pages -- have issued a public statement defending Mark Regnerus's controversial study on same-sex parenting.
Regnerus, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin, published a paper in the July issue of Social Science Research that examined "how different are the adult children of parents who have same-sex relationships?" His findings, based on his New Family Structures Study, indicated that young-adult children of parents who have had same-sex relationships are more likely to experience emotional and social problems.

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Oreo cookie maker supports 'gay' pride

While supporters of traditional marriage gathered this week to protest General Mills’ very public decision to fight a traditional marriage amendment in Minnesota, another food giant, Kraft Foods, was rolling out its version of support for “gay” pride, a rainbow version of the Oreo cookie.

The cookie maker is quick to point out that the picture is simply an ad, and doesn’t depict a true product, but announced to American consumers where it stands on the controversial “gay” marriage issue nonetheless.


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(EN) Global Charter upholds religious freedom

Christian Today - A new Global Charter has been issued by academics and activists to uphold the right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The drafting of the Global Charter of Conscience was overseen by English author and critic, Dr Os Guinness, and German sociologist, Dr Thomas Schirrmacher.

They hope that the document will bring religious tolerance back to the centre of public debate and safeguard the freedom of future generations to engage in public life.

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(EN) Michigan stepping up for religious students

The Michigan House has passed a bill named after an Eastern Michigan University (EMU) student who was kicked out of the school's counseling program because of her faith.

In 2009, Julea Ward was expelled from the university's counseling program because of her Christian beliefs, particularly against homosexuality. But earlier this year, the Sixth U.S. Circuit of Appeals sided with the student, ruling that "a reasonable jury would conclude that Ward's professors ejected her from the counseling program because of hostility toward her speech and faith …." That opinion reversed an earlier district court decision in favor of the university.

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(EN) World Health Organization publishes manual on best ways to kill unborn babies

by John-Henry Westen

GENEVA, June 22, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a guide detailing the most effective ways to kill unborn children, with different methods at various stages of the unborn child’s development.
The document is the second edition of “Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems” which was originally published in 2003.

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‘Gold standard’ study’s striking findings: children of heterosexual parents happier, healthier

June 11, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study which found that children of heterosexual parents fare better on numerous indicators of personal well-being than children of homosexual parents is being hailed by true marriage advocates as by far the most scientifically credible studies to date on the subject.
Authored by Mark Regnerus, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, the study will be published in the July 2012 issue of Social Science Research, and is currently available online.
Regnerus’ findings, based upon the responses from children raised by their biological parents, or a homosexual parent with his or her partner, were striking.

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Dr. Ben Carson on Rejecting Darwinian Evolution

On this episode of ID the Future, host David Boze speaks with Dr. Ben Carson, renowned pediatric neurosurgeon and Darwin doubter. Dr. Carson was recently invited to deliver the commencement speech at Emory University. Unfortunately, upon uncovering his non-allegiance to Darwinian ideology, 500 faculty members and students alike signed a letter in protest of his welcome. Listen in to hear Dr. Carson discuss this ill treatment and why his acute knowledge of the brain has led him to reject Darwinism.

Dr. Ben Carson is the Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. An internationally renowned physician, Dr. Carson has authored over 100 neurosurgical publications, along with three best-selling books, and has been awarded 38 honorary doctorate degrees and dozens of national merit citations.

Click this thread to listen.

After a year-long battle, campus ministry no longer official group at a Tennessee university

USA (MNN) ― After 12 months of conversations with school administrators, many campus ministries will be leaving Tennessee's Vanderbilt University as official campus groups this fall.

In late 2010, Vanderbilt created an anti-discrimination policy to be followed by its recognized on-campus groups. The essential points of the policy are that every group must be willing to welcome any student into the group as a member and must also allow any student who so desires a shot at leadership within the group.

But many Christian groups on campus had a problem with this. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was one of them.

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Creationists Convince South Korean Officials to Remove Evolutionary References From High School Textbooks

The campaign was led by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), which aims to delete the “error” of evolution from textbooks to “correct” students’ views of the world, according to the society’s website. The society says that its members include professors of biology and high-school science teachers.

The STR is also campaigning to remove content about “the evolution of humans” and “the adaptation of finch beaks based on habitat and mode of sustenance”, a reference to one of the most famous observations in Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. To back its campaign, the group highlights recent discoveries that Archaeopteryx is one of many feathered dinosaurs, and not necessarily an ancestor of all birds². Exploiting such debates over the lineage of species “is a typical strategy of creation scientists to attack the teaching of evolution itself”, says Joonghwan Jeon, an evolutionary psychologist at Kyung Hee University in Yongin.

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Pope: no future for humanity without family, "first cell of man and civilization"

At the general audience, Benedict XVI retraces the highlights of the World Meeting of Families. Institutions need to support the person, beginning with the right to life and recognition of the identity of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman ","first cell of man and civilization. "" A message hope, which is possible and joyful, even if challenging, the experience of lasting faithful love. "The 'arrogance' of work commitments:" Sunday is the day of the Lord and of man, a day when all must be free, for the family and for God. Defending Sunday, we defend the freedom of man. "

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Pope: Family, work, celebration, three gifts of God to build a society with a human face, in a world

by Bernardo Cervellera

Asianews.it --Benedict XVI celebrates mass at the end of the VII World Meeting of Families. Man and woman, made 'in the image of God "are fruitful in generating children, but also in transforming the world through work, profit does not dominate, and celebration that is meeting, sharing, relationships with nature and celebration with God . Next World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia (USA).

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