This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Last weekend was Easter, Passover and LDS General Conference. A good time to contemplate the influence of religion — good, bad and shifting, on our lives.
— Faith's future in flux — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
"Religious demographics are in constant flux around the globe, and faith traditions are thriving, according to a new Pew Research Center report on the future of world religions.
"The picture Pew paints is of a rising Islam, eventually eclipsing Christianity. Growth has little to do with converting new members, but is determined largely by which religions have a younger, more fertile, membership.
"Researchers projected what the religion makeup will be in 2050 and beyond. While deeply personal, religion, of course, also is a dominant geopolitical force.
"The Pew report paints a picture of shifting influences across the globe, and the changing face undoubtedly will have ramifications in regions everywhere. In the U.S., and by extension Utah, the picture is of continuing diversification. ..."
— The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050 — Pew Research Center
— This Easter, Christians should embrace the future and release the past — Leonard Pitts Jr. | The Miami Herald / sltrib.com
" ... This is the faith of sacrifice and service. Unlike the faith of force and exclusion, it gets no headlines, generates no heat. It just is. ..."
— Mormon leaders laud 'traditional families,' warn against 'counterfeit' lifestyles — Peggy Fletcher Stack | The Salt Lake Tribune
— LDS polygamy essay is a good step worth sharing with seminary students — Laura Harris Hales | For The Salt Lake Tribune
— On LGBT rights, Utah gets to say, 'We're not Indiana' — Sean P. Means | The Salt Lake Tribune
"Isn't it a relief when the nation is badmouthing a state for being politically retrograde, and that state isn't Utah?
"This week, the wheel of misfortune has spun around to Indiana — after Gov. Mike Pence signed something called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
"Pence and his Christian right-wing backers are touting this new law as a necessary protection of religious rights. Most everyone else sees it as a way to legalize discrimination against groups religious people don't like — primarily, gays and lesbians.
"So how did Utah avoid Indiana's fate?
" 'We didn't pass a RFRA, and Indiana did,' said Troy Williams, executive director of Equality Utah, the LGBT advocacy group. ..."
— How Utah's nondiscrimination law is different from Indiana, Arkansas — Jennifer Dobner | The Salt Lake Tribune
— Utah law becomes an example for the country — Ogden Standard-Examiner Editorial
"We have no sympathy for officials in Indiana and Arkansas who are backpedaling after backlash over the passage of religious liberties laws that critics say allow for legal discrimination against gays.
"That's because, unlike Utah, they passed their laws without consulting all stakeholders involved, including the LGBT community.
"Now, Utah is being held up as an example of a 'better approach' to the issue with the way Senate Bill 296 was handled in this year's legislative session. And Utah officials are proud to be in the 'praise' position for a change. And they should be. ..."
— Legislation should not polarize religious liberties, anti-discrimination protections — Deseret News Editorial
" ... Ironically, it may be that the recent and harsh response to RFRAs is precisely what worries many people of faith. Even as they attempt to exercise constitutionally protected rights of association and speech to inform public discourse from a framework of time-tested institutions and universalized morality, they are publicly pilloried for bigotry and animus. ..."