Announcing religion@critpath.org

This list is a project of the Interfaith Working Group.
It is for information which will help the advancement of 
queer-friendly religion in North America -

1) ways to advance equality for sexual minorities within the religious 
   community
2) ways to publicize the existence of queer friendly religious organizations
   to the general public in order to counter the message of the Radical
   Religious Right and
3) ways to publicize the existence of queer-friendly religious organizations
   to those in the LGBT community.

We hope, through this list, to extend the model of the Interfaith Working
Group into other parts of North America, to bring existing groups
with similar models into contact with each other, and to bring individuals
into contact with those groups.

A national network of such organizations is the best chance we have for
counteracting the message of the Radical Religious Right and bringing
change within existing religious organizations.

Postings we encourage

1) Introductions from new list members
2) Notices about new informational materials - pro and con - that discuss
   issues relating to sexual orientation and religion - books, movies,
   URLs, newspaper articles, you name it.  If you want to forward whole
   articles from news clipping services, go ahead.
3) Alerts regarding TV shows, periodicals, or statements by government
   or school officials relating to the topic at hand that require an immediate 
   response.
4) Notice of events at which religious participation would send a strong
   message  For local events, please note the location in the subject line.
   If a separate local list exists, please use it instead.
5) Copies of letters to politicians and the media which you have sent
   on related topics.  

Postings we will actively discourage:

1) debates about the relative value of individual religions
2) debates about the general wisdom of pushing this message
3) theological arguments
4) personal conversations
5) insults or harassment against other list members
6) unsolicited evangelism of other list members
7) terminology debates (queer vs. gay vs. sexual minority vs. LGBT etc)
8) discussion of unrelated topics.

If you see material on this list which you disagree with, keep the
disagreement to yourself.  Nobody is forcing you to use any of the
information you receive and we are in favor of the free flow of
information.  If you see factual errors, which you can document,
feel free to correct them.  Differences in interpretation of scripture
or language are NOT the same as factual errors.  If you wish to post
alternative interpretations, do so, but not in the form of an argument.

If you can't explain to yourself how a post is related to the topic,
don't send it.  If it takes some explaining, explain it as part of the
post.  If you find yourself having to explain every post, something's wrong.

Participation in this list is in itself a form of evangelism, because you
will be setting a good example and endearing yourself to others.  If other
list members become interested enough to want to know more about you, feel
free to discuss belief systems with them off line.

People engaging in minor infractions will receive a warning.  Major
infractions or repeated warnings will result in expulsion.  This list
will remain civil.  The volume level may be too much for some people
as is.  Extra garbage will make it ineffective and will not be tolerated.

If you receive harassing email as a result of participation on this
list, please let the list owner know immediately, but do not be surprised
if it happens.  We have no fool-proof method for screening initial
subscriptions.

To subscribe to this list, send the message

    subscribe religion your_first_name your_last_name
to
    religion-request@critpath.org

To conceal your presence on this list, send the message

    set religion conceal yes
to
    religion-request@critpath.org

To see copies of the messages you send, send the message

    set religion mail ack
to
    religion-request@critpath.org


To unsubscribe from this list, send the message

    unsubscribe religion
to
    religion-request@critpath.org

For help, send the message
    help
to
    religion-request@critpath.org

To post to the list, send your message to
    religion@critpath.org

If you need more help after that, send email to purdom@critpath.org, or
iwg@libertynet.org.