Category: religion

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What Strip Clubs & Churches Have In Common

Last weekend, about 17 people at a local “Gentlemen’s Club” came down with covid-19.  Contact tracing was pretty tough.  Most people who go to such places don’t advertise their names.  And some wouldn’t want family and friends to know they were there. On the other hand,  it’s easy to contact trace churchgoers who’ve contracted covid-19.  Nothing to be ashamed about when attending church.  And yet, these two places have the same problem.  They’re currently among the worst places for catching covid-19.  What do strip clubs and churches have in common? 

What strip clubs & churches have in common: They're both crowded, feverish places
What strip clubs & churches have in common: They’re both crowded places with lots of yelling and singing.

 For starters, both are high intensity, emotionally charged atmospheres.  If you’re  attending crowded church services or going to a strip club during the pandemic, there’s a feverish quality about it.  You’re throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of your passions or beliefs.   

Consequently, religious services and choirs have been cited as clusters of spread of the coronavirus,  A study published by the CDC  on May 22 shows how the covid-19 can spread in a church setting.  Among 92 people who attended a rural Arkansas church, 35 people developed  covid-19 infections and three people died.  26 more cases linked to the church occurred in the surrounding community, and one person died.

 A crowded church service is one of the most deadly places to be . The combination of singing in close quarters and decreased ventilation is like  a petri dish  for viral growth.   

 Department of Health and Human Services officials say  that  entertainment facilities run the same  risk of bringing large groups of people together for an extended time.  In addition,   social distancing is likely  to fall by the wayside when alcohol is consumed.  Like some fundamentalist churches, strip clubs also require yelling over loud music and singing,  meaning the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is higher. 

Like it or not, attending churches or going to strip clubs during this pandemic is  risky. 

 

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CATHOLIC CHURCH’S DOUBLE STANDARD

Most Hoosiers know about  the lawsuits against a Catholic high school in Indianapolis. The plaintiffs are  a couple of lesbian  faculty members  who were fired for being in same sex marriages. On the other hand,  Notre Dame has recently hired openly gay Pete Buttigieg as a teacher and researcher.   Does that make sense? What do you make of the Catholic Church’s incomprehensible double standard?

Even though it’s been decades since I’ve been a practicing Catholic, I know  where they are coming from.  While  attending parochial schools for the first twelve years of my life,  we were admonished to avoid “sins of the flesh.”    As an example,  entertaining even  one ” impure thought” was considered a mortal sin.  Which would send you straight to hell.  Is there a single teenager in this world who has never thought about sex?  I could critique at length their stance on sexuality, but it would take up far more space than is possible in a simple blog.  Nevertheless, if you choose Catholicism as your religion, you have a right to practice as you see fit.  And that includes sending your kid to a high school where lay teachers provide the desired example:  straight, married sex.  Nothing else.

Catholic Church"s double standard is incomprehensible.
Catholic Church’s Double Standard. They’ve hired a gay man at one school, while firing two lesbians at another.

Do I agree with their dogma?  Of course not.  Just as I don’t agree with the Amish who refuse to accept modern lifestyles and choose to live in the past.  But I respect their  right to raise their children according to their religious beliefs.  Why, would a gay person want to work in one of their schools?  It boggles the mind.  Pete Buttigieg could probably have landed a job at any Ivy League College.  Why did he choose to work at Notre Dame?  Maybe he’s making a statement.  Or he’s still paying off a mortgage in South Bend.   I dunno.

The argument is that since parochial schools receive some taxpayer money, they can’t discriminate on the basis of their religious beliefs.  But the fact is, they aren’t totally supported by tax dollars.  And if all the parochial schools were to close, the public school system would be overwhelmed by the cost of educating these new students.

Back to double standards. Here’s what it looks like from my admittedly biased viewpoint. If you are a  lesbian woman, you can’t work in a Catholic high school.  If you are a prominent gay male politician, you can get  a job  at a prestigious Catholic college.  Period.  That’s all there is to the Catholic Church’s incomprehensible Double Standard.