After two unsuccessful petitions in 2019, Labour is finally promising to ban conversion therapy in the upcoming election. Sherry Zhang talks to Anna* about what conversion therapy was like and what a ban on its practise would mean. “It makes me want to cry. It makes me feel seen, like I’m not just making shit … Read more
This Passover, we won’t be attending synagogue, we won’t be participating in large raucous dinners and sharing our food with our extended family and friends, we won’t be welcoming strangers into our homes, as Jewish people are instructed to do, writes Juliet Moses. Tonight, on what is hopefully the halfway point of our lockdown period, … Read more
The Church of England says no to sex outside of heterosexual marriage. The Church of New Zealand says ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. God has looked favourably upon New Zealand Anglicans this week with confirmation that sex outside of marriage, while not actively encouraged, is not cause for condemnation. This comes days after the Church of England (the mother … Read more
A new book about the depiction of religion in New Zealand editorial cartoons reveals some disturbing truths. Last week the NZ Cartoon Archive at Wellington’s Alexander Turnbull Library published Mike Grimshaw’s Bishops, Boozers, Brethren & Burkas, which looks at religion in New Zealand through the eyes of the country’s cartoonists from the 1860s to the … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Duncan Greive on why churches (and other religious institutions) should start paying tax. It’s the season of giving, so when asked to nominate a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Protest on at parliament today over opening prayer, major changes recommended for biodiversity, and the strange tale of a drug dealer not being deported. To lead off today, we’re going to start with a story that isn’t necessarily the biggest of the day, but is … Read more