‘U.S. Christian Right is Transforming Sexual Politics in Africa’

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran. He is the…

One of several quick recaps of news related to this week’s International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C.:

U.S. evangelical Christians accused of promoting homophobia in Africa

The Guardian reports on the newly released study, “Colonizing African Values: How the U.S. Christian Right is Transforming Sexual Politics in Africa”:

Christian evangelical groups in the US are attempting a “cultural colonization” of Africa, opening offices in numerous countries to promote attacks on homosexuality and abortion, according to an investigation by a liberal think tank.

American religious organizations are expanding their operations across the continent, lobbying for conservative policies and laws and fanning homophobia, argues the Boston-based Political Research Associates (PRA).

The groups include the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), founded by the televangelist Pat Robertson, which has established bases in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

(Read the full article from The Guardian, plus related coverage from the Associated Press.)

U.S. tightens restrictions on Uganda, seeking end to repression

The report sheds new light on anti-homosexual advocacy in Africa by conservative Christian pastors from the United States. Previous observations of the same phenomenon have included the scenes of homophobic prayer meetings in Uganda, as seen in the documentary movie “Call Me Kuchu.”

In addition, the activist group Sexual Minorities Uganda, or SMUG, has filed suit in a federal court in Massachusetts against pastor Scott Lively of Springfield, Mass., whom it accuses of a “crime against humanity” for his actions in Uganda.

SMUG charges that Lively “worked extensively with key anti-gay political and religious leaders in Uganda with the overall purpose and objective of depriving LGBTI persons of their fundamental rights” by opposing gay rights and encouraging support of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.