Working for Change Inside our Church

A new national Ted Talk was released today featuring Chelsea Shields, an anthropologist who grew up Mormon and has been a long-time advocate within the church for issues of gender equality.  The timing of this release is uncanny.  So many of the things she points to are completely relevant to the circumstances we find ourselves in this week as we have faced new harmful policies within our church governance.

• The fact that we allow for religious organizations to get away with things we would never allow in other areas of our lives.
• “If you don’t like it, then leave it” response is not helpful.
• How people are treated when they attempt to advocate for change from within a system that sees them now as dangerous.
• How religious belief and practice have influenced policy, governments, violence, health and many other things that affect people daily regardless of whether or not they belong to a particular sect.
• The importance of both accountability and respect when facing these challenges.

This is definitely worth the listen.  I would hope that we can look for our own biases and limitations as we allow her words to permeate wherever we may find ourselves on the spectrum of religious belief and practice.

How I’m Working for Change Inside My Church by Chelsea Shields

Podcast where I interview Chelsea Shields on Mormon Mental Health Podcast:

Mental Health Benefits & Risks of Religion