Questions raised over goals and funding of ACC's proposed “Continuing Indaba Project"

According to reports coming out of the ACC meetings in Jamaica, "The 14th Anglican Consultative Council today welcomed the proposal for a 'Continuing Indaba Project,' the next stage of the so-called Listening Process on the issue of human sexuality in the Anglican Communion."

The "Continuing Indaba Project" is extended to 2011 and is to be funded by the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

The Satcher Health Leadership Instituter's funding programs, it has been learned, includes financing directly from the secular Ford Foundation, author of the progressive initiative, Sexuality and Social Change: Making the Connection.

Sexuality and Social Change: Making the Connection focuses on

providing comprehensive sexuality education to youth; focusing research on policymaking and action; influencing pubic policy; integrating sexuality into health services; and addressing religion’s impact on sexuality.

However, it bases it's advocacy by asserting that:

Conservative and fundamentalist forces use sexuality to attack progressive sectors that work on reproductive health, women’s rights, girls’ education and other issues. Often using religion to justify their actions, these groups see sexuality and sexual rights—particularly women’s control of their own sexuality and LGBT rights—as a tremendous threat to the status quo that they want to maintain (or a former order they are seeking to restore). Indeed, more open and positive attitudes toward sexuality would reduce the ability of vocal fundamentalists to sustain these attacks. If the terrain of sexuality is left uncontested, extremist forces will increasingly occupy the space as a base for their onslaught against human rights, religious pluralism, tolerance and social justice.

It seeks to oppose what it characterizes as "conservative and fundamentalist forces" by:

"building the capacity of those working on sexuality by building skills and the transfer of skills across national and regional boundaries" as well as "supporting advocacy that promotes informed public debate, educates policymakers and builds political will for changes in laws, policies, and actions of governmental and nongovernmental institutions."

In addition, it seeks to

develop "strategies for generating positive religious perspectives on sexuality require special efforts to educate, encourage collaboration among, and work with religious leaders."

And the aim of these "religious leaders" are trained to be

"effective educators and advocates, clergy and religious leaders," who "need information and training about sexuality and its interface with religion. Among the activities that would further this goal would be encouraging seminaries to incorporate sexuality into their curricula; offering ongoing education for clergy and religious educators (for example, at denominational conferences); and providing media training."

This specifically means:

Engaging religious leaders in advocacy. Greater opportunities can be extended to mainstream and progressive religious leaders to become engaged in advocacy efforts around sexual health and rights, such as campaigns for comprehensive sexuality education, abortion rights and the rights of sexual minorities.

And they will do this by:

Funding sexuality education within religious groups. There is a need for sexuality education that is shaped by religious thought, employing the vocabulary of specific denominations and faith-based groups.

Reaching youth through religious institutions and events. Across cultures, young people participate in religious education or church-sponsored activities in great numbers. A stepped up commitment of creativity and resources to conveying a human rights perspective on sexuality to youth through progressive faith-based avenues would be a crucial step in the direction of social change.

Promoting outreach, dialogue and networking. There is an enormous need for both internal and inter-faith dialogues on the intersection of sexuality and religion, with special attention to sexual health and sexual rights. One indispensable activity is networking among different faiths to identify areas of concern, search for common ground and increase public attention to progressive views from different faith traditions on sexuality and religion. An important element of this work is outreach to diverse groups of people of faith.

Encouraging research on sexuality and religion. As mentioned in the discussion of research priorities, research is needed on the relationship between religion and sexuality. Topics include an examination of religious texts and doctrines with regard to sexuality and gender, and an exploration of the impact of religion over time on sexuality-related behaviors, practices, customs and laws.

This isn't Indaba - this is indoctrination. Read the entire report here - please. As Princess Leia once said, "It's a trick."