Are you offended by this - I am

@DeanElderberry the law in Uganda was passed by its government, but they have invoked religion in claiming that the bill protects 'traditional and religious values'. You're right in saying it is nothing to do with the Catholic Church; rather it has been strongly influenced by extreme American evangelicals who come from the Protestant tradition.

They should still be challenged at every turn.

Regarding the law in Uganda, it wasn't passed by the church. The recent document from the Catholic church says this: 55. The Church wishes, first of all, “to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence.”[101] For this reason, it should be denounced as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation.

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/04/08/240408c.html

The costume reminds me of a friend, a nun in Africa, saying a few years ago that the women in her congregation no longer dared to wear their habits because of the myth that sex with (ie raping) a virgin cures AIDS

So I wouldn't waste energy getting indignant about a ninny like Rihanna, there are much worse things happening in the world.

I’m offended at how bad the creative team have made Rihanna look.

Provocative nuns have been doing the rounds on everything from pornos to horror films forever. I am this religion and it’s just boring to me.

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator are you OK? I mean 'Modona' and 'sole'?

Mocking religion is almost as old as religion itself. It's human nature to mock powerful institutions, and a good thing too.

Ever heard the song 'Monkey Business' by Nik Kershaw?

Don't like it, don't look at it.

It's a bit naff but it doesn't offend me. If it did, I don't think giving it free advertisement would be my first action.

God rest her sole

Did she even like fish?

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator there are many countries which have laws against this sort of thing.

They are not examples we should wish to follow. Free speech is precious.

I think they should all be mockable - but also I think it's difficult to mock part of another culture's religion without potentially coming across as racist.

Many forms of Christianity are part of our culture, the iconography is part of our culture and have been used in ways Christians have found offensive by many artists.

AIBU to feel that this kind of then should be made unlawful?

Yes, YABU.

Why exactly are you offended by it?

@Blackcats7 it is acceptable to mock every religion, no one has the right to not be offended. We should not relinquish our precious freedoms.

I'm a regular church-goer and I'm not offended in the slightest.

We shouldn't be making things illegal on the grounds they might cause mild offence to someone.

Meh, nothing worse than Madonna was doing 40 years ago!

Constantly awful.

It shouldn't be illegal but her taste/judgement is so, so bad.

And there is an odd religious double standard where this is allowed but I'm not sure her wearing a hijab or turban would happen without backlash from the people who think tilhis is good.

I think this image is an offence to intelligence and good taste. And I'm saying it as an atheist. Not sure what point Rihanna is trying to make, she only manages to look very stupid.

Yes there's an unvarying track record there.

It's offensive not because it serialised Christianity but because it sexualises/objectifies women AGAIN.
The sexy nun thing is like the heterosexual man's lesbian porn: here's a woman who says she doesn't want me, she needs nothing from me, she's not interested. My ultimate fantasy is her actually, SECRETLY being well into me because she MUST be!
Ugh.

Don't see so many centre spreads of sexy monks, do you?

I don’t know why but this thread has given me an ear worm - a nice, sweet little song about the (previous) Pope

"If I'm offended, trust me, I'm offended"

I don't trust you. At all. I am highly unlikely to ever be affected by your being offended by anything but the idea that you might be pleases me greatly.

Well it's not to my taste but the sexy nun thing is hardly original.

The daily mail obviously approve, and by extension think their readers will, otherwise they wouldn't print the pictures. And the DM has the biggest readership of any UK paper. So it can't be that outrageous

And in response to those things that you’re offended by, I repeat the above… no one has the right to not be offended.

There are actually lots of valid reasons to mock religions and I believe all religions should be mocked, including the ones that may respond with violence.

Religion holds far too much power in this world. It oppresses and controls women, it stands in the way of freedom of faith or lack of faith in many places, it influences politics, again to the detriment of women and LGBT people. It is religion that has given us the hateful laws that are in place in many countries like Uganda, where one cannot love as one wishes for fear of persecution by the law. Religion should be called out every day for not speaking out, not searching its own heart and not accepting people as they are. A nun with lipstick on doesn't begin to offend me; the gay hate laws of Uganda and the Magdalen Laundries do.

Hear hear!