Warren Tied Further to Uganda Antigay Push

Influential megachurch pastor Rick Warren (pictured) has been linked to yet more of the forces behind Uganda's proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, according to Talk to Action, a blog devoted to scrutinizing the religious right.

"A charismatic network overseen by Warren's doctoral dissertation adviser, C. Peter Wagner, has played a major role in politically organizing and inspiring the Ugandan legislators who have spearheaded the anti-gay bill," says a Talk to Action research report authored by Bruce Wilson and released Wednesday.

According to Wilson and his fellow researchers, several of the parliamentary representatives pushing the bill, which calls for the death penalty for gay sex in certain circumstances, are members of Uganda's College of Prayer, a group led by Wagner associate Julius Oyet.

Warren, pastor of Southern California's Saddleback Church, also has been linked to Ugandan antigay activist Martin Ssempa. Warren has sought to distance himself from Ssempa, saying Ssempa's "views and actions were in serious conflict" with his own.

Warren has drawn criticism from gays and lesbians for his support of California's Proposition 8, which repealed marriage equality in the state; he has also attempted to distance himself from this position. President Barack Obama also drew criticism for having Warren deliver the invocation at his inauguration.