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Communicators for Christ: How Homeschool Debate Leagues Shaped the Rising Stars of the Christian Right

By R.L. Stollar

…Eastman’s rhetoric, which has twice resulted in him being censured by the Alaska State House (first by Democrats in 2017 and most recently by his own fellow Republicans in 2023), has been labeled “incendiary” by national news—an accurate characterization of his Trumpian arguments that native Alaskan women have abortions to obtain “a free trip to the city,” that Joe Biden is like Adolf Hitler, and that fatal child abuse is “actually a benefit to s…

Finding the Missing Airliner with Coconuts

By Joseph Laycock

…leaders,” but then retracted this claim. In the immediate aftermath of the plane’s disappearance, he organized a prayer session in which 99 people recited the ayat yasin—a surah that is sometimes described as “the heart of the Quran.” The bomoh’s ritual also incorporated Islamic elements such as water from the Well of Zamzam. However, other elements of the ritual were derived from traditional shamanism, such as a carpet that represented a “boat,”…

Mormon Women Knock at the Door, Are Turned Away

By Holly Welker

…e Tabernacle on Temple Square to wait in the stand-by line for last-minute tickets. Instead they were met by church spokesperson Ruth Todd, who said, “This is no surprise to you, that we won’t be able to offer you a ticket or a place.” Then, as men and boys strode past them into the Tabernacle where they awaited the opportunity to move to the Conference Center where the session would take place, members of Ordain Women lined up individually or in…

Paranormal Vodka, Exorcists and a Demonic Doll: Welcome to Paracon, Based on the Work of the Demon-Hunters Who Inspired the ‘Conjuring’ Series

By Eric Harrelson and Joseph P. Laycock

…ugh I can’t find an official number, a casino employee tells us over 5,000 tickets have been sold; 5,000 pilgrims who’ve made the trek from around the country to pay their respects to Annabelle, and are willing to wait hours to do so. On the convention floor, an eclectic group of vendors hocks their wares, from Ouija boards and books about ghost hunting to bath bombs shaped like horror movie icons. There are psychics, Tarot card readers, a shaman…

Pope Praises ‘Complementarity’ & Resists Gay Ambassador; Irish Religious Leaders Spar Over Marriage; Colombian Atty Gen Cites ‘Bogus’ Study Opposing Adoption; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…tened to boycott IKEA, after it provided Family Card holders with discount tickets to his Christian magic show, ‘Vision’. In a statement, the chain said it would not be cutting ties with the pastor. IKEA said: “Dear IKEA fans, thanks for your patience while we took time to come to an informed decision on an issue that has raised sensitivities in our community. “After listening to the questions raised, we decided to do a thorough review. We spoke d…

Why Peter Beinart is Wrong on Democrats and Anti-Mormonism

By Joanna Brooks

…vered. And until we have proper data in hand to analyze why voters express reservations about Mormonism, it’s worth being a little more judicious at least in characterizing what counts as anti-Mormonism. The pejorative term “cult” is classic evangelical Christian anti-Mormonism that taps into a historic strand of anti-Mormon rhetoric rooted in the American South. Exaggerating and sensationalizing the differences in Mormon theology or culture with…

QAnon’s Predictions Haven’t Come True; So How Does the Movement Survive the Failure of Prophecy?

By Amarnath Amarasingam and Marc-André Argentino

…ded missiles.” For QAnon adherents, this was a hint from “Q” that JFK Jr’s plane was shot down with a guided missile to make way for Hillary Clinton’s political career, which started with a U.S. Senate run the year after the plane crash. While this theory makes no logical sense, considering JFK Jr. was not a politician and never seriously considered becoming one, for QAnon adherents the Clintons and the ‘Deep State’ considered him a great enough t…

A Meditation on Shopping and Desire

By Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado

…We have an unprecedented access to cheap goods, yet we must recognize that cheap goods are cheaply made. I am not speaking of quality, I am speaking of cheap labor. We must recognize that through the act of shopping, whether it is for an article of clothing, a toy, a pint of strawberries, or even our morning cup of coffee, we participate in a global economy that values profit over people. Disposable goods are made by disposable people, faceless in…

How Much Did Jesus Care About Sex?

By Peter Laarman

…cost of true discipleship. The price it was called upon to pay was all too cheap…We gave away the word and sacraments wholesale; we baptized, confirmed, and absolved a whole nation unasked and without condition…Was there ever a more terrible and disastrous instance of Christianizing the world than this? It’s regrettable, I think, that “cheap grace” has turned into a kind of meme that Rod Dreher can toss into his debate with Andrew Sullivan without…

New Film Chronicles Unlikely Friendship in Battle Over God and Guns

By Sarah Posner

…from an eight-week experience between “the heavenly plane and the earthly plane” after Jordan’s death, during which she says “God spoke very candidly with me.” After that period, she said, “I had such a tremendous sense of purpose for the first time in my life.” While Schenck shares that sense of purpose, the film shows his tense encounters trying to change fellow white evangelicals’ minds. Schenck discovers that even members of his own staff hav…