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Episcopal Church Assault Data Reveals the Dark Side of Inclusive Christianity

By Charlotte Dalwood

…changes would strike that requirement. Instead, ordinands would need to demonstrate the loftier-sounding, but more nebulous, ability to “form communities that understand and welcome diverse experiences of gender and sexuality, manifest safe and appropriate boundaries, and implement strategies to prevent sexual misconduct.” The intent is to underscore “the importance of providing places for inclusion and support for those who have experienced reje…

Sacred Texting: When Religious Writ Gets Wired

By Rachel Wagner

…re judges are hearing a case about whether or not church steeples can host mobile phone masts, since the masts might be used to relay porn. Whether one embraces, challenges, or rejects the use of digitized sacred texts and the technology used to support them, they are here to stay. Some will see digitized texts as “the same as it ever was,” simply delivered via a new medium, and preserved for future readers. Others wish to restrict the digital mul…

Power Up: Turn Off the Cell Phone

By Daniel Schultz

…r if the convenience of having a cell is worthwhile, given that one of its most common uses is to find out where my wife got to in Kohl’s. But it seems to me that focusing on the micro-trend of rich people opting out of the plugged-in lifestyle doesn’t really get at the heart of the issue. I think the Amish, of all people, have it right. It’s not so much about what you as an individual are doing or not doing, as the effect technology has on the co…

“Saints Are Only Human”: Leaving the Church, But Heeding this Pope’s Lessons

By Elizabeth Colmant Estes

…slogans about immigration reform. On line I heard that parishes with large numbers of undocumented immigrants had received many tickets. No outside food or water, statues, gifts or selfie sticks were permitted. Despite 10,000 folding chairs, most of us would have no choice but to stand. Once in my appointed place behind the last row of seats, I found myself in a community of fellow pilgrims, lottery winners from local parishes, nearby colleges, an…

We Went Through Amoris Laetitia Section by Section So You Wouldn’t Have To

By Anthony Adams

…iates from the patriarchal ideal of “heteronormative uncontracepted sex in monogamous marriage.” Sections 243 and 299 would also disappoint any divorced and remarried Catholics who want to receive Communion openly. Pope Francis says they should be treated with care and kindness and respect, but he stops short of giving them access to receiving Communion. He offers the same condescension to LGBT Catholics in Section 250 when he says should be treat…

Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

By Michael Schulson

…ascendant. For many affluent Americans today, ethics and spirituality look more and more like a commercial service. “People used to go to church on Sunday—that was their weekly ritual and their community,” Peloton co-founder John Foley told Bloomberg Businessweek last year. “Most 25 year-olds aren’t relating on that platform, but it’s ‘I’ll see you at the studio.’” Places like MNDFL seem to be betting that Foley’s observation will bear out. If you…

Can Expelled Teach Us a Thing or Two?

By Arri Eisen

…more than likely, movies like Expelled wouldn’t be made in the first place. We’d be less about selling books and tickets and more about moving forward….

Mitt Romney’s Prosperity Gospel

By Peter Laarman

…ith so much at stake, we need a bit more than “do the math.” We need a bit more evocation of the most important part of Winthrop’s “shining city” sermon, which is the part about bearing one another’s burdens and prospering by way of ethical community. And also just a bit about how to recognize the false prophets of any age. That would be those who cry “peace!” when there is no peace, and those who pronounce God’s blessing upon an oppressive status…

Swift-Boat Veterans of American Jewry Charge Anti-Semitism at Occupy Wall Street

By Jay Michaelson

…is not only to demean and dehumanize us, but also to do violence to the memory of victims of actual antisemitism. More than anything else, I’m insulted by the ad, and offended that this organization is lying to me, my mother, and my relatives for their own political reasons—namely, defeating Barack Obama. Antisemitism is a serious, real thing. When it is used as a cheap shot—as when pro-Palestinian advocates throw around terms like “Nazi” and “co…

Francis Visits the Church that John Paul Broke

By Patricia Miller

…like Call to Action and the Women’s Ordination Conference to agitate for a more democratic church and clerical roles for women. Pope Francis will find a very different church. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, only one-quarter of Catholics attend mass every week (CARA has some of the best, most rigorous tracking of mass attendance; other surveys find higher percentages using more generous methodologies.) The number of…