As the ‘gods’ of Hollywood descend in designer digs, religion scholars Gary Laderman and Anthea Butler discuss the divinity of celebrity in America.
Yearning For A God We Can Live With
Two new books, one offering a vision of interfaith, universal religion, the other a model of a radically transformed Judaism, attempt to wrestle God into the everyday. Against the ascendancy of the so-called New Atheism, both writers argue for a God who transcends “god-management systems” and whose primary claim on us is through our own spiritual longing.
Monks With Guns: Discovering Buddhist Violence
The co-editor of a new book on the history of Buddhist violence and warfare explains how the notion of a purely mystical and otherworldly Buddhism—promoted by some of the great interpreters of the tradition—denies its adherents’ humanity.
Unforgiven: Brit and Tiger and the Problem of Speed-Cycle Grace
Tiger could take Brit Hume’s suggestion and get Jesus for his troubles but nobody should pretend that anything Christian is going on here.
No Buddhists in Washington?
Buddhism, which has a larger US population than either Islam or Hinduism, has had a sizable and growing impact on American culture. So why no representative on the Obama administration’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships?
Claude Lévi-Strauss: Meeting the Myth
The latest generation of religion scholars has studied Lévi-Strauss only to distance itself from his theories, and to challenge the myth of structuralism. Perhaps in doing so we have created a fable of our own.
House Health Care Bill Discriminates Against Religious Freedom
Abortion is not a liberal, secular invention; there are examples in Jewish, Muslim, and even Christian theologies—and in Buddhist and Hindu traditions—of instances in which abortion is justified.
Aung San Suu Kyi: The Verdict is Unfair
For Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, her years of house arrest have only deepened her Buddhist insight, and strengthened her commitment to a just society in Burma.
Teaching the Dalai Lama’s Monks: Better Religion Through Science
A scientist/professor in an experimental program teaching science to the Dalai Lama’s monks explains why this project is so much bigger than this one program, bigger even than working to reconcile religion and science. Think: globalization.
Church and State in Japan: The Case of the Yasukuni Shrine
Japan, in the throes of political and financial turmoil, is still dealing with the long-running controversy over a national shrine for WWII dead.
Karma Chameleon: From Zen Practitioner to Episcopal Bishop
Under fire from Conservatives, an Episcopalian Zen practitioner's shot at becoming a Bishop is in jeopardy. A stroll through Christian history puts Forrester's practices in perspective.
RD10Q: What is Black Religion?
William D. Hart's new book charts the black spiritual imagination through the journeys of Malcolm X, Julius Lester, and Jan Willis.
When an American TV show borrows from Eastern philosophy, it leaves the ethical dimension behind while offering a healthy dose of materialism. Even so, it might have something to teach us.