Religious Practices on Trial in Arizona: The Problem With “Experts”
New Age guru James Arthur Ray was arrested in Arizona last week, charged with manslaughter in the deadly miscarriage of a sweat lodge ritual. The news lit up with “expert” analysis, but none of it was from Indian religious leaders or practitioners. What does “expert” mean in this context?
Sacred Real Estate: What Makes Washington’s WWII Memorial So Dreadful?
What does it mean that the World War II Memorial in DC drowns conversation in the roar of its fountains? A new book explains what our monuments reveal about the intertwining of sacred and patriotic in American civic culture.
Whether it’s Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Vick, or, more recently, Tiger Woods, the confession is the key to repairing moral failure in the world of sports.
Art as Religion, Museum as Temple
For the Greeks, museums were sacred places dedicated to the muses. How is it that the Catholic Church got into the pagan shrine business?
Glamour, Nostalgia, and Coming of Age: The Prom As Sacred
Whether prom signals triumph or terror, it’s a powerful rite of passage, endowed with an unmistakable aura of the sacred—if you know where to look.
Seeing What They Wanna See: Religion Surveys Reflect Surveyors
Religion surveys have become a battleground for the American religious marketplace—and a magnet for big money.