Religion Dispatches
For two decades The Insane Clown Posse, a hip-hop group from Detroit, has cultivated an underground network of dedicated fans. The Posse, usually abbreviated to just “ICP,” consists of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. Their musical stylings are known as “horrorcore” because…
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He threatens criminals and undocumented immigrants with impalement but he has ‘Republican values.’ Jonathon ‘The Impaler’ Sharkey’s declaration that he will seek the Republican nomination for president is just another human interest story for the media. But what does it say that his rhetoric and positions don’t deviate appreciably from the current level of discourse?
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In studying the world of vampires, a young religion scholar is courted by MTV, forced to reckon with subtle energy (“psi”), and confronts the concerns of journalists who recall the disappearance of a colleague at work on a vampire story.
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We can rest easy, knowing that our government wants us to be safe from forced implantation of microchips. But it’s not about civil liberties, it’s about dispensational paranoia and fear of the “Mark of the Beast.”
Read MoreThe Christian symbolism in Daybreakers.
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Back in 1980, a mysterious set of stones bearing a message for civilization in various languages appeared in Georgia. From Christian dispensationalist symbol of the New World Order to Native American “power-nexus” to the interpretations of Contemporary Pagans, UFO buffs, and New Agers, the Guidestones are a spiritual and political Rorschach test.
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The Mexican government has demolished dozens of shrines to Santa Muerta, claiming that the worship of this skeletal woman in a white cloak is a “narco-cult.” As resistance grows, so does this new religious movement.
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An HBO show about vampires in the rural South depends on “viral marketing” for its buzz. But some people resent the conflation of fact and fiction that this kind of advertising entails. And what of the new religious movement known as the Vampire Community?
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