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      Because We Dared to Exist: After Generations of Trauma Black Gun Ownership is on the Rise
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      Does Biden’s Inauguration Signal a ‘Third Reconstruction’?
    • Today’s Inauguration Was a Reconsecration of Sacred Space
      Today’s Inauguration Was a Reconsecration of Sacred Space
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    • Because We Dared to Exist: After Generations of Trauma Black Gun Ownership is on the Rise
      Because We Dared to Exist: After Generations of Trauma Black Gun Ownership is on the Rise
    • Does Biden’s Inauguration Signal a ‘Third Reconstruction’?
      Does Biden’s Inauguration Signal a ‘Third Reconstruction’?
    • ‘We’re Through the Looking Glass Now’: Talking Deradicalization with Dr. John Horgan
      ‘We’re Through the Looking Glass Now’: Talking Deradicalization with Dr. John Horgan
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    • The Inauguration’s Beautiful Call for Unity Was Undermined by the Invocation of Religion
      The Inauguration’s Beautiful Call for Unity Was Undermined by the Invocation of Religion
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      We Can’t Have Religious Freedom Without Reproductive Freedom
    • As We Survey the Damage of Yesterday’s Violence, What Will Christian Nationalist Politics Look Like in 2021? New Report Offers Clues
      As We Survey the Damage of Yesterday’s Violence, What Will Christian Nationalist Politics Look Like in 2021? New Report Offers Clues
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    • It’s Time for Democrats to Read the Bible Verses on the Wall and Stop Courting White Evangelicals
      It’s Time for Democrats to Read the Bible Verses on the Wall and Stop Courting White Evangelicals
    • We Can Finally Put the Lie to Trumpism: 5 Myths Debunked By a Biden Victory
      We Can Finally Put the Lie to Trumpism: 5 Myths Debunked By a Biden Victory
    • 11 Election Tweets to Amuse, Infuriate, Enlighten, and Amuse You
      11 Election Tweets to Amuse, Infuriate, Enlighten, and Amuse You
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    • Watch: Is The Religious Left a Mirage or Are Journalists Just Missing the Story?
      Watch: Is The Religious Left a Mirage or Are Journalists Just Missing the Story?
    • Pulitzer-Prize Winning Historian’s Latest Reveals the Problem with Today’s ‘Religious Freedom’
      Pulitzer-Prize Winning Historian’s Latest Reveals the Problem with Today’s ‘Religious Freedom’
    • ‘God Made Them Male and Female…and Eunuch’: Why the Biblical Case For Binary Gender Isn’t So… Biblical
      ‘God Made Them Male and Female…and Eunuch’: Why the Biblical Case For Binary Gender Isn’t So… Biblical
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Neil Ellingson

Neil Ellingson is a co-founder of Root and Branch Church in Chicago, one of whose too-many taglines is "Reclaiming Religion for Open Minds." A graduate of Harvard University (AB) and the University of Chicago Divinity School (MDiv), he is seeking ordination in the United Church of Christ. Before getting into the religion game, he worked at Dissent magazine, and is currently editor of the Christian Century podcast "Preachers on Preaching."

(A)theologies, Archive, Remapping American ChristianitiesAugust 15, 2016

The Meaning of Make Believe (Why Religion Doesn’t Have to Be “Real”)

By Neil Ellingson

When I was in fifth or sixth grade my father bought me a King James…

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Religion Dispatches

Religion Dispatches

Religion Dispatches is your independent, non-profit, award-winning source for the best writing on critical and timely issues at the intersection of religion, politics, and culture.

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