University of Southern California
USC Annenberg
  • Submissions
  • Contact
  • FAQ
Religion Dispatches - Religion Dispatches Religion Dispatches
  • Israel’s War on Gaza
    • The Desire to Annihilate Gaza Wasn’t Born on 10/7 — It’s Part of a Long Tradition that Includes 19th Century Travel Writing
      The Desire to Annihilate Gaza Wasn’t Born on 10/7 — It’s Part of a Long Tradition that Includes 19th Century Travel Writing
    • The Antisemitism Awareness Act Just Passed by the House Would Actually Increase Anti-Jewish Violence
      The Antisemitism Awareness Act Just Passed by the House Would Actually Increase Anti-Jewish Violence
    • ‘Do You Want Columbia to be Cursed by God?’ — Alarming Exchanges in Congress and Beyond Highlight the Desperate Need for Religious Literacy
      ‘Do You Want Columbia to be Cursed by God?’ — Alarming Exchanges in Congress and Beyond Highlight the Desperate Need for Religious Literacy
  • Racial Justice
    • Historian Matthew Stewart Upends the Widespread Belief that 19th Century U.S. Christianity Was On ‘The Right Side of History’
      Historian Matthew Stewart Upends the Widespread Belief that 19th Century U.S. Christianity Was On ‘The Right Side of History’
    • ‘The Quiet Damage’ Details the Heartbreaking Effect of QAnon on Five American Families — But Critical Questions Linger
      ‘The Quiet Damage’ Details the Heartbreaking Effect of QAnon on Five American Families — But Critical Questions Linger
    • ‘Leaving is Never So Simple as Stepping Over a Line’ — A Conversation with the Author of ‘Rift,’ a New Memoir on Christian Patriarchy
      ‘Leaving is Never So Simple as Stepping Over a Line’ — A Conversation with the Author of ‘Rift,’ a New Memoir on Christian Patriarchy
  • Politics/Law
    • We Would Be Wise to Pay Attention to Trump’s Apocalyptic QAnon Posting Spree
      We Would Be Wise to Pay Attention to Trump’s Apocalyptic QAnon Posting Spree
    • Democrats Have Seized the Narrative Frame From the GOP, But Can They Find a Better Story to Tell About an Inclusive, Pluralist US?
      Democrats Have Seized the Narrative Frame From the GOP, But Can They Find a Better Story to Tell About an Inclusive, Pluralist US?
    • Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?
      Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?
  • Sex/Gender/Justice
    • Democrats Have Seized the Narrative Frame From the GOP, But Can They Find a Better Story to Tell About an Inclusive, Pluralist US?
      Democrats Have Seized the Narrative Frame From the GOP, But Can They Find a Better Story to Tell About an Inclusive, Pluralist US?
    • Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?
      Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?
    • After Her Remarks Pope JPII Was Never the Same — Controversial, Beloved Sr Theresa Kane’s Effect on the Catholic Church Endures
      After Her Remarks Pope JPII Was Never the Same — Controversial, Beloved Sr Theresa Kane’s Effect on the Catholic Church Endures
  • Christian Nationalism
    • Historian Matthew Stewart Upends the Widespread Belief that 19th Century U.S. Christianity Was On ‘The Right Side of History’
      Historian Matthew Stewart Upends the Widespread Belief that 19th Century U.S. Christianity Was On ‘The Right Side of History’
    • Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?
      Will Iowa’s Abortion Ban Respect Religious Freedom?
    • ‘The Quiet Damage’ Details the Heartbreaking Effect of QAnon on Five American Families — But Critical Questions Linger
      ‘The Quiet Damage’ Details the Heartbreaking Effect of QAnon on Five American Families — But Critical Questions Linger

Shaul Magid

Shaul Magid is Visiting Professor of Modern Judaism and senior research fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard. He is also the rabbi of the Fire Island Synagogue and the author most recently of The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance.

(A)theologies, Archive, Israel-Palestine, OMFGApril 17, 2024

To One Early 20th Century Rabbi Skeptical of Zionism, Passover Isn’t Simply A Celebration Of Freedom — It’s Also A Warning

By Shaul Magid

For Jews, Passover is a time of liberation. The Exodus story tells the tale of…

Read More
(A)theologies, Archive, Israel-Palestine, Media Analysis, OMFG, Politics/LawDecember 13, 2023

‘Anti-Zionism = Antisemitism’ isn’t Just Wrong, It’s the Problem

By Shaul Magid

Earlier this year, before Hamas’ attack and Israel’s siege of Gaza, and before the House…

Read More
A desolate road in Israel lined with security fencing.
(A)theologies, Archive, History/Theology, Israel-PalestineOctober 18, 2023

Decadence, Sickness, and Death: Mourning and the Israel-Hamas War

By Shaul Magid

Irving (Yitz) Greenberg once said about talking or writing about the Holocaust, “Don’t say anything…

Read More
Archive, OMFG, Racial Justice, Sex/Gender/JusticeJanuary 31, 2023

In Israel, Left and Right Join to Protest New Government Threat to Democracy — What’s Striking is What’s Missing

By Shaul Magid

A week after elections that produced the most far-right government in Israel’s history, the protests…

Read More
Archive, Media Analysis, Politics/LawSeptember 16, 2022

Critics of Hasidic Schools Exposé Missed the Point: It Wasn’t Antisemitic or the Product of Secular Bias — It’s a Story of Corruption

By Shaul Magid

When I was in yeshiva in Boro Park in the early 80s, I was asked…

Read More
(A)theologies, Archive, Israel-Palestine, OMFG, Racial JusticeApril 22, 2022

Chicago Synagogue Excoriated For Shift From ‘Non’ to ‘Anti’ Zionism — Maybe the Problem isn’t the ‘Anti’ But the ‘Zionism’

By Shaul Magid

Progressive synagogue Tzedek Chicago, founded in 2015 and led by Rabbi Brant Rosen, recently made…

Read More
(A)theologies, Archive, Israel-Palestine, Politics/Law, Racial JusticeDecember 7, 2021

Is Zionism No Longer Able to Offer Solutions to the Present Reality?

By Shaul Magid

“Zionists just want to be happy.” – Hermann Cohen   I do not think it’s…

Read More
Archive, BooksOctober 20, 2021

Savoring the Haterade: Why Jews Love Dara Horn’s ‘People Love Dead Jews’

By Shaul Magid

I am a Jew. And I am alive. As a scholar of Judaism I spend…

Read More
Archive, Israel-Palestine, OMFG, Politics/Law, Racial JusticeMay 18, 2021

Are We Seeing the End of the ‘Good Arabs’ in Israel?

By Shaul Magid

For anyone who follows the conflict in Israel/Palestine, the latest conflagration seems all too familiar….

Read More
(A)theologies, Activism and the Academy, Archive, Racial Justice, Sex/Gender/JusticeMay 11, 2021

As Transition Looms, Jewish Studies is Mired in Controversy

By Shaul Magid

What is the state of Jewish Studies in America? This question has been raised anew…

Read More
1 2 … 4 Next

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.

© Religion Dispatches
Back to top