Religion Dispatches
…volution analysis, as well as the broad conclusions, like that of the Tay-Sachs hypothesis, which have not yet been experimentally demonstrated. Personally, my bet is with the new data and interpretations. The intriguing part will be to see how these new data and ideas get integrated into our culture….
Read More
…progressive demographics. That, at least, is my grim takeaway from PRRI’s new report, “The Politics of Gender, Pronouns, and Public Education.” The overall positions of various demographics are mostly what you would expect them to be. The report singles out White evangelical Protestants multiple times as, unsurprisingly, America’s most singularly anti-trans demo. In 2021, for example, 86% of White evangelicals said there are only two genders, wit…
Read More
…the conventions and things go dark for a couple of weeks,” Warren told the New York Times. “I’ve known both the guys for a long time, they’re both friends of mine, and I knew them before they ran for office, so I just called them up.” According to press reports, the questions will center on AIDS, poverty, human rights and the environment. Not everyone was thrilled by the choice of topics. In his daily FRC Action Update (July 21), the Family Resear…
Read More
…uld be considered nonsectarian. The results of the study, presented in the new report Reading, Writing & Religion II: Texas Public School Bible Courses in 2011-12, were decidedly mixed. On the one hand, eleven school districts did quite well, offering courses that were careful not to promote one religious perspective over all others, and which encouraged critical thinking, careful communication skills, and creativity. Twenty-eight districts had co…
Read More…toric. When Iowa did it in 2009, it was a shocker. Iowa? Really? But, when New York did it this past weekend – I predict it will be remembered as the tipping point. “The more that other states recognize the fairness and the importance of passing equal marriage rights, the more likely it is to pass here,” said Patrick Wojahn, the chairman of the board of the Equality Maryland Foundation, which fought this year’s marriage battle in Annapolis. “It’s…
Read More
…s with them, unhindered: Germans, Scandinavians, and the Dutch who founded New Amsterdam (later New York). So Lutherans, Catholics, and the Dutch Reformed celebrated Christmas, along with the Church of England that continued restrained Christmas observances. As a result of this mixture, in the American colonies and then in the new nation, there was no national consensus supporting Christmas, and the disagreement was between Christians. American Ch…
Read More
…abella of Spain forbade Columbus and his crew from enslaving people in the New World, unless those people were cannibals. If they were cannibals, the Queen announced, Columbus could take them, put them in chains, and sell them wherever he pleased, inside or outside Isabella’s many realms. Reports of cannibalism in the New World spiked. In general, cannibalism is widely reported but difficult to confirm. Subjects will often tell ethnographers about…
Read More…cilities, this will be more attractive to young people.” The building of a new mosque near New York’s Ground Zero is becoming a political football in that state’s governor’s race. Discrimination is also a problem for Satanists—or, for one particular Satanist, at least. Irving Davis, a convicted murderer, argues that his conviction be thrown out because his foray into Satanism should not have been revealed to the jury. Hearing the appeal, Judge Mic…
Read More
…entic” religion and popular, secular practice. In Sweat Equity: Inside the New Economy of Mind and Body, journalist Jason Kelly traces the connections between money and fitness culture. He recently spoke with The Cubit about running highs, meditation apps, and the inherent difficulty of selling authenticity. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You argue that Millennials treat fitness—and especially group fitness classes—as an al…
Read More…s-than-desired ratings. Which makes, at least momentarily, the boroughs of New York City a Glenn Beck radio free zone. (Word has it syndicators are looking for a new outlet.) Perhaps Beck’s self-styled turn to the prophetic last summer and fall—which included forays into the world of Black theology and the mysteries of the Bat Creek Stone, as well as his lachrymose and prayer-scented DC Rally in August —didn’t go over so well with hardboiled cons…
Read More