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The Religious “Right” to Denounce Homosexuality

By Sarah Posner

…fy all your innermost desires: Jesus Christ.” The Secular Coalition for America and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation have both raised constitutional concerns about Strong Bonds. But the retired chaplains’ complaint — that they would be forced to teach marriage-strengthening classes to gay and lesbian people — is a prime example of the “collision course” the religious right has created between the separation of church and state and the eva…

How “Gratitude” Underwrites Inequality, Power, and Exclusion

By Eric C. Miller

…n. Anytime you have a stratified society in which there is a strong divide between elites and masses or between rich and poor, those who find themselves in a disadvantaged position naturally feel resentment. That resentment can be a powerful tool of democratic social change, but it can also be a tool of oppression—depending on where the emotion is directed. Historically, resentment has been the emotion that elites feared the most—because it inspir…

God Promises to Open our Graves: A Theology for the Age of AIDS

By César J. Baldelomar

…is tall, muscular, usually white, blue eyes, short hair, clean-shaven, and free of blemishes—healthy-looking. With these ideals in mind, is it any wonder that my high school students made the choices they did? Perhaps “Natasha” and “Mark” reminded the “healthy-looking” students too much of human fragility at a time when they perceived themselves to be invincible. Or, on a more mundane level, the sick and ugly ones just were not beautiful enough, a…

The Lesser and the Greater Pilgrimage

By Amina Wadud

…exuberance. Sorta like skydiving tandem before following up my lessons for free-fall skydiving. That way I can focus on the details I am trying to learn now and be better prepared. As far as umrah, the lesser pilgrimage, goes; it stands to reason that people can visit the ka’abah any time of the year. And so it is. There are still the same ihram prescriptions. There are still certain rites that should be performed. But unless a journey to Makkah c…

The Contraceptive Mandate and Animal Suffering

By Frances Kissling

…ther blogs has accused Singer of an “advocacy sleight of hand” in equating freedom of religion with “freedom to worship.” Smith and his crowd want not only an expanded definition of what is to be a religion, they want any activity a group or individual claims is “religious” to fall outside the scope of government control. He says “the exercise of one’s religion involves how the faithful live their lives outside of the church, synagogue, temple, or…

Atheists Ignore Islamophobia at their Peril

By Chris Stedman

…xtend that claim to other communities—especially ones facing frequent rhetorical and physical attacks. As a minority community in America’s religious milieu, it makes strategic sense for atheists to ally with Muslims, Sikhs, and others. But as a Humanist atheist, I feel a sense of moral obligation to stand up against identity-based hatred, no matter whom it’s directed at. Not only is it absurd to hope that people should care about the lack of acce…

Undercover Bosses as Minor Divinities: What Ever Happened to ‘Take this Job and Shove It’?

By Peter Laarman

…to people who have been paying attention to the degradation of work in Americans over the past 40 years. There is a long historical arc involved that goes something like this: 1. Colonialism brings to these shores the same habits of deference to one’s “betters” that prevailed in Olde England; 2. Revolution undertaken primarily by the gentry keeps these habits of deference going—for a time; 3. Shay’s Rebellion and other outbursts from below sugges…

Is the Satanist Behind 10 Commandments Challenge Sincere?

By Joseph Laycock

…legal team. Future plans involve legally ordaining ministers and using the free exercise clause to claim privileges for Satanists. Satanic ministers could, for example, illegally marry a gay couple and then, when the state refuses to recognize the marriage, claim that their free exercise rights have been violated. Other projects involve the Satanic ideal that one’s body is sacred and inviolable. Expressing disgust that corporal punishment is still…

Impossible Possibilities: Obama and Power

By Jonathan L. Walton

…or the current economic crisis will fundamentally change the principles of free markets, free trade, or transnational corporate dominance that ultimately guarantee a permanent underclass at home and abroad. This is why, aside from skin color and charisma, Martin Luther King Jr. (the actual human rights activist, not the ephemeral color-blind dreamer of American folklore) and Barack Obama have little in common: King desired to revolutionize the wor…

Bipolar Faith, an Autobiography of Race and Mental Illness

By Monica A. Coleman

…and finds it again and again; and one that reflects the particularity of African American experiences. What’s the most important take-home message for readers? It’s complicated. I want readers to understand that mental health challenges are complex. History and culture and race and family and genetics and trauma and fear all factor into what cause mental health challenges. Class, education and privilege may make a difference with accessing healthc…