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“We All We Got”: The Black Church As an Oasis in Baltimore’s Food Deserts

By Kasai Rex

…n’t—keep them safe. In Baltimore, symbolic gestures on the pulpit are best complemented by concrete actions in our streets. In coming years the black church’s role in the struggle for justice might be less pivotal than it may have been in earlier eras. It remains to be seen whether the engagement of black churches in issues that directly affect black people will call more people to the pews on Sundays. But if these actions are consistently success…

I’m Too Sexy for My Church: Will a Thriving Singles Scene Renew American Catholicism?

By Megan Sweas

…men and 14 men—both new and old members—say they’re seeking friendship and community. Most newcomers introduce themselves as transplants from around the country. A young man, visiting from Michigan, is checking out the church community to see if Santa Monica might be a good place to move. A group leader emphasizes that through YMA you can go out to bars and talk about God, but in casual conversation others downplay religion, stressing that members…

The Bindi Isn’t Indie

By Yesenia Vargas

…ion, that’s racism under another name. I don’t care how awakened they’ve become, if their religion depends on stripping elements off other cultures for them to coo over and feel exotic, then that’s orientalism. I can’t take time off work for Gowri Habba and Ganesh Chaturthi because my boss thinks us Hindus have too many holidays. I can’t bring in a homemade lunch without getting stares. I can’t go to a company dinner in a sari even if it’s designe…

Civil Unions Battle Heats Up in Italy; Church Leaders in Malawi Defend Criminalization of Homosexuality; Report on LGBT Student Group Sparks Backlash in Indonesia; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ifferent to the erosion of the family given its consequences for the wider community.” Abbott referred to one of his sisters’ same-sex partner, saying he doubted that marriage equality would make her any more part of the family, because it was their commitment that mattered. Still, he did not budge from his opposition to marriage equality: Not long ago, most gay activists rejected marriage as an oppressive institution. Now, they demand as their ri…

How Merle Haggard Saved My Soul

By Daniel Schultz

…d by Ronald Reagan. But the man knew what he spoke of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loT_pYzi3Vw In sharp contrast to the bleakness of “Mama Tried” stands the deep hope of the greatest Christmas song ever written, “If We Make It Through December,” with its trusting assertion “I plan to be in a warmer town come summertime.” Haggard rarely name-checked the Lord in his songs, but he didn’t need to. You couldn’t listen to a line like that without kn…

The Sex Scandal Following Whole Foods’ Guru

By Michael Schulson

…if its leaders—particularly the CEO—are not learning and growing as well. Companies can become blocked from essential organizational evolution if their founder is psychologically and spiritually stuck. One can sympathize with Mackey’s dilemma: the very language of this statement, with its emphasis on spiritual evolution, seems drawn directly from the writings of Gafni and his fellow travelers in the New Age movement. It’s harder to sympathize wit…

#ReinstateDocHawk: Wheaton Does Not Speak for Its Students

By Ellie Roth

…necessary and insensitive escalation is feeding a fire many in the Wheaton community and larger Christian community resent, and one that is tragically hurting American Muslims. https://twitter.com/christinefolch/status/677262569002811392 Many of my peers have impressed me over the past few days. I have witnessed prayer, courageous words and thoughtful actions like the #ReinstateDocHawk petition that’s almost at its goal of 15,000 signatures. I par…

What Did the Puritans Have Against Christmas?

By Bruce David Forbes

…, and the disagreement was between Christians. American Christmas wouldn’t come roaring back, becoming nearly universal, until the mid-1800s, but it was not because of any campaign by churches. Most credit for the return and advance of Christmas goes to major cultural influences like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and the morphing of St. Nicholas into Santa Claus. Dickens’ famous story did not reflect the Christmas of his time but instead was…

It Is About the Hijab: Wheaton College and the Narrowing Criteria for Evangelical Belonging

By Hollis Phelps

…ntification to stated, or even non-stated, beliefs. Religion is a far more complicated affair, encompassing a convoluted mix of material practices, along with other identities as well. It’s also not clear the extent to which the proposed research definition is biased, and this hinders its usefulness. One could argue that isolating particular beliefs from political demographics actually allows for a greater appreciation of the relationship between…

Perhaps Islam isn’t the Only Reason Donald Trump Didn’t Recall Muhammad Ali

By Sean O'Neil

…rates the manifold national weaknesses he plans to remedy through vigorous competition in educational and healthcare spheres. I don’t mean to imply that, despite Trump’s well-documented and disturbing comments about particular individuals with disabilities, his failure to think of Ali was malicious. He was more likely disoriented by the use of religion and sports for something other than bolstering the myth of individual opportunity. After all, wh…