Religion Dispatches
…he’s been spotted high-fiving Knicks super-fan Spike Lee (sporting Lin’s Harvard jersey), graced the cover of Time magazine in Asia, and even been the subject of a Saturday Night Live skit. —eds. If you’ve unplugged your computer and TV for the last week, you may not have heard of Jeremy Lin, the sudden basketball phenomenon, Asian-American hero, and, like Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow before him, out-of-nowhere success story who wears his…
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…hurch organizations with seemingly orthodox beliefs. While Olsen and Smith are careful to cite sources who both confirm and deny that members are led to believe that Jang is the second coming of Christ, the article leaves the reader with the sense that, at least for a time, many of Jang’s followers did believe it. Additionally, the CT article points out that the connections between Jang and the Unification Church go beyond surface similarities, no…
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…-versus-them narrative is one that can set its crosshairs on any subject, particularly when facilitated by a sophisticated right-wing media machine that’s already gained evangelicals’ trust. Take Answers in Genesis as an example. Ken Ham’s young-Earth creationist empire—replete with a Creation Museum, a Noah’s Ark theme park, a planned Tower of Babel attraction, homeschooling and Sunday School curricula, and even its own TV streaming service—is ba…
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…istorians dismissed Schaeffer as a propagandist. He was clearly not a scholar, Mark Noll told Newsweek. Writing in Christian Century, one historian called Schaeffer to task for reading contemporary politics back into the 18th century. The founders’ civil religion may have drawn on the ideals of theism, but this hardly made the country they were founding into a Christian nation. Unfortunately Schaeffer’s views survived and are now alive and well in…
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…turnover within the state of Utah in general and the Mormon tradition in particular—even if the rift would only be temporary until the Republican party nominated someone more in line with its values. Cracks in this opposition appeared shortly before the election. Julie B. Beck, who had served as president of the Mormon faith’s women’s organization, participated in a pro-Trump rally in October. This endorsement appeared to give permission for many…
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…s to serve certain neoliberal, conservative, or nationalist agendas, there are a number of commitments that many of them claim to embrace. These include commitments to the following: religious and cultural pluralism, gender equity, racial and sexual diversity, environmental sustainability, scientific inquiry and historical-critical commentary, and a public space that guarantees both freedom of and from religion. Hence, I am certain the number of s…
Read More…e Response LGBTI News Turkey reports that when a member of the opposition party argued before the legislature’s Commission on Equal Opportunity for Women and Men that LGBT people face discrimination and violence and should be protected, a ruling party MP responded: “There is no need to change our commission’s agenda by including a different subculture, with artificial sexual tendencies that are not in line with human nature and our society’s custo…
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…dio files that can be streamed on the web or downloaded straight to your smartphone (think radio meets YouTube). Low overheads have made podcasting a diverse and democratic medium, attracting everyone from established radio programs to Christian pastors and stand-up comedians. To help you make it through the holidays I’ve compiled a list of this year’s best podcasts about religion. My criteria were strict, my methods thorough: I’ve been listening…
Read More…mmigrants are a burden on the U.S. due to their economic impact and a similar number (58%) report that coming into contact with immigrants who do not speak English bothers them. After Paris, Trump, already on record for border walls and mass deportations, proposed surveilling mosques and even shutting some down. In an appearance on Morning Joe yesterday, Trump said the elimination of a New York Police Department program to spy on Muslims in the ci…
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…oundly religious, spiritual, and ethical meanings—especially those with a particular engagement with nature, as University of Florida professor Bron Taylor has argued with regard to surfing and fly fishing. Zumba and Pilates classes in otherwise empty church halls notwithstanding, the reverse in terms of physical benefit is not typically the case with religious practice. Musick and Worthen likewise question glowing findings on religion and well-be…
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