Religion Dispatches
…hat continue to this day, including astronomical rates of incarceration in profit-driven prison systems, and bank-enforced poverty (the rate of poverty among black vs. white Americans hasn’t changed since the 1960s). In The Fire Next Time, whose essays were first published in 1962 but damningly relevant 52 years later, James Baldwin writes that for blacks, “[American society] is entirely hostile, and, by its nature, seems determined to cut you dow…
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…nown as the ghulamiyya and became favorite companions of the caliph. Women presenting as masculine became widespread in the Abbasid court. Similarly, in Al-Andalus, the wife of al-Hakam II presented as masculine, wearing men’s clothing, and adopting the name Ja’far. Then there was Al-Mu’tamid, the caliph of Seville, who had a tumultuous love affair with his vizier, the poet ibn Ammar. Across the centuries there were many Muslim rulers who openly l…
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…iduals perceived to be homosexual in the country.” Since the new law was approved, representatives of The Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency have been reportedly conducting door-to-door enquiries to identify, arrest and detain individuals believed to be homosexual, and some of those detained have allegedly also been subjected to violent attacks and mistreatment, Mr. Zeid said. In other countries, similar laws have also led to an increase in vio…
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…apocalypticism from the end of the 19th century to the present day. In the process, he proposes a revised understanding of American evangelicalism, focused on the urgent expectations of the end of human history. If you want to understand modern evangelicalism, Sutton says, you have to understand their End Times theology. Daniel Silliman spoke with Sutton at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies, in Heidelberg, Germany. Why write about evangel…
Read More…lley that, as the far edge of DC’s suburban sprawl, is lately home to a surprising number of conservative Christian ministries. Mosher, president of the Catholic anti-contraception lobbyist group Population Research Institute (PRI), describes his grim vision of Europe’s future: fields will lie fallow and economies will wither. A great depression will sink over the continent as it undergoes “a decline that Europe hasn’t experienced since the Black…
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…nservative Washington Times, the Moon family runs one of the biggest sushi-providing enterprises in the world. Moon has also put his stamp on a bevy of political organizations that court—and receive—support from a number of world leaders and US political figures. On January 20, as the inaugural festivities wound down, it was left to the Rev. Joseph C. Lowery, a true hero of the civil and human rights movements, to close out the ceremonies with a b…
Read More…that is due to the divided field where anti-Trump voters can choose from a number of alternatives. But that interpretation only underscores the larger point: Trump is still the one candidate who coalesces the largest number of evangelicals—even the weekly churchgoers—around him. Those numbers would likely shift should Trump face a two-man race with Ted Cruz. But if survey data still show what they have revealed so far—that Trump will continue to w…
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…can Guard on Lost, villains on professional wrestling, or the black Muslim prison inmates on OZ? Terrorists, prisoners, enemy combatants, and “heel” wrestlers—these portrayals do not reflect the realities of American Muslim life; most notably the fact that American Muslims are equal in wealth and higher educational achievement than non-Muslims. A recent Newsweek cover story on Islam in America highlighted a 2007 Pew survey which found that 26 perc…
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…ts state officials to decline to marry couples of whose marriage they disapprove; and it likewise permits medical professionals to decline to serve LGBT clients. Now, federal and state laws that create a distinction based on race are subject to the highest level of interrogation under the Constitution, called “strict scrutiny.” And federal and state laws that create a distinction based on sexual orientation, sex, and gender identity are subject to…
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…and civil unions—Elton John thanked the Pope, and Cardinal Raymond Burke expressed expected horror—is that it’s based on scant data. That’s clue Number One that the topic is ripe for conversation and that people of varying views will use Pope Francis’ words to confirm their own positions. A look at the movie offers a context for how to interpret the text. Unless one knows better in advance, it would be easy to conclude from the film that there are…
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