Religion Dispatches
…I fervently wish that Mr. Obama would say a bit more about the problem of cheap grace. Reminding us that people who work very hard for very little are not the abusers of cheap grace, but that others in well-feathered nests who are preaching sacrifice might be in real trouble on the cheap grace front. Obama cannot and should not condemn those in the electorate who buy into Romney’s “there will be showers of blessing” message, but he probably does …
Read More…es ECI’s leadership – knows this to be the case. Which makes ECI’s video a cheap lie — yet another in a long litany of desperate efforts by the far right to convert the largely liberal American Jewish community to neo-conservatism, hawkish policies on Israel, and the belief that “Barack Hussein Obama” is a Muslim. That said, there actually are two interesting forms of antisemitism going on here. First is the antisemitism of ECI itself. To tug at…
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…as a guide for publishers hoping to land the lucrative textbook market of Texas. Texas is the second largest bulk purchaser in the country, second only to the bankrupt California education system. And many other states follow Texas’ lead and buy the same version. So that means students across the country could be forced to read McLeroy’s myopic vision of America’s past. The organization, which champions faith and defends religious freedom, sent a…
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…bstract. But as the public ritual of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland unfolds, religion-oriented analyses of Trump can be useful. As more and more studies are showing, politics isn’t just about policy. It’s also about identity, community, meaning and belief—in other words, the domain of religion and religious scholarship. Durkheim’s theory of collective effervescence has been applied to everything from Grateful Dead shows to profess…
Read More…ver, Porphyry’s description of demonized meat gained an unlikely ally: the Cleveland Clinic medical center. Researchers there suggested that certain gut bacteria may help explain the link between red meat and heart disease. These bacteria produce a chemical called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) whenever they digest lecithin, a major component of animal fat. The TMAO then makes it into the bloodstream and contributes to the clogging of arteries and…
Read More…that the belief was sincerely held. Justice Alito’s opinion did clarify a number of other things that are not relevant to assessing a claim of “substantial burden.” First, it is not relevant that “alternative means of practicing religion” are available. The state does not get to decide whether a claimant’s religious impulses can be satisfied through some other outlet. Second, it does not matter whether the practice is considered religiously oblig…
Read More…the law. It is directly on point to consider whether Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood would have been granted status as “persons” under something called the Political Freedom Restoration Act. RD contributing editor Austin Dacey will be writing a series of posts in the coming months as part of a joint project between The Immanent Frame and Religion Dispatches made possible by the generosity of the Luce Foundation….
Read More…es. But stretched too far, they can become “nothing more than lies.” Her project is a far more foundational challenge, a challenge to the very idea of “Religion” as a category under the law. RD contributing editor Austin Dacey will be writing a series of posts in the coming months as part of a joint project between The Immanent Frame and Religion Dispatches made possible by the generosity of the Luce Foundation….
Read More…ds of extremists and the unqualified.” The removal of thousands of clerics—numbering 12,000, according to the government’s statement—comes in the context of the ongoing struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military-backed regime. Outside observers of this struggle may be tempted to frame it as a contest between an Islamist theocracy and a secular state, albeit an alarmingly iron-fisted one. However, as revealed in a discussion of the fu…
Read More…in religious affairs. Likewise, Egyptians of all faiths and none are entitled to freedom of religion and conscience and equal treatment under the law. What title for this position would be more apt than secularism? RD contributing editor Austin Dacey will be writing a series of posts in the coming months as part of a joint project between The Immanent Frame and Religion Dispatches made possible by the generosity of the Luce Foundation. Click here…
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