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Herd Heroism in an Age of Rebels: The Cultural Roots of the Anti-Vaxxer Movement

By Michael Schulson

…, as Americans, we have little notion of what life without a social safety net actually looks like—at least until we head into the developing world. Similarly, fringe religious movements thrive, in part, because they stay on the fringe. It’s easier to live out your utopia when you don’t also have to maintain the infrastructure of a nation state, too. If we were all members of the Followers of Christ Church, for example, the country probably wouldn…

Why Republicans Don’t Think Obama Is Christian

By Sarah Posner

…Israel, who contrast Obama negatively with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a February 5, 2015 floor speech, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) called Netanyahu “one of the most prescient voices that we have in the entire world to address some of the subjects and some of the dangers that face the United States of America.” In contrast, Franks claimed, Obama “chooses to listen to these mysterious voices of those who did not vote in our Nation’s…

Pentecostal Prayer Gangs: New Film Documents Religion in a Brazilian Prison

By Nick Street

…ntensity with which they held on to Jesus. People who have no other safety net hold onto their faith with an intensity I’ve rarely seen. That taught me the importance of living in community and the importance of single-minded purpose, especially in dire circumstances. I really saw that Christianity is about more than having a set of abstract theological tenets in your mind. It’s a daily practice as well, and I learned a lot about practicing my own…

Why Faithy Rhetoric Won’t Help Democrats

By Sarah Posner

…n Canada. In the book, Bean, who is now a strategist for the PICO National Network, argues that white evangelical political identity in the United States is formed not (as is often the stereotype) by a top-down strategy of conservative pastors telling congregants how to vote, but rather through reinforcement of ideals of what makes a “good” Christian through lay leaders, para-church organizations, and ministries both within and without the church….

Godly Game or Godless Satire? Countering Biblical Ignorance with Heretical Humor

By Betsy Shirley

…erence earlier this year and blogged about the game on HackingChristianity.net. “And yet you keep playing—and keep reading—to make sense of things in your community.” “Controversial” and “problematic” are hardly exaggerations; sandwiched between Sunday-school standbys like David and Goliath, Mary and Joseph, and Psalm 23 are plenty of stories that aren’t often preached from the pulpit. These stories, featured on the cards of A Game for Good Christ…

Francis Must Make Changes to Have a Real Effect

By Patricia Miller

…trine typo was just that, as was the difference in Francis’ and Benedict’s net favorability rating, which is 11 points, not 6. But my point remains. Given the near-consensus that Benedict’s papacy was pretty much a disaster for the church, I find it a bit surprising that three-quarters of Catholics still had a generally favorable view of the guy. To me, as I said, it suggests that most Catholics don’t pay much attention to the particulars in Rome…

Honey, I Shrunk the Church: The Vatican Manages Sexual Abuse, Canonization and the Nuns

By Mary E. Hunt

…for the corporate entity, the thousands of dioceses they oversee on the planet. Those folks are suddenly on their own when it comes to liability. Rome’s hands are off. The Holy See is the “juridical personification of the Church,” considered the government of the Catholic Church. It is located in Vatican City (which really is not, by most lights, a state). Will the real Roman Catholic Church please stand up? This is all quite murky, resulting in t…

Francis Must Make Changes to Have a Real Effect

By Patricia Miller

…trine typo was just that, as was the difference in Francis’ and Benedict’s net favorability rating, which is 11 points, not 6. But my point remains. Given the near-consensus that Benedict’s papacy was pretty much a disaster for the church, I find it a bit surprising that three-quarters of Catholics still had a generally favorable view of the guy. To me, as I said, it suggests that most Catholics don’t pay much attention to the particulars in Rome…

Milquetoast Liberal Religion Won’t Challenge Conservative Values: A History Lesson

By Sheila D. Collins

…uring the Great Depression the federal government not only provided safety nets in the form of relief, food aid, public housing, mortgage assistance, unemployment insurance, and farm aid, but more significantly, it undertook a series of job-creation programs that gave back to millions of unemployed workers and their families precisely what the Depression had taken from them—the opportunity to support themselves with dignity. The jobs provided by t…

Teaching World Religion in the Dumpster Fire

By Kate Blanchard

…r do I have delusions of grandeur about the ability of a religion professor to change the course of history. But the way I see it, any reduction in fear (at least about anything other than climate change) is a net gain for the world. Maintaining some level of equanimity, inside the classroom and out, is the best way to be present for the students we actually have, for whatever short time we have them….