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Spiritual-Not-Religious or Just Lazy?

By Kate Blanchard

…ome to expect the words “spiritual but not religious” to be accompanied by air quotes and a tone of disdain. But lately even non-religious folk have begun to hate on the SBNR. One recent scientific study draws a link between mental illness and lazy spirituality—and some atheists scorn others for not having the courage to come out and admit what they really are. “Today’s secularists must do more than mount defensive campaigns proclaiming that we ca…

Because God Tells Me So; Do Jews Have a “Historic Right” to Israel?

By Shaul Magid

…” to express sympathy and concern for Gazan civilian casualties of Israeli air strikes as she had for Israeli victims of Palestinian rocket fire. “At the same time, supporting Israel’s right to protect and defend itself does not diminish the reality that the Palestinian people are also children of God, whose suffering is real and undeniable,” she wrote in a rather temperate acknowledgment of human suffering that apparently crossed a “red line” res…

5 Take-Aways from the Newly Viral Romney End-Times Video

By Joanna Brooks

…on-religious, and will motivate liberals to vote. 2. Mitt Romney espouses fairly orthodox Mormon beliefs. And he professes them as a literal believer. 3. The Mormon version of the end times is generally similar to evangelical Christianity, as Sarah Posner noted here. Yes, there is an additional historic Mormon teaching that the faithful will build a “New Jerusalem” on the American continent. It’s a belief that has not gotten much airtime during Ch…

What The Church Needs More Than a ‘Good Pope’

By Mary E. Hunt

…man condition. He’s very Argentine that way. Going to the movies in Buenos Aires is as common as going to mass. Teatro Colon is a world-class opera house of which Portenos (residents of Buenos Aires) are justifiably proud. Third, postmodernity is not lost on Francis. Woven through the discourse of this lengthy interview are indications that the many sciences, not just theology and philosophy, are sources for religious reflection. Obviously his ex…

Romney and the End-Times

By Sarah Posner

…ith conservative Iowa talk radio host Jan Mickelson, in studio but off the air, about his Mormon beliefs. Mickelson appears to be goading Romney into admitting or explaining ways that Mormonism differs from evangelical Christianity, and Romney gets pretty angry and heated throughout. Earlier this year, Joanna Brooks wrote about how journalists who focus on, for example, Romney’s citation to Mickelson of Cold War-era Mormon figure W. Cleon Skousen…

Death Couture: Not For Halloween Only

By Stephen Andes

…-market goods from stereos to designer knock-offs can be purchased in open air markets. Devotion to La Santa Muerte in Tepito emerged in the 1960s and quickly appeared in other Mexican states like Guerrero, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Campeche, Morelos, Nuevo León, and Chihuahua. But in Tepito veneration to La Santa Muerte translated into the construction of numerous unofficial chapels, overseen and tended by lay devotees, often women. Enriqueta Romero…

Mitt, Moochers, and Mormonism’s “Other” Legacy

By Mary Barker

…he newly arrived Father Scanlon in 1873. Catholics have been extended free airtime on Mormon-owned radio stations and Mormon largesse has contributed to the renovation of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City as well as to Catholic soup kitchens and other humanitarian efforts. Mormon and Catholic leaders have prayed in each others’ houses of worship and collaborated on a number of political initiatives. Speaking at the commemoration of…

Pussy Prophets & Nuns on Buses: Will Feminist Politics Get More Holy & Foolish?

By Beatrice Marovich

…tent headlines, Pussy Riot’s politics have swept in like a breath of fresh air, bringing a little holy foolishness with it. I’ve always been careful when I explain to fellow feminists—especially feminists in academia—that my field is religion and theology. I’m cautious to emphasize, especially, the critical nature of my religious curiosities. First of all, because it’s the truth, but also because I’ve always assumed that feminists (by and large) t…

Simon Critchley, Atheist Religious Thinker on Utopia & the Fiction of Faith

By Beatrice Marovich

…ical standbys (faith, hope, love) might still offer the freshest breath of air in our contemporary political situation. Critchley recently spoke with RD about atheism, Christianity, Occupy Wall Street, love, and other fictions of our so-called secular age. I’m wondering about the choice to use the term “faithless” in the title. Is the “faithless” tag mostly there for poetic effect? Because, I mean, this book is about faith: about developing a c…

Who’s Threatening Military Chaplains’ Religious Freedom? Southern Baptists

By Peter Montgomery

…st Convention. Timothy Kincaid at Box Turtle Bulletin recounts the tale of Air Force Col. Timothy Wagoner, who was present at—not even officiating—a union ceremony between two men at the chapel he oversees. “I wouldn’t miss it,” Wagoner told Army Times, “I don’t feel I’m compromising my beliefs… I’m supporting the community.” That was enough to get Wagoner hauled before the SBC’s North American Mission Board, which emailed a letter to all Southern…