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Note to the New Pope: Half of the World’s Poor are Women

By Marian Ronan

…een a very long time coming, from Eurocentrism to the Church of the Global South. Not to mention his reputation as an advocate for the poor, emphasizing the Christian Gospel of love, washing the feet of AIDS victims, and more. The new pope’s legacy will stand him in good stead as well, since his parents were Italians, and he speaks Italian fluently—not a bad thing for a pope—even as he has never served in the Vatican curia, the focus of much criti…

Obama, MLK, Not “Nice” Enough to Moderates?

By Paul Harvey

…gliding and riffing played well outside the South and among the very small number of Southern liberals already aware of the sins of segregation, but it seems almost calculated to make the vast majority of white Southern Christians dismiss King as some highfalutin’ liberal with grandiose ideas, rather than a minister of their own Christian faith calling attention to laws that contradicted the spirit of the Gospel. This, about a man who led doubtles…

You Are What You Eat: New Book on Cannibalism Reimagines What It Means to Be Made of Flesh

By Michael Schulson

…ng of David Shulman’s book The Hungry God, and particularly a 12th century South Indian story that Shulman examines at length. One day, a Shiva-worshipper called Ciruttontar receives a visit from the god, who has disguised himself as a wandering ascetic. Eager to honor the holy man, Ciruttontar offers him a meal from any of his three herds. Shiva, in diguise, refuses. “The beast we eat is human,” he says—specifically healthy five year-old boys who…

Public Religion in a Post-Christian Age, Graduation Edition

By David Gushee

…on graduated from a formerly Baptist liberal arts college also deep in the South. His graduation exercises, including a baccalaureate service, were characterized by a multi-faith ethos. The baccalaureate was especially striking, with readings and rituals from Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian sources. The address from the university president emphasized the centrality of “the spirit” rather than just material success. The commencement…

Tim Pawlenty’s Dilemma: How Far Will His Anti-Choice Extremism Go?

By Sarah Posner

…as enjoined pending a legal challenge. This year’s actions bring to 27 the number of states with state-directed counseling requirements in effect. (emphasis added). The Minnesota bill did require that the woman be informed “whether or not an anesthetic or analgesic would eliminate or alleviate organic pain to the unborn child caused by the particular method of abortion to be employed and the particular medical benefits and risks associated with th…

What Religion Looks Like, Wisconsin Edition

By Kim Bobo

…e legitimate rights of workers. The Reverend Bruce Burnside, Bishop of the South-Central Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, called upon members of the Wisconsin State Legislature to: [A]ct with compassion and find solutions to the budget deficit bill that would not eliminate workers’ rights and medical care for the most vulnerable. He quoted from a resolution by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) titled “Statement on Workers…

How New Religions Are Made

By Jacob S. Dorman

…in New York and Philadelphia—not to mention affiliates across the Midwest, South, West Indies, and even South Africa. Israelite ideas were popular in the Holiness movement, and played an indispensable role in the evolution of Pentecosalism, the most numerous Christian movement of the twentieth century. I could find important antecedents in the Anglo-Israelite, who had representatives both here and in Britiain, and even make a cameo in E.P. Thompso…

GMO or No: Problematic Intersections of Religion, Biotechnology, and Food

By Brittany Shoot

…e and technology are often presented as a panacea for issues in the Global South, it remains crucial that religious authorities remain pragmatic when determining their positions on such weighty issues. Most Christian denominations lack specific requirements for food, although a few, like Seventh Day Adventists, eschew pork and certain other animal products. Generally, Christians’ primary association between food and religion is through Holy Commun…

RDBook: Is Nothing Secular? A Review of Jewel of Medina

By Gordon D. Newby

…of his publications was a firestorm of criticism by Muslims writing in the South Asian press against his views, with the result that Western Orientalist scholarship about Muhammad and Islam became synonymous with the colonial domination of South Asians under the British Raj and of Muslims everywhere. In September, 1988, the novelist and Emory University professor, Salman Rushdie, published the well-known novel, Satanic Verses, a term first coined…

RDNews: Oct 20, 2008

By Bill Berkowitz

…kota, Colorado and California threaten to end or limit abortion rights. In South Dakota, anti-abortion activists have resuscitated a measure than failed to pass two years ago, by softening the language in the initiative, “includ[ing] language purporting to make exceptions for incest, rape or the life and health of the mother,” a recent New York Times editorial pointed out. The newspaper argued that the current measure was drafted “to make it nearl…