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Republicans “Evangelizing” Catholic Voters

By Patricia Miller

…sked about same-sex marriage in Florida, he reverted to the default Republican “local decision” rhetoric before his PR team came up with a more polished answer a few hours later that referenced “those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty.” No doubt he will seek to up his game with Evangelicals and right-leaning Catholics over the next few months. The irony is that Bush, an Episcopalian convert to Cathol…

Speaking for Hinduism in the Absence of a Conversation

By Murali Balaji

…roups, noting HAF’s Executive Director Suhag Shukla’s critique of an American Academy of Religions (AAR) statement allowing for any interpretation of religion. Jerryson wrote that “Shukla and the HAF’s stance present several disturbing elements,” citing a supposed mischaracterization of Doniger’s work and Shukla’s take on the academy study of religion, which he called “troublesome.” Over the past week, Jerryson and I engaged via email. Our corres…

It’s Not About Cake: Anti-Gay Vendors Want a Constitutional Right to Discriminate

By Sunnivie Brydum

…s faith. “It has implications for the kinds of goods—be it housing and medical care, public accommodations, employment—[that could be denied],” Melling explained. “This could have implications, depending how it’s written, for other groups who are at risk for being turned away from a business in the name of the same principle. If the right of religion says that you can invoke your speech claims or your religious claims not to comply with an anti-di…

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Overthink the New Pew Data’s Impact on Politics

By Sarah Posner

…angelical Identity, through churches and parachurch organizations, evangelicals’ political views are shaped by a “narrative of Christian nationalism,” a “24/7 narrative” that “liberals basically destroyed America and conservatives have to take it back.” 4. By contrast, the unaffiliated lack such a cohesive political identity. As the sociologist Phil Zuckerman has observed, on weekends the “nones” go hiking and skiing; they don’t go to church. What…

A Reforming Tradition Struggles With Change

By Brent Hege

…omen and men preparing for ministry in ELCA seminaries is roughly equal (Susan Candea, “Wisdom Has Blessed Us”). While there are certainly some in the ELCA who continue to oppose women’s ordination, those numbers are small and grow smaller with each passing year. The same, I suspect, will be the case for the issue of gay and lesbian ordination forty years from now. Ironically, these two issues are closely related and contribute to the perceived ne…

Unprecedented Anti-LGBTQ Statement By Orthodox Church in America Should Be Christian Nationalist Warning Sign to US Orthodoxy

By Katherine Kelaidis

…es of North America (AOA) and (you guessed it) the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Both are, unsurprisingly, characterized by a large number of American converts in their ranks. Nearly 70% of those in the AOA are converts, while the OCA is about evenly split, 50-50. Similarly, the GOA, arguably the most progressive Orthodox body in America—“progressive” being a relative term—remains almost exclusively composed of ethnic Greeks. Focused on their…

How Not To Defend Atheism

By Vlad Chituc

…ough, than when Silverman discusses atheism. Just as Silverman relies on a caricature of religion as a malicious entity only capable of perpetuating evil, he renders atheism as big and pristine an entity as possible. Atheism is, in Silverman’s words, a “logically perfect position,” and it’s so universal that explicit theists are included amongst its practitioners. That’s right: for Silverman, if you believe in a universal spirit or a prime mover b…

Rome Has Spoken and Rome Is Finished: The Vatican’s Sexual Abuse Summit ‘Failed Miserably’

By Mary E. Hunt

…s has to be built. It does not mean someone must leave the church as the McCarrick case proved, only that the person be dealt with by civil authorities and leave ministry where the possibility of abusing power remains. Is that too much to ask in the face of mounting evidence of criminal behavior and cover-ups? On the other hand, Francis’ approach might mean that church teachings and polity will be handled locally as abuse cases are. Catholics can…

Workers Once Forced the Social Gospel Into Churches—Can It Happen Again?

By Eric C. Miller

…are, if anything, more robust today than they were a century ago. The biblical case for organized labor remains intact. Meanwhile, the tradition is more clearly on their side. In the first Gilded Age, official church statements of support for organized labor were scarce. Today, many denominations have such statements and they could be used to hold clergy and laity alike accountable in the midst of labor disputes. Given that rates of religious affi…

New Poll Reveals Jews May Be Open to Change in Israel Policy

By Benjamin Weiner

…hardliners are running neck-and-neck. The stakes are high. If President Obama attempts to take a harder line with Israel he risks alienating his Jewish base. At the same time, if American Jews are not willing to support the president, they risk a diminishment of their own political capital if he does it anyhow. The J Street data, if nothing else, indicates that there is at least the potential for collaboration between the administration and the Je…