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Why We Should Keep the Devil in Halloween

…world-turned-upside down. For one day skeletons, ghosts, and monsters can freely and harmlessly roam, simultaneously appeasing and dispelling the power of real demons just a little bit. This sort of release of psychic pressure is a function of ritual throughout history, and shows up frequently in scriptural narrative. In the most honest of all biblical books, Satan (or ha-Satan, the adversary), makes his appearance in Job as a kind of divine liti…

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Not Breathing Much Easier … But Still Breathing: A Modest Plea For Hope to End 2020

…opening for the rise of a powerful 20th century Civil Rights Movement. And today there are thousands of clear-sighted organizers, many of them young people of color, who’ve done their homework and understand the basics of movement-making: the need to engage head, heart, and spirit all at once and to fully understand one’s opposition so as not to be sidetracked, blindsided, seduced into a phony peace. As well, there are plenty of elders, some of th…

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America, the Mythical: “Mother of Exiles” or Denier of Safe Haven?

…—a group of separatists who hired him to transport them away from England. Today the pub bears the name of that craft—”The Mayflower Pub“—and a copy of the famous compact written aboard that vessel is framed above the establishment’s urinal for any intoxicated customer to peruse. It would, perhaps, be just as well to say that the Mayflower Pub in London is the place where “America was born” as Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. Of course there is no…

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C Street Scandal, the Media, the Future of the Family: An Interview with Jeff Sharlet

…Graham rushed to its defense. Rep. Randy Forbes, leader of the congressional prayer caucus, is proud of his association. Rep. Frank Wolf and former Rep. Tony Hall took to the pages of Christianity Today to publish such a disingenuous defense that even USA Today scoffed. But that didn’t shake them. It’s taken a hit from its own members, but it’s not down and out….

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Romney Steers Hard Right on Immigration; Huntsman Out After New Hampshire?

Today, Mitt Romney released a new video attacking Rick Perry as being “soft” on immigration. Romney is aiming at Perry’s support for a Texas state policy that permits the young people who came to the United States “illegally” as children to attend public universities paying in-state tuition. It’s not radical policy, but Romney’s criticism is yet another point—like Social Security—he’s using to draw a strong contrast with Perry. But doing so puts…

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Police in Ferguson Keep Praying and Preying

The Greater St. Mark Church was raided today as St. Louis County Police thought that protesters were spending the night in the church, which has been used as a staging area for protestors. Police have since closed the building and stated that if anyone congregates on the premises at night, there would be arrests. One member of the Dream Defenders said “what [the police] did today is tell us, what? There is no safety here.” The Pastor of the churc…

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Most U.S. Catholics Back Marriage Equality, But Knights of Columbus Pour Millions into Opposition

…inancial power comes from a huge and profitable life insurance business it promotes through local councils and parishes. It funnels millions of dollars to the pope and bishops’ conferences as well as to more service-oriented charities.  “The Strong Right Arm of the Bishops: The Knights of Columbus and Anti-Marriage Equality Funding,” documents $6.25 million in direct Knights funding to anti-marriage equality campaigns at the national level and in…

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Modern Vampires: Your Neighbors and Spouses

…(Praeger, release date: May 30, 2009). What inspired you to write Vampires Today? What sparked your interest? Some people think I study vampires simply because they are unusual. I’ve even been asked if I am a vampire myself. The reality is that I became interested in the vampire community when I learned of a massive survey being conducted by the Atlanta Vampire Alliance (AVA). Their project was relevant to the sociology of knowledge: instead of de…

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Will the Religious Side with Workers?

…of oversimplified bullet points: An unpleasant aftertaste: As noted above, today’s labor movement is tremendously diverse, both ethnically and racially. Women and people of color run some of the biggest unions. But many religious leaders of a certain age are more likely to recall the older exclusionary craft unionism. They remember cranky George Meany and his ever-present cigar. They remember the building trades—Meany’s crowd—raining both bricks a…

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Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World

…“Christ figure.” In the immortal words of Woody Allen, “If Jesus came back today and saw what was going on in his name, he wouldn’t stop throwing up.” It is safe to say that Allen’s comments can be applied to a lot of religious film criticism. Did you have a specific audience in mind when writing? As with the above point the main audience is, I hope, students. I tried to write this in an accessible way, introducing key themes in religious studies…

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