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Why Nobody Should Be Surprised That Pope Francis Made Problematic Comments About Judaism — And That He Remains Unapologetic

By Ilan Benattar

…the rising forces of reactionary nationalism in the late 2010s, Francis’s service as the Bishop of Rome has seen a marked shift away from the fiercely anti-communist rhetoric of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II. Perhaps, then, this is why it came as a surprise to many, including the Israeli Rabbinate, that in an August 11th homily Pope Francis would express full-throated endorsement of a belief which, in contemporary parlance, could be glo…

Battle of Antisemitism Definitions is Actually a Proxy War For Criticism of Israel

By Joshua Shanes

…ierarchy and oppression that affect us all, though some more than others. (American Jews are hardly as vulnerable to discrimination and violence as African Americans, for example, nor do they suffer from the legacy of four centuries of enslavement, expropriation and discrimination.) Political differences about Israel within this camp are far less important than the shared goal of defeating a worldview that seeks our joint oppression. For those fol…

Latest Diatribe on Francis and Latin Mass in the Times Launders the History — and Troubling Elements — of the ‘Tradition’

By Matthew Gabriele

…pe Francis issued his statement in opposition), only a bit under 4% of all American parishes offered it. This particular reaction to the reforms of Vatican II is, and has consistently been, a small, fringe movement. Second, the priest faced away from the congregation during the Latin Mass because the congregation was (and remains, honestly) irrelevant to its celebration. Regular Sunday attendance was never required, or even recommended, for the co…

How Far Will White Christians Go to Maintain Power? An Interview with Robert Jones

By Peter Laarman

…s try to end on a more positive note if we can. The egalitarian current in American religion seems to be doing okay, even gathering strength here and there. Your report suggests that the non-evangelical Protestant numbers are looking pretty good for a change. Talk about this and offer any insights you have about what’s going on. Is it just that the more conservative older ranks are thinning out? Well, we’ve now got two years of very interesting da…

Largely Overshadowed by the Election, ‘Red Pill, Blue Pill’ Transcends Standard Explanations of Conspiracy Culture Which is ‘Killing Us All’

By Katherine Stewart

…n, in short, the profit motive has been invested in deepening an uncounted number of rabbit holes. Neiwert diagnoses the issue systematically, showing piece by piece how technology has helped conspiracy theorizing and delusional thinking slip from the fringe into the mainstream of American politics. But Neiwert fortunately takes the analysis far deeper than these conventional reflections. The technological drivers of modern irrationalism, as he po…

The ‘Health Freedom Movement’ Enters the Covid Era by Disseminating Medical Disinformation

By Susannah Crockford

…, pushing back against negative ‘anti’ labels and leveraging the perennial American concern with freedom, or lack thereof. The Truth Over Fear Summit II was preceded by the Health Freedom Summit, an online event held in February 2021 with speakers promoting anti-vaccination, anti-mask, and pro-homeschool views. Speakers included Paul Thomas, a Portland doctor who recently had his medical license revoked for endangering patients by refusing to vacc…

Bishops’ Attempt to Deny Communion to Biden Will Backfire Even More Spectacularly Than Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage

By Mary E. Hunt

…ve, by turns criminal, and, in recent decades, the reason former Catholics number as many as current Catholics in the US. For the bishops to pronounce who among the laity is worthy to receive communion is absurd. At most, such decisions are made pastorally and in private, on a case by case, diocese by diocese basis. But these days, with the institution mired in bankruptcies because of priests’ criminal conduct, costs and market share plunging beca…

The Christian Right’s Main Moral Argument Against Abortion Rights Completely Ignores This Critical Issue: It’s Time to Raise It

By Elizabeth Freese

…ption,” therefore, “abortion is murder.” According to Pew Research, 48% of Americans believe abortion is morally wrong, and only 20% affirm that it’s morally acceptable. Yet, 61% of Americans support abortion legality as part of their general commitment to liberal freedom. We’ve been hopelessly muddled in this ambivalent “morality gap” between legality and cultural acceptability, resulting in a conflicting patchwork of legislation and endless, exh…

As a Minister I’m Fed Up With Anti-Trans Legislation Written by Adults to Pick on Children, All in the Name of Religious Freedom

By Welton Gaddy

…good news,” which moves me to share my faith lovingly and devote myself to service for others. Never am I comfortable religiously, conscientiously, or constitutionally when I am confronted by ugly laws aimed at diminishing the LGBTQ+ community—including Stella and young people like her—especially when routinely and disingenuously these laws are proposed in the name of religion. Of my religion. Twenty-eight states are currently considering anti-tra…

Alabama’s Yoga Ban Is Part of the Christian Right’s War on Pluralism

By Manisha Sunil

…eaponization of religious freedom—perhaps our most foundational freedom—in service of a conservative Christian agenda. In 1993, the state’s Board of Education voted to prohibit yoga, hypnosis and meditation in public schools, stemming from conservative pressure. The current bill, which is now moving to the state’s Senate, would allow the practice of yoga in classes, but still forbid chanting, mantras, and the use of “namaste,” a Sanskrit salutatio…