Religion Dispatches
…presented in its internal practices and foreign policies the commitment to freedom that fuels its rhetoric. And, while we’re at it, we might throw into the mix some attention to our materialism and its awkward and distorting presentation. There is something useful in examining the policies and practices of our nation and demanding that we live the best of our ideals. And, if My Name Is Earl sparks that type of exchange, I won’t complain. My name i…
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…ists anonymously. Even if DeSantis were to replace Trump, it wouldn’t be cause for celebration because, as Sharlet correctly observes: “DeSantis doesn’t represent a break with fascism. He doesn’t even represent a break with Trumpism. Trump, the person? Perhaps. But ‘Trumpism’ is what we’ve been calling this particular American version of fascism, which DeSantis embodies as much as anyone.” As a trained historian and scholar of fascism, I have bad…
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…ia to keep up with the latest political disasters isn’t making us feel any better. Twitter use is correlated with greater rates of anxiety, and Facebook contributes to depressive mind states. So what does the Pope tell us to do in order to be happier? Mostly, it involves praying more. To be fair, Francis’ emphasis on the marginalized comes through even in his ideas about happiness. Of the Beatitudes, which tell us the most blessed are those who su…
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…described the ‘Islamic State’ as “not Islamic” it was not necessarily because of a lack of understanding of the group, but because of an awareness of the power of his words to affect the lives of the millions of Muslims in America. Wood does not acknowledge the power his words have in constructing the “reality” they depict. That is, he is not simply describing the Truth, but helping to construct it. In her essay “Representing Fundamentalism: The…
Read More…thing they agree on is that [neither] prayer nor scripture should ever be used as weapons. And we agree that prayer should be entered into humbly, seeking the Holy One’s will and guidance, not assuming we already know what it is.” Campaigns like PLAL’s, with their use of names and photographs, are potential catalysts for harassment according to Reverend Knox. “Creating what looks like a wanted poster, then asking people to pray for those shown, i…
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…t of powerhouse programs like Florida State and Auburn. Some are there because they used drugs. One was charged with burglary. Another punched a woman in a bar. Football players spout self-serving platitudes all the time. “No relationship is perfect” is how Ray Rice explained the video of him striking his then-fiancee in an elevator in 2014. But Johnson isn’t trying to justify himself. He doesn’t use our shared imperfection to paint over his sins….
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…d preferred mercy, amnesty and forgiveness over force (though Muhammad did use force, and at times that use of force shocks). #5 Josh Duggar and the Purity Lie The downfall of the Duggar family, of reality TV fame, was among the most notorious sources of Schadenfreude this year. Sarah Posner goes beyond the gossip and muckraking in this post about the family’s cover-up of Josh Duggar’s sexual predation. #4 Why Tony Campolo’s LGBTQ Reversal is Evan…
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…entral Asia at precisely the right moment to act as a permeable “membrane” between Buddhist and Christian monastic cultures. At the same time, a flood of heterodox clerics from Asia Minor and the Balkans were re-introducing old heresies (known as neo-Manichaeism) to the mercantile cities of the Mediterranean coast, springboard to the Silk Road. This phase of European history led ultimately to the Albigensian crusade and the horrors of the inquisit…
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…eligious composition of the nation. The first half of Tri-Faith America focuses on the early-twentieth-century battle between those who considered the United States a “Christian nation” and those who pushed for the tri-faith concept. The forces for unity and exclusion were numerous and powerful. A resurgent Klan was led by men like Hiram Wesley Evans who wanted the nation to be a “Native, white, Protestant supremacy.” Antisemitic and anti-Catholic…
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…binary. Nearly every medical form I’ve ever completed requires me to pick between some form of binary gender—i.e., “Are you a man or a woman?” On the rare occasion when a third box is offered, staff still misgender me, and use my legal name instead of the one I write over it. This even happens when I politely add “Preferred Name” to the form or scrawl “PLEASE CALL ME COOPER” above and around the space for the name. The bracelet they put on my wri…
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