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Why it (Still) Makes Little Sense to Call ISIS Islamic

By Haroon Moghul

…y as practiced: slavery was not heritable (the children of slaves are born free, because, as Suleiman pointed out, the Qur’an assumes all persons are born free); that Muslims could not be enslaved (creating a tribal identity that transcended existing tribes); and that the offspring of slaves would be treated exactly as one’s own children. Slaves themselves should be fed, and clothed, and housed, at a standard commensurate with their owner’s wealth…

The Vatican v. Protestant Free Thinkers

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…her successes. Faith, as that Pope never tired of repeating, can never be promoted by force; truth’s power lies its truthfulness, nothing more. Now in a great many ethical and political matters, John Paul II was as anti-modern a Pope as the Church has seen in recent memory; his successor even more so. But on the devilish topic of religion, science and free enquiry, these same Popes have elected to stand emphatically on the side of the moderns. Th…

In Hamline Case, the ‘Free Expression vs. Religious Sensibilities’ Frame Obscures a Stark Reality About Higher Education

By Junaid Jahangir

…unately, many universities allow space for critical inquiry. And, in addition to the petition in support of Dr. López Prater issued by a group of academics specializing in Islamic Studies and allied fields, both the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and even the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) have issued statements of support. They’re rightfully concerned about the stifling of academic freedom in universities. But we should also b…

Texas Textbook Massacre

By Lauri Lebo

…s be able to “examine the reasons the Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others,” was rejected by religious conservatives. 3. The Enlightenment Ends Here: Board members voted to remove Thomas Jefferson from a world history standard about the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on political revolutions from the 1700s to today. Instead, they rep…

Vatican Considers ‘Disordered’ Language; HBO Doc on LGBT Persecution in Russia; Nigerian Bishop Shifts on Anti-Gay Law; Arson at ‘Open Mosque’ in South Africa; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…itical Research Associates’ Kapya Kaoma reports on conversion therapy in Africa, and the ways American religious activists’ claims about “healing” people of homosexuality have been used to justify anti-gay policies. The “ex-gay” movement may be fizzling out in the United States, as more and more people and even state legislatures continue to disavow it as little more than a scam, but across other areas of the globe, particularly in countries where…

Gun Owners of America Celebrates Defeat of Gun Control Amendments

By Sarah Posner

…of bright ideas like we don’t want guns around children, so let’s have gun-free school zones. Do you know where most of the mass murders have occurred in the United States? In gun-free zones. There’s an exception or two but typically it’s where the bad guy has reason to think he’ll have a monopoly of force. It has to be one of the most stupid laws on the books, and yet we’ve had so much inertia because we don’t want guns around children especially…

Is Christianity Simply About God Entering the Uterus of a Jewish Virgin?

By Eric Reitan

…the only tool we have for evaluating beliefs about what transcends the empirical world. Caricatures can be useful in calling attention to things we might not otherwise notice. But caricatures cease to be useful when they’re confused with the real thing; when the critic invites his audience to deride the real thing based on the absurdity of the caricature. This is what Dawkins does in his little “note” to potential Free Inquiry subscribers. And it…

Two people on a podium with a board that reads "Project 2025 kills democracy"

Project 2025: How Trump Loyalists and Right-Wing Leaders Are Paving a Fast Road to Fascism

By Peter Montgomery

…irect-new. [12] Peter Montgomery, “6 Ways the Heritage Foundation Makes America Less Free, Less Just, and Less Safe,” Right Wing Watch, April 21, 2023, https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/6-ways-the-heritage-foundation-makes-america-less-free-less-just-and-less-safe/. [13] Heritage Foundation , “2025 Presidential Transition Project Forms Advisory Board with Leading Conservative Partners,” Heritage Foundation, June 24, 2022, https://www.heritage.or…

Will Religion Solve the Obesity Crisis?

By Andrew Aghapour

…ge your day-to-day relationship with tempting foods. Chocolate cake has to code-switch, from “a thing I want and must resist” to “a thing I don’t want right now,” and that happens in the ACC. As Roundling’s study shows, religious thoughts seem to help with short-term code switching because they offer a concrete set of alternative values. Similarly, when Warren says that caring for his body is a “stewardship issue,” he might be actively molding his…

Black Women and the Sacred: With “Lemonade,” Beyoncé Takes Us to Church

By Yolanda Pierce

…ls from multiple sources. Christianity as it exists and is practiced in America today owes much of its theology, ritual, and doctrine to the experiences and beliefs of enslaved Africans. Within most of these traditional African-born religious practices, women served as powerful healers, conjurers and priests. To evoke these traditions in “Lemonade” contrasts with the skewed demographics of contemporary Christianity, where black women represent mor…