Religion Dispatches
…ify hate and violence. And while the coincidence of being born under the “Sign of the Beast” in Topeka 666 is still a little unnerving, there are differing opinions about the number’s translation. Some theologians suggest the number should really be 616, in which case, all eyes on Peoria, Illinois….
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…aptist Churches, noted how their own traditions thrived from the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, a freedom they said people in their own faith traditions now seek to trample for Muslims. David Saperstein, executive director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, one of the groups that organized the meeting with Justice Department officials to urge a more robust law enforcement response to the rise in anti-Muslim activ…
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…s. You saw it in the kerfuffle about Lakewood, the big church there on the freeway, opening its doors. And people saying “why isn’t this enormous church opening its doors for people as a shelter?” I don’t know what really happened there, but there is a public sentiment that churches ought to be doing something. About four days after the storm our group held an event where we invited religious leaders from the community. I was surprised, given all…
Read More…m the first small group discussions held this week indicate that a sizable number of bishops believe that the preparatory document is all doom-and-gloom and doesn’t do enough to celebrate the sizable number of Catholics who are successfully leading a traditional Catholic family life, reports John Allen: The synod’s final report ‘should begin with hope rather than failures, because a great many people already do successfully live the Gospel’s good…
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…than in the leadership? My congregation has been very supportive. A small number of people chose to leave. Some of them not because of their feelings around the issue of homosexuality, but they just struggled with the church being in the news. But that was a small number, and most folks have been very receptive. Many immediately began telling me about their family members, and all of their personal stories. My vulnerability in sharing let them op…
Read More…th, for both are part of my devotion to Allah). They do have a substantial number of women included, so I would not complain on that count. But, here’s the thing: there are no women under the category of Muslim intellectuals. Apparently women don’t think. So it is even harder to adjust to the loss of these three men whose intellectual contributions helped to shape the ways we think about and in fact live Islam today; both for women and for men. I…
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…alism, patriarchy, Islamophobia, and homophobia. Modi works closely with a number of allies to wed yoga to right-wing causes. Yogi Adityanath (Hindu nationalist and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh) responded to some Muslim protests of Modi’s International Yoga Day efforts with the suggestion that those who refuse to perform the sun salutations known as Surya Namaskar are traitors who ought to drown themselves in the ocean or leave India; Baba Ramd…
Read More…-sex marriage rights is shifting to focus on the need to protect religious freedom, rather than the need to protect families. – The LDS Public Affairs office actually used the term ‘gay’ to describe individuals, rather than-sex attracted or same-gender attracted in its response to HRC’s criticisms of Pres. Packer’s October 2010 conference talk. – The LDS Church came out in support of non-discrimination ordinances in Salt Lake City which would prot…
Read More…aception. So is the salient difference the size of the list? Is there some number of things-this-paper-can-be-used-for that puts the employer at a safe moral distance from the act, where previously they had been complicit? If so, what’s the number? How long does the list of possible uses have to be to assuage the employer’s conscience enough to let the employees use their compensation for things the employer finds morally repugnant? See, here’s th…
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…it the You Made it Weird channel at Nerdist.com to pick from any of a wide number of fun and thoughtful interviews. For a crash course on Holmes’ own religious beliefs you can listen to this interview with Emergent Church pastor Rob Bell. Category Winner. When it comes to conversations about religion, Krista Tippett’s On Being is the gold standard. The Peabody Award-winning radio program is also available as a podcast, and subscribers can access u…
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