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Excerpt: The Christian Roots of Zionism

By Shalom Goldman

…n the United States, The Fundamentals, a series of essays published between 1910 and 1915 by conservative evangelical theologians, emphasized the necessity to believe in the literal truth of scripture. This helped reify the relationship between the Jews of the present and the Israelites of old. In the view of many in the Christian West, Palestine was understood to be ‘‘empty,’’ and this emptiness should be filled by Jews, the descendants of the la…

Exodus “Ex-Gay” Ministry Closes Up Shop

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…aker for Exodus who has been with the ministry for ten years, since she was 17, says she understands that. “Time will reveal as we begin this new venture,” she told Religion Dispatches. “Alan coming out with this apology and this move is already an enormous step. We’re saying that gay people matter and where we’ve caused them harm we’re going to own that and work to end that pain.” When asked if a “safe and welcoming” place would include those…

By the Way: Fractured Religious Right Endorses McCain

By Randall Balmer

…of discussion, and to no one’s surprise, the group decided to shelve their reservations about John McCain and endorse him in the fall campaign. “The alternative is so bad,” Phyllis Schlafly declared, “we must support John McCain.” The meeting was called by Mathew Staver, dean of the law school at Liberty University. Those in attendance included Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values in Ohio, Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther Ki…

Profits Over Principles for Romney?

By Joanna Brooks

…tern Europe has increased dramatically. For example, Carter reports that in 1992 “only 7 percent of Russian women smoked,” whereas that number “has more than tripled” (to 22%) since then. Further, according to Matthew Meyers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, “Russia is facing a true public health crisis… [Big Tobacco’s impact on Russia] is directly correlated with skyrocketing smoking rates among young people…The impact is direct and potentia…

Thoroughly Modern Mormons

By Joanna Brooks

…side of Temple Square, cheerfully singing hymns from the screens of their iPhones or from green-backed hymnals, while a clutch of protestors—evangelical Christians, mostly, the same familiar, ragged gang materializing every conference—takes its place behind barricades on a small patch of grass. A stranger, upon learning that I don’t have one of the highly-coveted tickets to the Sunday Conference sessions, spontaneously offers me his last extra. Mi…

Evangelicals Struggle With the Role of Churches in Society

By Omri Elisha

…rns for the welfare of society, many conservative evangelicals harbor deep reservations about supporting any programs that seem to deprioritize evangelism or run the risk of becoming too liberal or too secular. Socially engaged evangelicals counteract those concerns by insisting that faith-based activism can ideally be a vehicle for greater evangelism, not a distraction from it. But they often face strong ideological resistance and logistical cons…

What if Israel Were in Germany? An Alternate History

By Haroon Moghul

…America, a country on the Eastern Seaboard that had nothing to do with the 11/9 attacks. America is swiftly defeated, and the Arabs set up a Green Zone in Washington DC to oversee what they hope will be a brief occupation. Six years later, when the main story begins, the troops are still there. Putting Israel in northern Europe was, I have to admit, quite surprising. And Israel’s alliance with an Arab superpower actually reflects how much of Jewi…

What The Church Needs More Than a ‘Good Pope’

By Mary E. Hunt

…e this interview is a beginning not an end of a new moment. These serious reservations notwithstanding, my early read of “A Big Heart Open to God” is hopeful—to be otherwise would not be Catholic. Moral theologian Daniel C. Maguire gets it right when he says here on RD, “Never before has so much fresh air flowed through musty Vatican halls.” Let the dialogue get bigger and the table grow more crowded. Like this story? Your tax-deductible $5 or $…

Insurance Coverage for Abortion in Health Care Reform Threatened

By Carlton Veazey

…e “Protect Life Act”)—as soon as Congress convened in January. An estimated 14.5 million women who are insured by their mid-sized and large employers would be affected by these new restrictions, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute. Contrast that to the fact that about 80 percent of private plans now cover pregnancy termination. (This is in addition to women whose coverage for abortion is already restricted to the narrow cases of…

ABC’s Good Christian Bitches Makes Feminists of Religious Right

By Sarah Morice-Brubaker

…an alert and is petitioning ABC to drop the show: Disney-owned ABC has no reservations about creating hate speech against Christians, but you can be sure they would never consider a show called “Good Muslim B-tches” or “Good Jewish B-tches.” With a title like “Good Christian B-tches,” you can imagine what kind of show it will be. Even if they change the title, the content will still mock people of faith. Okay, this is fantastic. I mean, how lovel…