Religion Dispatches
…embers decided to grab onto the phrase (not the reality) of “intelligent design” to promote religious doctrine. The board members, as in Livingston, Louisiana, were as ignorant of the limits of the scientific case against strict Darwinism as they were of the content of intelligent design theory. The scientists and political scientists at Discovery Institute—colleagues of mine—who actually know something about intelligent design, tried to dissuade…
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…denying that Judaism is a religion (instead, it’s an ideology, or a legal code, or an international cabal), and emphasizing definitions of Judaism rooted in physical heritage. This nudge toward biology makes sense. For one thing, it’s easier to judge somebody’s identity based on ancestry than on beliefs and cultural traditions. The latter is pretty nebulous. The former is quantifiable. Also, bigots haven’t historically cared much about the person…
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…embark on a career of “experimental theology” after she has discovers the “signature” of God in the very structure of the universe. At the same time, Sagan was not impressed by the creationism of Christian fundamentalists in the 1980s. He was searching for a middle ground. The Da Vinci Code, meanwhile, vilified the Catholic Church, but I show that it should better be understood as an attack on Protestantism, and particularly on the authority of th…
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…s fiftieth anniversary, the Pledge was incorporated into the National Flag Code. Ten years later, in the shadow of the Cold War, two weighty words, “under God,” were added. It has become the creed of the state religion, taught early and often to our children. The Very Revd Will H. Mebane, Jr., Interim Dean at St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Buffalo, NY, grew up in the South in a fairly conservative religious household. He encountered the Flag at…
Read More…agreements. Now, with the UK voting to leave, they believe it has sent the signal that countries can walk away from multinational agreements when they no longer likes the rules. Given how important European institutions have been in promoting LGBT rights both in the region and worldwide, “anything that puts a hold on European progress causes concern about advancement for rights for LGBT people, especially in countries that are lagging behind,” sai…
Read More…ment, has become entangled in this debate, as Orthodox activists see it as promoting gay rights. The treaty, which is expected to be signed by June this year, will include criteria like guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and protection of minorities. Basil Akhvlediani, archpriest at Akaurta Sioni Church, criticized gay-rights advocates for turning to the international community for support, saying “EU and NATO membe…
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…cally not about that, I was left wondering whether this shift does in fact signal the “end” of something (the religious right) or whether this is merely a shift in the visible form of it; of the earlier Hardt and Negri quote which, as Jeff pointed out, could just as easily have come from the mouth of Vereide: “[empire] presents itself not as a historical regime originating in conquest but rather as an order that effectively suspends history and th…
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…. I spent long days learning about the code of criminal procedure, traffic code, and arrest procedures. I also had a first-row seat to the cadets’ physical, ideological, and emotional transformations as, over a period of six to eight months, they became police officers. What I saw in that year directly conflicted with the “bad apple” arguments that existed then and that would continue to offer a popular explanation for police violence just a few y…
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…work that he claims extends into 70 countries. Just “nutty,” or nationally significant? There are, of course, many reasons to get it right when covering NAR-related stories. But as writers we need to ask ourselves, how can readers be expected to understand the relative significance of a person or a movement if the language we use to describe it sandbags all sense of seriousness and proportion? The NAR doesn’t merit our considered attention because…
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…ould be unhappy if a relative married someone who has undergone gender reassignment surgery has fallen from around a half to just under a third over the same period. Nicaragua: New web series has queer focus TeleSUR reports on MF, La Serie, the country’s first web series, “which will explore issues of violence, sexual harassment and queerness.” It is set to launch on January 24. Guatemala: Lawmakers preparing push for marriage equality A group of…
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