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In the Aftermath of the “Himalayan Tsunami”

By Luke Whitmore

…ds, and bridges. It is too early to know how many people have died but the number will probably be in the thousands. The numbers may be low compared to global-scale disasters of recent years, but there is a wrenching poignancy to what is happening in Uttarakhand right now. Many of the forces that frame daily life in South Asia are suddenly on display like a raw wound: the wages of development and globalization, the power of the natural world, divi…

On Pi Day, Puzzling Over the Most Famous Transcendental Number

By Ilana E. Strauss

…Physicsworld.com user asks, “What could be more mystical than an imaginary number interacting with real numbers to produce nothing?” Where infinity merges with the earth When you dig into pi, you encounter questions that are as much theological as mathematical: is there a pattern to the universe? Or is it fundamentally random? And how do we reckon with the infinite? Some people have always insisted that there must be a pattern behind pi. If only h…

A Legal Document with Soul: Will the US Ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?

By Sara Friedman

…ead at grade level, and the U.S. ranks 24th in mathematical literacy of 15-year-olds. By age 18, one in four girls and one in six boys will have been victimized by sexual assault, and the U.S. rate of death from child abuse is again 24th. By anyone’s count, along with Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, and Bernie Sanders, there are probably at least 40 or so committed Senators, but to pull together 67 votes in 2010 or 2011 will still be a daunting challen…

“Moral Conflict” On Abortion A Result of Anti-Choice Advocacy

By Sarah Posner

…rting legal abortion. The conflict is not within the millenial (18-29 year olds) camp, but between religiously-motivated anti-choice activists and the majority of Americans. (There even may be a less-discussed sub-conflict between religious rhetoric and reality, as recent data from the Guttmacher Institute shows that three-quarters of women who have abortions describe themselves as “religiously affiliated;” one in five women having abortions are e…

U.S. Christianity is Dead, Long Live U.S. Christianity

By Richard Flory

…less often than are older generations. For example, current data on 23-28 year-olds shows that whether they claim a religious identity of not, 52 percent never attend religious services and are otherwise uninvolved in a religious congregation. Taking into account both increased disaffiliation and decreased attendance at religious services means that the actual decline of religiosity is greater that what the Pew numbers tell us. This may be bad or…

Gabby Douglas Thanks God… Why is This News?

By Anthea Butler

…at Gabby Douglas did was share her beliefs on Twitter and Facebook. She’s a 16-year-old. She’s not knocking on doors selling Bibles, or preaching on a street corner. She is doing what most 16-year-olds do: expressing herself in the avenues that are available to her. Last night, Gabby had a network and millions of people listening. She earned the right to say whatever she wanted to. After all, that’s what “Freedom” is about, right? Or is that just…

The Evangelical Sex Disconnect

By Sarah Posner

…ve. And, not surprisingly, the numbers are even higher for unmarried 19-24 year-olds; 79% of all unmarried women in that age group have had sex, while 75% of unmarried evangelical women have. Republicans like Mike Pence, author of amendment to deny Planned Parenthood federal funds, pushed against the wall by the evidence Title X funding goes to protect womens’ health and prevent unintended pregnancies, claim they are not trying to strip away famil…

‘Murder Among the Mormons’ Ep 1 Recap: A Trio of Bombs Launches SLC into a Panic

By Benjamin E. Park

…for this documentary. Perhaps the most surprising talking heads were Dorie Olds, Hofmann’s ex-wife who’s remained largely quiet to this point, and Richard Turley, who, until last summer, had held high-profile positions within the LDS Church. The choice for other interviews shed insight on the documentary’s framing. Sandra Tanner, one of Mormonism’s most noted critics, provides color to the scandalous nature of Hofmann’s forgeries, which seemingly…

New Poll: Millennials Suspicious of Mormonism

By Joanna Brooks

…ersion to Mormon candidates (evangelicals too scored low marks among 18-29 year olds) may be in reaction to the perceived social conservatism of Mormonism, and particularly its political campaigns against same-sex marriage. If Cox is right—and it would be great to see subsequent polls gathering qualitative data to confirm these hypotheses—It’s not that millennials hold a prejudicial view of Mormonism as a cult, or discredit our theology. It’s that…

A Real-Life Truman Show?

By Lauri Lebo

…suggest prayers to say for their families, but the group of eight- and ten-year-olds sat silently except for the sound of them slurping from their juice boxes. Finally, the woman gave up and began the prayer herself. She thanked God for all his blessings. She made no mention of the oil spill disaster or of the people whose lives had been destroyed by it. Rather, she asked God to continue to bestow his bountiful blessings on the children and their…