Religion Dispatches
…tes’ rights on this issue perhaps they shouldn’t be. Potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates like Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer are already talking about leaving marriage to the states. Paul said the bottom line is that government shouldn’t get involved and that people shouldn’t need a license to get married. “My position is it’s a personal, spiritual matter.” He said it becomes the state’s concern…
Read More…ptics lies in the tangible excitement of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim students at the new Claremont university. “I have a great desire to learn about others,” said Susan Goldberg, a rabbinical student at the Jewish Academy. “The learning … clarifies who I am and how I’m different and how we’re connected. It can only serve to make us better leaders.”…
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…onstruction, the civil rights movement and the contributions of women, African American and Hispanic people to our country.” So far so good. But here are the next two sentences: Examples of theories that distort historical events and are inconsistent with SBE-approved standards include the denial or minimization of the Holocaust, and the teaching of Critical Race Theory, meaning the theory that racism is not merely the product of prejudice, but th…
Read More…the cohesiveness of the military, cause many to leave the army, and dramatically lower the number of recruits, perhaps leading to the reinstatement of a compulsory draft.” However, that belief runs counter to many studies already done that show lifting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would not adversely affect the military in any way. In 1993 RAND Corp. concluded that openly gay people in the U.S. military do not negatively impact unit cohesion, morale, goo…
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…ssault on Gaza enters its fourth week, however, we are witnessing a significant rhetorical departure. Yet as reprehensible as remarks from American Jewish leaders have been, the dehumanizing discourse among political and religious leaders in Israel—where I live and work—has for years been moving toward the grotesque. The images that have emerged from the Gaza Strip over the past three weeks of Israel’s assault, and the fact that the vast majority…
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…stration, preoccupied with so many other things, will spend precious political capital to try to revive it. Israel’s right-wing leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, seems set to win another term as prime minister and continue blocking the path to peace. Well over 70% of American Jews want a two-state solution. Those I talk to generally want Israel to make significant concessions toward a just peace, but all the depressing facts on the ground leave them fee…
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…ategy memo she’s painted as: a middle-aged hag who lives in a cave with her 800 cats; unqualified to lead because her womb’s as empty as Jesus’ tomb; and hatching a master plan to suppress the aromatic scent of electricity. If I weren’t merely an outside agitator, I’d be sure to only cast my ballot for someone who’s birthed their own children, just like all the previous presid— wait, what? Anyway, Kamala cackles like Satan or something. You see, i…
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…llustrate the challenge of the National Conservative movement for the American Left. Catholic natural law requires an illiberal state. Until liberals become comfortable with an alternative conception of power, equally robust, but more fully grounded in an ethics of fairness and equality, it will remain difficult to meet the challenges from the Christian Right. In the meantime, First Things will continue to thrive within its niche as a rooted redou…
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…nd the wrong kind of Christians, as this report shows…. This is the choice we face as a nation: Christian nationalism or America? We cannot have both.”…
Read More…and Jewish leaders about Glenn Beck’s constant and often inappropriate invocation of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany on the air. We were assured by Ailes and Cheatwood that they understand our concerns and would explain them to Beck. Two days later, I received a hand-written note from Glenn Beck, which stated: “Simon, Joel shared the details of your meeting yesterday. Please know that I understand the sensitivity and sacred nature of this dark chap…
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