Religion Dispatches
…We have an unprecedented access to cheap goods, yet we must recognize that cheap goods are cheaply made. I am not speaking of quality, I am speaking of cheap labor. We must recognize that through the act of shopping, whether it is for an article of clothing, a toy, a pint of strawberries, or even our morning cup of coffee, we participate in a global economy that values profit over people. Disposable goods are made by disposable people, faceless in…
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…arahPosner What if Jesus had been aborted? — peter manseau (@petermanseau) December 23, 2011 Wait. Isn’t God powerful enough to find another incubator? #ifJesushadbeenaborted cc: @sarahposner — Mel. (@melballoons) December 23, 2011 @sarahposner Mary would have been forced into a dangerous, back-manger procedure thanks to thugs like the Manhattan declaration — Ben Wyskida (@wyskida) December 23, 2011 Tim Tebow wouldn’t be leading his team to the pl…
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…y. But as I reported this morning, pastors listed as members of Gingrich’s Florida Faith Leaders Coalition were surprised to learn their names were included as members of the coalition. This could prove damaging to Gingrich as he seeks the support of other religious leaders. Among evangelical voters, who made up 40% of primary voters, Gingrich took 38% to Romney’s 36%. That’s a tiny margin for Gingrich, and smaller than his margin in South Carolin…
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…e success either. The opening weekend saw sales of more than $6 million in tickets. That’s the kind of number that will inspire others to try and figure out the formula for the faith-and-family blockbuster. Yet, with the cost of the film reportedly exceeding $30 million, it’s an open question whether or not the Left Behind reboot will get a second installment. The marketing problem of evangelical movies is still, stubbornly, a problem. The general…
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…ou’ll read an excerpt below—has surprised me, too. I wish I could find my airline companion and give him this book, to surprise him, too—in a good way. (I would accept Lakers tickets in lieu of apologies, but I think that particular era is done.) This whole book is a result of a profound evolution, and needs to be seen as such. American Muslims have gone through a lot over the last few decades. We were never the caricature Islamophobes made us ou…
Read MoreAt oral argument in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties, Inc. v. Sebelius this morning, the Supreme Court justices spent a great deal of time questioning the lawyers in the case about whether corporations have a religious conscience, and whether Congress intended to protect it when enacting the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). What was most striking, though, was how all three female justices, Sonia So…
Read More…tened to boycott IKEA, after it provided Family Card holders with discount tickets to his Christian magic show, ‘Vision’. In a statement, the chain said it would not be cutting ties with the pastor. IKEA said: “Dear IKEA fans, thanks for your patience while we took time to come to an informed decision on an issue that has raised sensitivities in our community. “After listening to the questions raised, we decided to do a thorough review. We spoke d…
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…te segregation and economic favoritism. When I spoke with Rothstein on the phone, he underscored the long-term effects of this last policy. During the 1940s and 1950s, suburban subdivisions were built in St. Louis, and throughout the country, using federal loans stipulating that no homes be sold to African Americans. Priced at about $125,000 in today’s dollars, these were affordable—with a mortgage—to working class families, black or white. Yet bl…
Read More…ligious conservatives from backing the law. More bad news came on Monday, December 9, with the announcement that President Vladimir Putin was shutting down the state-owned news agency described by the BBC as relatively even-handed in its news coverage and replacing it with a new agency that will be headed by a ferociously anti-gay Putin loyalist, Dmitry Kiselev. More encouraging news out of Russia was singer Elton John’s defiance of the anti-pr…
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…lose, the more they understand what is at stake,” Butler told activists in December.[92] Funders must back pro-democracy and rights-supporting organizations that are developing both messaging and organizing strategies to counter the right-wing juggernaut. This threat to U.S. democratic governance and a century of progressive gains merits more than our attention; it calls for action to help Americans understand just how dramatically right-wing reac…
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