Religion Dispatches
…was almost audible. But if we think a promise to close a single detention center marks the end of US-sanctioned torture, then we have bought the Bush administration line from 2004: that this was an isolated incident, that the soldiers were “rotten apples,” that the torture caught on film had not been authorized. Our relief signals that we remain in denial about just what those photographs—and the detainees’ testimony collected by the Red Cross an…
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…you money’—but I do think it would open up possibilities.” Remaking Ellis’ Center for Jewish Studies into a “pro-Israel” center, the faculty member added, could help Baylor attract grants and donations at a national level. “Marc is just in the way.” Given the growing popularity of Christian Zionism in the U.S., it’s just as likely, if not moreso, that conservative Christian donations might be easier to elicit with Ellis out of the way. Selective p…
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…d by “trying to break Olivet’s deal to purchase [the] Glorieta [Conference Center].” I asked Jonathan Park via email why he thought Christianity Today put so much time and effort—not to mention pages—into reporting this story; he replied, “As a director of a journalism program, I can say that the length of the CT articles doesn’t necessarily reflect the import nor the accuracy of their conclusions on a complex situation involving many individuals….
Read More…Cambodia: Report examines discrimination against trans women The Cambodian Center for Human Rights published a report this month on “Discrimination Against Transgender Women in Cambodia’s Urban Centers.” The report notes, “Cambodia’s predominantly Buddhist religious tradition suggests that there may have been a greater historic tolerance of diverse gender identities in Cambodia, compared with many other parts of the world.” But still, “Traditional…
Read More…y seems to be conflate support for the law and people with support for the center. It should be clear that the battle against anti-Muslim bigotry is not the same as support for Park51. The same evening Abdul-Rauf gave an interview on CNN in which he raised the canard of national security when discussing the need to build Park51. The logic of his argument is as follows: we are building a center that has generated controversy because we have not cle…
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…e here now. The outskirts of town suggest grinding poverty: Fred’s Bargain Center, a Dollar Store, the ruins of West End Mill. Yet there is a truly stunning County Courthouse in the very center of the town, replete with a Confederate Memorial, suggesting once again a bygone and faded glory, as well as the moral ambivalence of every human achievement in time. Main Street in Quitman, Georgquaint Georgian brick facades, some newer glass window-fronts…
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…chaplains and heard from caretakers like Diya LeDuc, Director of Clinical Services at Arkansas’ Circle of Life Hospice, whose innovative policies had enriched and transformed the lives of both clients and customers. In addition to providing space for clients and loved ones to enjoy their faith, Circle of Life encourages its staff participate in a to take part in a variety of spiritual practices, most notable of which is the “crying share,” where…
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…n Episcopal priest and Director of Academic Research and Resources for the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, explained: As mainline churches in the United States have become more accepting of LGBT people on issues like ordination and blessing of same-sex relationships, conservatives in these denominations, particularly the Anglican Communion, have appealed to the Global South to…
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…Others have relatives now working on the site, rebuilding the World Trade Center. How does an imam approach this? How do I, as an American and a Muslim, deal with what people claiming my religion did to us—New Yorkers, Americans, human beings? How do I explain that I was scared because my city was attacked, but I was also scared because people might blame me? I tried to rush down to help, but by the time I got further downtown there was too much…
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…ion, Princeton University +Seval Yildirim Assistant Professor, Director of Center for International and Comparative Law Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA +Linell Cady, co-director of ReligionDispatches, Franca Oreffice Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, and the Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. +Gary Laderman, co-director of ReligionDispatches, Professor and Chairperson o…
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