Religion Dispatches
…f time some white congregations lived out a radical welcome by joining the New Sanctuary Movement—sheltering individual immigrant families from deportation—but these gestures were so little reported and remained so incomprehensible to most on the outside that they barely made a dent in the wider public consciousness. In addition, New Sanctuary’s focus was mainly on hospitality for immigrants who are here without documents; it did little to help th…
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…e and Stop Losing Elections” (video here). While his proposal is not brand new, it is perhaps new to most progressives who have in recent decades bought into the model of the high wall of separation between religion and secular public life. He is impatient with the place, or really lack of place, accorded religion in American democratic life, especially among self-identified progressives. Ledewitz is onto something in his intuition that the metaph…
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…hed media. That’s because in mid-century, most Americans believed that the news they heard on networks and read in newspapers was objective. That wasn’t just some superficial belief, either. It was a core faith. After decades spent fighting totalitarianism, authoritarianism, communism, most Americans agreed that the special genius of the American system was that it had moved past –isms, that the era of ideology was over, and the era of a cool-head…
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…rt’s decision allowed marriage equality to become the law of the land in a new swath of states. Stuart Milk of the Harvey Milk Foundation, which promotes LGBT equality globally, said the advance of marriage equality in the U.S. also sends a message abroad, making Monday a good day for global human rights. The Russian government has kept up its demands that the U.S. return a gay teenager who is seeking asylum in the U.S. after coming to the country…
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…ever he dies. He’s met his demise ten times now, each time emerging with a new face and new personality. The first three episodes of the current season use that regeneration as the jumping-off point for a sort of trilogy exploring the show’s interlocking themes of identity, morality, and integrity. As years pass and more actors step into the role, it becomes increasingly important for each performer to distinguish their version of the Doctor from…
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…at applies Christian principles of democracy), the political vision of the new Islamism melds the broad cultural identity of being a Muslim with constitutional and democratic governing systems. While this may seem like a new and counterintuitive phenomenon to some, it’s actually a trend that goes back at least to the 1980s, but which really took shape in the 1990s when a new, political form of Islam garnered a majority in the Turkish parliament an…
Read More…be killed,” another reads. Germany: Lesbian teacher rehired under bishops’ new employment policy New Ways Ministry reports on the case of a German teacher who is getting her teaching job back after the implementation of a new policy by German bishops that is more welcoming of LGBT church workers: A German educator fired for her plans to marry a woman will return to her position as head of a Bavarian kindergarten, aided by a new church employment p…
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…e. Bermuda’s government rejected marriage equality in 2013. Faroe Islands: New parliament may pass marriage equality Last week, a survey of members of the parliament o the Faroe Islands found that 16 were in favor of marriage equality, 11 were opposed, and 6 did not answer. Recent elections led to a two-seat gain by the Social Democrats in the territory’s 33 member parliament; it was reported that the new government is expected to pass legislation…
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…rights (the rabbi, of course), FIPL believes that the Council “captures a new moment in American faith and politics.” That new moment seems to be one of unprecedented self-promotion of religion in service of politics and “voice” at any price. The “voice” however must be “moderate” and “acceptable.” And the feminist project will not be included. Much is made by the theo-politicians of their work across ideological differences. But this has been ac…
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…ious beliefs. You also find symmetry between fundamentalist Christians and New Atheists: both think that truth claims need to be taken very seriously. How do you respond to the accusation that there is a fundamentalism to New Atheism, where science is often treated as an absolutist metaphysics? Well, absolutism is almost always a mild term of abuse. Nobody champions absolutism. Whenever anybody is called an absolutist it’s usually meant in critici…
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