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The Vatican v. Protestant Free Thinkers

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…the cross-fire, then this was only because they were perceived to be Protestant-style “free thinkers.” The Roman Church, by contrast, was insistent on the importance of thinking traditionally and orthodox-ly, not just freely. This is a very different picture of Rome in the 1500s and 1600s, the same era saw that witnessed the first slow-moving gestures toward the creation of the Library, and then the Museums, at the Vatican. So, the Church in the…

Does Record Number of Religious “Nones” Mean Decline of Religiosity?

By Elizabeth Drescher

…sults. For example, according to the report, some 7% in the combined “Atheist/Agnostic” group “think of themselves as a religious person.” While it’s undoubtedly fair to count the likes of Richard Dawkins or Bill Maher as religiously anti-religious Atheist evangelists, I have to suspect that the 7% of religious among the “Atheist/Agnostic” group, along with the 34% of their cohort who see themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” might be on th…

Holey Holey Holey: The Problem with a New Study Valuing Religion at $1.2 Trillion Per Year

By Michael Schulson

…rent estimates for the impact on religion on the American economy. The lowest estimate—$378 billion—adds up the revenues of religious educational institutions, charities, media organizations, and healthcare networks, and adds that to the multibillion dollar kosher and halal foods industry and to an estimate of the total revenue of American religious congregations. To get that final number, the Grims took one estimate of the total number of congreg…

How to Choose a Tour Company for Your Hajj

By Amina Wadud

…ntry in the world. My friends were incredulous. They have to put in a request at least two years in advance because there are more applicants than their quota allows. Most Muslim countries have a quota; a limited number of hajjis permitted from that country in any one year. This number is set by hajj authorities in Saudi Arabia, because, in all fairness, there has to be a cap on how many Muslims converge on the place. Right now, it stands at aroun…

Who Is “Sam Bacile?”

By Sarah Posner

…n planned ahead of time, and was not spurred by the film. And in the weirdest twist of the day in the who-is-Sam-Bacile mystery, actors in the film denounce it and say “Bacile” misled them. Cindy Lee Garcia tells Gawker: The script she was given was titled simply Desert Warriors. “It was going to be a film based on how things were 2,000 years ago,” Garcia said. “It wasn’t based on anything to do with religion, it was just on how things were run in…

South Asian Religious Leaders Challenged to Take on Stigma and Discrimination: Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…Christian ruler”, and the government, which it likens to Nazis and Communists. Last week British official released figures on the number of same-sex couples who got married between March 29 – the first day marriage was legally available in England and Wales, and June 30. Of the 1,409 marriages, 56 percent were to female couples. According to Gay Star News, about 120,000 people are in civil partnerships, which they will be able to convert to marri…

Conservative Bishops Unhappy At Synod, But Ignore Walkout Call; Australian Religious Leaders Step Up Marriage Equality Opposition; Italy Debates Civil Unions; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ong after, the former acquaintance called to threaten Subhi from a Turkish phone number. Power noted that Subhi spoke at a recent UN Security Council Session, the first-ever dedicated to LGBT rights, which she said was an important precedent to set: But also, it allowed us to convey, in a single voice, and with the authority of the Security Council – which is the premiere global enforcement body for peace and security – it allowed us to convey tha…

The Social Science Animal: Brooks Argues for Emotion over Reason

By Beatrice Marovich

…rces that actually drive the mind.” Passages like this make me wish he’d just stuck to theory and stayed away from storytelling altogether. Ultimately, it seems that Brooks himself has not really been effectively jostled from the comfort of his own categories. It doesn’t take much to convince me of the importance of emotions, of reason’s deep dependence on the passions, desires, and feelings in our animal bodies. But this is something I’ve learned…

Seeking Broad Appeal to US Christians, ‘God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism’ Glosses Over Critical Context

By Chrissy Stroop

…laundering the reputation of Christianity than it is with providing an honest historical and sociological accounting of how Christian nationalism both led to the January 6, 2021 insurrection and continues to threaten democracy. While it’s unlikely that the whitewashing of Christianity was director Dan Partland’s primary goal, it is certainly the film’s primary impact. When you allow numerous “respectable” conservative evangelicals, including Chris…

Why Egypt is America’s Enemy

By Haroon Moghul

…o, and few said anything. (While, we should add, the Brotherhood was at least ostensibly in charge.) Now they’ve gone after the most organized political opposition in the country, killing hundreds and wounding thousands—blood spilled is not soon forgotten. The Egyptian military’s crackdown on the Brotherhood in decades past left us with Sayyid Qutb and violent offshoots like Gamaa’ Islamiyya, not to mention Ayman al-Zawahiri. We kept quiet even as…