Religion Dispatches
…maybe even more than the days-long hajj with all its rigor and space, let alone 3 million people. I still think it will take on an unexpected momentum because it is once in a life time (at least for me). Or maybe I still hope that will be the case. I will redeem myself this day, Friday, yaum al-jumu’ah, I hope, by getting done with this and getting ready to go to jumu’ah prayer at my favorite mosque. I think I’m just lonely a bit, since no one in…
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…lf with institutions contributing to the marginalization of gender and sexual minorities. The difference in religious identification appears to reflect thoughts and feelings toward religious institutions more than it does spiritual behavior or beliefs.” But the idea of transgender Christianity still carries shock value for many; in conservative Christian circles and radical LGBT circles alike. Pauline Park, one of the founders of a transgender gro…
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…n I was 23. I’m not trying to preach; I’m trying to encourage. Some people always walk out, I know that. I think you just have to try it and see what happens. In the end, I’m trying to make myself laugh. I’m trying to inform myself and see things. Like I pointed out in the show Circle, this thing from the Catholic Church was to eat the body of Christ and then drink the blood of Christ. Now I know Christian religions were dropped on top of pagan re…
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…group, and under the country’s blasphemy provision, Article 156a, which criminalizes “hostility, hatred or contempt” and “disgracing” of a religion. Article 156a also prohibits attempts to persuade others to leave their religion and embrace atheism. Aan’s small, pro bono legal team is not optimistic. The Indonesian legal system is designed for unequal treatment of unbelievers. The constitution officially recognizes the religions of Islam, Protesta…
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…message of the book, which is, “Hey, you know what, we can start shining a flashlight around this possibility space.” If I can sit down and make up 40 completely different versions [of the afterlife], then we could, as a community, make up many hundreds and thousands of versions of what might be going on. The important part is the exploration, instead of the pretense to certainty. You have this philosophical commitment to possibility. But there ar…
Read More…dhism, and technology can lead to outrageous and unfounded optimism. In a talk on “Mindfulness and Media,” for example, media consultant Megan Miller suggests, without any irony, that technologies like Google Glass will make us more mindful of our technology use. I have no idea how the seamless integration of the internet into our field of vision will help us be more aware of its effects. Judging by the amount of support she gives to this claim, M…
Read More…he Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United decision which lifted spending limits on corporations, unions, and individuals. Are the multimillion dollar ads and the financial heavyweights who anonymously back them the new bullies of the US political process? Do they use their size and unequal access to resources to dominate others? Do they contribute to making public spaces, including air spaces and media spaces, unsafe or unwelcoming to populations…
Read More…es” conversation—we know, we know! (I think Rahm is having a 2006 campaign flashback.) But since when do businesses get permits (or not) based on their religious or political views? Chick-fil-A should be permitted by city officials to open its restaurant. If Emanuel is right—that it will be empty of customers—the owners will find out the hard way. But not by giving conservatives ammunition to claim that progressives want to silence their religious…
Read More…ends both the Faith Trust Institute and the Religious Institute. The National Alliance on Mental Illness also has resources specifically for faith communities. 3. Really investigate what help is available in your area—both its presence and its quality. Getting the names and numbers for referrals is a good first step, but you can do much more than that. Which counselors in the area can be trusted not to blame a victim for his or her own abuse? Whi…
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…ng of Christian-Muslim Borders It was during the tenure of the caliph ‘Abd al-Malik (685 to 705) that a distinctive Muslim identity started to be shaped in contrast to Christianity. The coins minted in this time and the inscriptions installed in the new Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem all emphasize that “God begets not and was not begotten.” The Dome of the Rock inscriptions are anti-trinitarian and mince no words in proclaiming that “the rel…
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