Religion Dispatches
…ike Fox News and the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal to their cause. . . . [T]he left must realize that when progressives achieved success in the past, whether at organizing unions or fighting for equal rights, they seldom bet their future on politicians. They fashioned their own institutions — unions, women’s groups, community and immigrant centers and a witty, anti-authoritarian press — in which they spoke up for themselves and for t…
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…t Orsi) or Rebecca’s Revival (by Jon Sensbach). Orsi’s book is classic because it focused on everyday religious experiences of Italian immigrants, a cluster of activities that many outsider observers considered to be “bad religion.” Orsi did, and still does, find ways to battle that idea. Sensbach uses the story of a formerly enslaved Moravian to give readers a new understanding of how Protestantism came to North America. It’s beautiful. It’s a re…
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…verty terms, despite their socially progressive nature. Regardless, they caused an immediate revolution and contraception use escalated rapidly. These days, Mexican women on average have 2.1 children, down from seven in 1974. The Church, not surprisingly, tried to convince Mexicans of contraception’s moral hazards, though in many cases, Church leaders clearly realized they were on the losing side of the battle. “Undoubtedly some clergy turned a bl…
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…tern prep schools and fomenting outraged legislative resolutions in statehouses all across the country. The religion of American Greatness has no shortage of Democratic adherents; it is a fully bipartisan creed. No one doubts that we are living through a moment of racial reckoning. The use of the “reckoning” frame has already attained a well-deserved cliche status. But historical reckonings don’t necessarily resolve themselves in positive ways (no…
Read More…law is being used to legislate a vision of freedom that defines religious freedom as “freedom from.” Unlike the early American Baptists, who faced serious persecution, these advocates seek to use the law to protect their vision of worship in the workplace as a purity ritual. It is a vision of religious expression free from interference in the form of difference, free from the conflicting demands of our common lives, and free from any obligation t…
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…hen Gallup first asked the question. Gallup has polled Americans to choose between these three options 11 times since 1982, and this year’s poll does not significantly diverge from the 30-year average. Gallup also reports some unsurprising relationships between creationist views and religious affiliation, education levels, and political views. Creationism is strongly correlated with church attendance (two-thirds of weekly churchgoers subscribe to…
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…exual abuse in SBC churches, notes that “senior SBC leaders appeared to excuse abuse and/or support accused abusers… while at the same time survivors were ignored or treated poorly.” To put it mildly, we were not surprised. Nearly four years ago to the day, an RD headline read: “SBC’s #MeToo Problem isn’t a Rotten Apple, It’s a Rotten Tree.” In addition to its handling of individual cases, the report is also highly critical of the SBC Executive Co…
Read More…ew here that warns of sex (kissing) and nudity (a painting of Adam and Eve that shows Eve’s breast). When asked if she was exploring a presidential campaign in Iowa, Angle replied that she was investigating her options. She has since said she is not promoting the film because she is running for president—though is not the same as saying she is not running. For now it looks like she’ll focus on the congressional race, but in any case she seems inte…
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…se in court and in politics. Now the SBC has largely shifted to defend the Free Exercise Clause exclusively, seeing no real threats to the Establishment Clause. This shift in advocacy corresponds with a major political change within the SBC, but it also corresponds with a change in approach to abortion, which seemed to drive the justification away from the separation position. Evangelicals became friendlier with Catholics during their shared labor…
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…ates, let alone discuss what it means. This is all the more remarkable because religious freedom has both nothing and everything to do with faith or religion. It is the underlying right to believe as you will—or not—and to change your mind, free from the undue influence of government or powerful religious institutions. It’s a civil or constitutional right, not to be confused with religion in general, or any particular religion at all. Because all…
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