Religion Dispatches
…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…
Read More
…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…
Read More
…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…
Read More…oncern about LGBT Equality in a Post-Mandela Nation Joe Morgan of Gay Star News reported on New Year’s Day that some South African activists are concerned that the legacy of Nelson Mandela, which included the groundbreaking inclusion of sexual orientation in the Constitution, could be at risk in his absence. President Jacob Zuma, as well as several other representatives in South Africa, have made homophobic comments in the past. ‘When I was growin…
Read More
…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…
Read More
…or New Atheism, the enemy is irrationality itself. But as the two groups’ memberships and rhetoric coalesce, New Atheism increasingly ends up firing at the same targets as blatant misogynists. As #MeToo continues to promote conversations about gender dynamics and rights, New Atheists might find that it’s time to be clear about their ideological commitments—or else have those commitments decided for them by their base….
Read More
…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…
Read More
…chen’s trust. This show deserves a smart and skeptical audience. Cheer for Kimmy when she insists we “stand up and say, ‘We’re different. We’re the strong ones, and you can’t break us!’” Our unabashed love for Tina Fey might tempt us to give her a pass here—surely one more depiction of new religions as crazy and abusive can’t be that bad. But we cannot underestimate how little Americans actually know about new religions, or how much damage misconc…
Read More
…different way to respond to this most universal of all the absurdities of Republicanity: no new taxes, ever, because the government needs to start acting like a responsible family. Let us accept the metaphor for a moment. And then let us observe that the responsible household that faces the reality of the numbers (instead of relying on absurd faith-claims or lottery tickets)—the simple fact that it owes far more than it earns—very quickly realize…
Read More