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A Solstice Devotional for the Faithless in Trump’s America

By Sunnivie Brydum

…ls, and the quiet reverence soothed my soul, even as I drove myself and my little sister across town to switch between our divorced parents’ homes at the stroke of midnight. These days, neither of us goes to church, and my mother’s Pagan practices feel like the closest reflection of my own knotted spiritual beliefs. And while I seek the warmth and affirmation that accompany this season and the coming of the light, my faith that goodness overcomes…

Cornel West, Using His Powers for Good

By Edward J. Blum

Last week on 30 Rock, Cornel West made a quick cameo as a coach to a baffled Tracy Jordan, who insisted on referring to his eminent guest as Questlove—a mistake loaded with resonance. For the rest of us, Cornel West is an instantly recognizable, even ubiquitous presence. Some know Brother West from bestselling books like Race Matters; some know him as the Harvard professor who battled with President Lawrence Summers (and lost); some know him fro…

When They See His Face Will They Be “Beliebers”?

By Nicole Greenfield

…m Tebow, are making Christianity cool. Tattoos (and body piercing and punk rock, for example) have long been part of Christian subculture and, importantly, they were also long condemned by a majority of evangelicals. Jay Bakker, dubbed “punk preacher” because of his characteristic full-sleeve tattoos, has attested to that. But with the continual growth of a distinctly hipster Christianity across the United States, and with tattoos becoming increas…

Mourning a Goddess: Elizabeth Taylor 1932-2011

By Susan Henking

…lywood transitions. From Lassie Come Home to Black Beauty, from Giant to A Little Night Music and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, she was film. And then there was television (yes, she was on General Hospital; yes she was on The Simpsons) and stage. If the United States’ civil religion has darshan, or blessing conferred by simply being in the presence of divinity, it may have been focused on Elizabeth Taylor. Or at least this was the case for the…

Touchdown Jesus Burns to the Ground

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…built by a local 4,000 member non-denominational congregation called Solid Rock Church back in 2004 and had attracted so much attention the church built a walkway for people to come and gawk at the giant Jesus. News of Jesus’ demise brought the usual comments from posters at the Yahoo! News site — many speculating that the destruction was caused because of how the United States has turned her back on Jesus and doesn’t deserve to have his huge like…

Catholic Bishops End Family Synod With Little To Say To Gays; World Congress of Families Has Plenty To Say, None of it Good; How Same-Sex Marriage Came to a Buddhist Temple in Japan; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…have been fleeing to Europe for years. But experts estimate that a record number of gays and lesbians seeking asylum, as many as 50,000, will arrive this year in Germany, the European nation accepting the largest number of refugees. Rather than leaving their home countries specifically because of anti-gay persecution, many are fleeing violence and war in nations such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Once in Europe, gays and lesbians are herded alo…

The Atheist Encounter with Christianity: A Failure to Disbelieve?

By Paul Wallace

…l I could no longer live with it. Then, one day while I was talking on the phone in a dark room, just like that, I shed my belief in a literal “first couple.” Strangely, I don’t remember who I was talking to or what the conversation was about, but all at once I understood and it felt great. Yet my childhood belief had provided protection for me and had given shape to my understanding of God and even of myself, and what did I have to replace it wit…

Pat Robertson’s Women Warriors Leading Spiritual Warfare In Zimbabwe

By Sarah Posner

…ential material,” said Mpofu. “Oh yeah,” echoes Bourland. “In my heart, I just begin to pray, God, let this woman rise to this place that you want her to go,” said Mpofu. “Number one, she’s a Christian. Number two, she’s a woman.” Watch a short video montage of the conference here. —Ed….

Along Came a Spider: What the Pope Doesn’t See

By Anthea Butler

…y, as many of the dioceses in the United States become uninsurable and the number of Catholic churches dwindles. As membership shrinks, the number of ordinations decreases, and the coffers dry up, perhaps the Vatican and its leadership will be forced to look at its decrepit, hierarchical structure, and fix it. I doubt it, however. Like the spider who crawled across Pope Benedict’s robes this weekend in Prague, everyone except the Pope can see the…

Fear, Guns, and the (Unwinnable) War Against Death: A Letter to My Fellow Americans

By Beatrice Marovich

…it’s in my blood. Maybe it’s the scream of all those who’ve dropped their little ones off at school, and never saw them alive again. Maybe you’ve been feeling that too? Maybe you’ve been feeling afraid. Not just of what will happen during that long day when your little ones aren’t in sight, but afraid of your fellow Americans. Maybe you find yourself looking over your shoulders when you’re walking through a crowded store. Or when you’re at a para…