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New York Times Columnist Peter Steinfels’ Letter To RD; With Author Response

By Mark D. Jordan

…January 2. In that column, he writes, I “reflected on the polarization of American religious rhetoric.” Wrong. Even a cursory reading of that column would see that the sentence he quotes was not part of a general reflection on American religious rhetoric. It was part of a valedictory reflection on the (quite reasonable) journalistic constraints governing the Beliefs column and the personal challenge of writing it. Here is the sentence that Jordan…

Religion Comes to its Senses

By Brook Wilensky-Lanford

…the broadest possible range of religious and cultural traditions, and yet manage to avoid universalism. You write that we can say all religions are the same “only if we remain in abstraction.” That was a major concern. Actually when I lecture about the book probably 50, 60 percent of the talk is on the similarities, and then I’m very clear about saying these things are also divisive: drums divide people, incense divides people, crosses divide peo…

Evangelical “Sexual Purity” Is Not About Sex—It’s About Power

By Sara J. Moslener

…nior year of college (also a Christian institution) and was hired to stage-manage a large concert event at a local church. The event was being sponsored by True Love Waits—one of the more prominent purity campaigns developed by the Southern Baptist church. The main speaker was a young woman named Giana Jessen who promoted the value of sexual purity by describing her mother’s experiences as a pregnant adolescent. Her mother had attempted to abort h…

New Patriarch, Same Patriarchy: Despite Glowing Praise For New SBC President, There’s Just One Problem

By Caroline Matas

…tween submission and control and that continue to put the onus on women to manage men’s “insatiable” sex drives. From its hard-line posture toward divorce to its confusing vision of male headship, the SBC’s conservative evangelical theology of gender sends mixed messages that will continue to foster opportunities for abuse and cover-up in the years to come. The positive side of patriarchy While Southern Baptist leaders are open to discussion about…

Why Romney Won’t Stand up to the Bigotry of Bryan Fischer

By Joanna Brooks

…nary session at VVS. Not surprisingly, advocacy groups like People for the American Way have called on Romney to have a little dignity and take a stand. It’s a marvelous image: a strong-jawed Mitt Romney acting all presidential, crossing the stage and quietly holding Bryan Fischer accountable for his rancid bigotry, not only against Mormons, but against all of Americans who are non-white, non-straight, or non-Christian (as Fischer defines it). B…

Overcoming Good Muslim/Bad Muslim Dichotomy

By Hussein Rashid

…plies they have not. It is this formulation to which I am objecting. Other American Muslims, and American Muslim organizations have done so. 3. At no point do I suggest that you are insensitive to other Muslims and I link directly to the “Muslims for Peace” campaign. 4. Regarding your point that neither of the op-ed authors were speaking on behalf of the community is a valid. I did indicate that in my piece and I should have known better. It appea…

New Atheism Produces Another Curiously Uncurious Science v. Religion Book

By Michael Schulson

…e faithful don’t have the evidence on their side? Maybe. But Coyne doesn’t manage to demonstrate that his book is a necessary addition to that little canon. Instead, Faith Vs. Fact consists mostly of rewarmed arguments from other New Atheist writers. Coyne’s analyses of religion are largely confined to tired smackdowns of marginal groups. The Mormon origin story doesn’t quite make sense! Nation of Islam stories sound weird to outsiders! Islam in g…

Why an Orthodox Anti-Gay Declaration is Actually Good for the Gays

By Jay Michaelson

…vidence (never released to the public, of course), the Ex-gays have had to manage expectations. In other words, even the Ex-gays admit that Ex-gay therapy doesn’t actually work. It is only a matter of time before this information becomes universally understood. I don’t want to make light of this Declaration. It is a call for parents to emotionally abuse their children, and despite its rhetoric of love and compassion, it is exceedingly cruel. It is…

SoulCycle Looks to Sell its Soul

By Michael Schulson

…actualization. But SoulCycle is also part of a larger gamble: namely, that Americans will be willing to meld the forms of spirituality and the forms of capitalism in more and more blatant ways. In this, SoulCycle has a lot in common with prosperity gospel preachers, ethical consumption marketers, and other moneymakers testing the frontiers of luxury and soulfulness. Let’s not be naïve: spirituality has been profitable for a very, very long time. I…

Over Objections of Catholic Church, Mexico City Upholds Abortion Law

By Kate Childs Graham

…he United States, only 24% Catholic, the institutional Catholic Church has managed to have a great deal of impact on legislation concerning the same topics. For example, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was recently reauthorized. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services lobbied hard to retain the “conscience clause” and abstinence-only funding. They were successful in meeting their goals….