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The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Humans

By Amina Wadud

…ill go to Mina, etc. There is still no address for the hotels, but a local phone number. There is also information about processing customs at Jeddah, meeting the tour guide, and information that says “the group” will proceed to Makkah—which means the first will have to wait for the last person, which is the beginning of feeling like you are a group. They even include suggestions to “get to know” your fellow travelers. I still had no idea what wer…

Lo and Behold, the Sacredness of the Internet

By Martyn Smith

…ways believed that the internet is a manifestation of the Antichrist… or evil itself… It is the spirit of evil. I feel like it’s running through everybody on earth and its claiming its victories in those people who are also evil. This dark view is juxtaposed with scenes that are more sanguine, to say the least, about the net’s impact. We see how crowdsourcing aids in solving scientific puzzles that have stumped the best researchers. We meet a youn…

Why David Brooks Doesn’t Get the Outrage Over AIG

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…jour. Now these same Wall Street alley-cats are awarding themselves multi-million dollar bonuses while simultaneously receiving billions of dollars of bail out funds to keep the system they have run aground afloat. Here yet again, no great psychological nuance is needed to see that people are angry and with good reason. I agree with Brooks that the punitive legislation hastily offered up in the US House of Representatives this week is unhelpful as…

Record Number of Stealth Creationism Bills Introduced in 2011

By Lauri Lebo

…y on such creationist code words as “teaching the controversy,” “academic freedom,” or “critical analysis.” However, in the case of Florida, the bill’s sponsoring lawmaker Rep. Stephen Wise had proposed similar legislation in 2009. The bill died in committee, but not before he spoke publicly about wanting to see intelligent design taught alongside evolution to promote “critical thinking.”…

“Paleo” is More Than a Fad Diet: Boyd Eaton’s Plan to Return to Eden

By Michael Schulson

…y having another plague or something like that, but rather by having one child per family, voluntarily, not as an obligatory governmental proclamation. You have to think in long terms. In 200 years, we could be down to 100 million people for the whole population of the earth. If we keep on going like we are, in 200 years, we’re going to have 10 billion people, or maybe some more than that, 12 billion people. You could imagine that the individuals…

How an 1843 Revelation on Polygamy Poses a Serious Challenge to Modern Mormonism

By Benjamin E. Park

…ed in 1843. How can the faith remain true to its own prophetic tradition while still adapting to an ever-changing world? Reckoning with a written revelation The only historical topic that has caused a similar degree of consternation among Latter-day Saints as polygamy is the church’s troubled past with those of African descent. Until 1978, Black Mormons were not granted full membership rights, as men were forbidden to hold the priesthood and both…

Busy Days For ‘eBay of Prophecy’

By Bill Berkowitz

…ic] with false advertising, including ads that purported that if Prop. 8 failed, schoolchildren would be forced to learn about gay marriage, kindergartners would be taught sex ed and churches would lose their right to free speech.” In his zeal to earn his wage and stirring up a hornet’s nest of anti-gay sentiment, Schubert apparently was willing to throw his sister, who is a lesbian, under the proverbial bus. ++++++++++ Proposition 8: The Aftermat…

Common Ground: Winning the Battle, Losing the Culture War

By Chip Berlet

…. But do not assume that Political Idealists who are religious or secular will remain silent when we fear we are being asked to retreat from supporting Separation of Church and State, Reproductive Justice, and Gay Rights. Some of us have “framed” our colleagues as “centrists” in a way that was hurtful. Sorry—we will try to be nicer. I have tremendous respect for Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite and Jennifer Butler, and I beg them to ponder the possibil…

Pence’s Religious Freedom Policy Made ‘LGBQ’ Hoosiers Sick—Literally

By Sunnivie Brydum

…ke of the law’s passage made Mike Pence a household name—as a deceptively milquetoast villain in LGBTQ circles, and a pious defender of right-wing Christianity in others. Less than a year after the law was passed, the Indianapolis tourism bureau “Visit Indy” reported a statewide loss of an estimated $60 million in revenue from tourism, conventions, and sporting events that took their business elsewhere. The law is still officially in force. For ma…

Six Overlooked Gems from the Future of World Religions Report

By Timothy King

…iliation away from Christianity over the next 40 years, two-thirds (or 44 million) will be men. Meanwhile, nearly 43 million men are expected to end up in the “unaffiliated” category, compared to a projected 18 million women. The “unaffiliated” category will benefit the most from the “switchers” with a net gain of 61.5 million, many of them men and women who formerly identified as Christian. But by 2050 the “unaffiliated” are expected to comprise…