Religion Dispatches
…eveloping charismatic and photogenic representatives of the lifestyle they promote. To this end, VF creates a beautiful glossy catalogue populated with high quality photographs of [the] Phillips children and friends in romantic historic costumes and settings: Jamestown, the Massachusetts Bay Colonies, and the Wild West. In these images, and generally in the literature and stories of Vision Forum, gender roles are greatly exaggerated and glamorized…
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…st-century Christians, a people under siege, the authors used allegory and coded language to convey a message of hope to believers and to protect authors from certain death at the hands of their oppressors. The author of Revelations suggests readers may not understand the severe trials and tribulations of their time, but reminds them that Jesus teaches in Christ all is well. Where Revelations was, “once seen as encouragement to have faith,” Schlin…
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As a seasoned editor and journalist who spent her career reporting on marginalized communities, I’m generally wary about the use of so-called scare quotes in writing intended for a broad audience. Placing a legitimate phrase or concept in quotes is the textual equivalent of adding air quotes and rolling one’s eyes—like when we talk about Donald Trump’s support for so-called traditional marriage. (He’s such a proponent of the Biblical definition o…
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…funds personally. (It’s not entirely clear whether she can meet the dress code, once she were to arrive, however.) Shrouding Sexual Titillation and Drooling Voyeurism with the Patina of Beauty and Virtue One commenter on the Miss USA site, a budding theologian identified only as “CF,” asserted that it was obvious that God intended heterosexual sex only, based on anatomy and electricity (not election). CF likened male-female intercourse to pluggin…
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…l from Alabama’s Supreme Court—twice. While there is a clear hierarchy and code of judicial ethics for state and federal judges, no such restrictions are placed on Senators. It’s exceedingly rare (though not unheard of) for a Senator to be removed from office by colleagues for some kind of ethical or procedural breach. This reality only adds to the motivation for Moore to stick with the schtick that got him elected, and which demonstrably appeals…
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…ilk agreed. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) appears on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist and sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In 2016 he said, “It has been 80 years since a Supreme Court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. There is a long tradition that you don’t do this in an election year.” As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Republican Lindsey Graham can decide on his own if Trump’s nominee gets a vote, and in 2016 he…
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…n personal politics. Hinduism, because of its diverse communities and pluralistic beliefs, would seem more split on the issue of genetic modification. Instead, Vasudha Narayanan found that because of food’s prominence in dharma texts, it is important to consider various Hindu rituals and traditions surrounding food—feasting and fasting among them—in determining if and when GM food is acceptable. Narayanan does not believe there can be a single aut…
Read More…he RSS to acts of violence and characterizes the RSS as a “militant nationalist organization,” and “chauvinist Hindu organization.” Penguin’s decision to withdraw Doniger’s book resulted in a variety of outcries from scholars, journalists, and policy makers. Most notable were academic associations, which issued statements to denounce Penguin’s decision. The Board of Directors for the American Academy of Religion (AAR) published a statement on thei…
Read More…, New Hampshire, and Iowa) promoting a creationist film called The Genesis Code, and holding fundraising receptions. The moralistic film follows an unbelieving hockey player and a Christian journalism student who struggle with “reconciling their scientific studies and what’s taught in the Bible” as he falls for her and she uses their relationship to “guide” him “toward God.” You can read a “pro-family” review here that warns of sex (kissing) and n…
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…square will never—and I mean, never—be enough. Not while they continue to promote leaders, policies, and theories that support white supremacy in the nation and encourage the idea that the body of Christ is segregated by race and class. To people of color who have spent centuries being shunned or diminished by white evangelicals, anything less than acknowledgment, and changed behavior, specifically from Bible-toting white men who’ve manipulated s…
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