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Pope Praises ‘Complementarity’ & Resists Gay Ambassador; Irish Religious Leaders Spar Over Marriage; Colombian Atty Gen Cites ‘Bogus’ Study Opposing Adoption; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…urn, has been used to argue against gay adoption and marriage. But just because some studies support this finding doesn’t mean it’s true. In fact, many, many more studies reached opposite conclusions. “Research … has developed a scholarly consensus that shows that children raised by same-sex couples are at no important disadvantage,” wrote Stanford University sociologist Michael Rosenfeld in an email. “There is a noisy fringe of academics who clai…

Paranormal Vodka, Exorcists and a Demonic Doll: Welcome to Paracon, Based on the Work of the Demon-Hunters Who Inspired the ‘Conjuring’ Series

By Eric Harrelson and Joseph P. Laycock

…oommate over a period of months in 1970. Although I can’t find an official number, a casino employee tells us over 5,000 tickets have been sold; 5,000 pilgrims who’ve made the trek from around the country to pay their respects to Annabelle, and are willing to wait hours to do so. On the convention floor, an eclectic group of vendors hocks their wares, from Ouija boards and books about ghost hunting to bath bombs shaped like horror movie icons. The…

Spiritual Unplugging, Or What to Do When There is Wifi at the Ashram

By Matt Hamilton

…self-interrogation boiled, my hand extended to the right. I reached for my phone, but I found nothing. At first I laughed at my instinct, my muscle memory. The phone, with its glowing screen, gave me solace and control. But I was tied to my cushion for another hour, and in this ashram for another day, so email would have to wait. I panicked. My heart raced. Would my editor be asking for me? Would a reply from that politician’s secretary sit unansw…

Modernity’s Fraternity: What Dan Brown Gets Right

By Samuel Biagetti

…heckout aisle. Nevertheless, his ambition outstretches any run-of-the-mill author of cheap thrillers. For better or worse, after two runaway bestsellers that claim to upend the traditional story of Christianity, he has become America’s most important pop philosopher and historian. In the earlier books, he hatched a version of the faith that spoke to many people in ways that churches no longer seem able to. Now, by turning to Freemasonry in The Los…

Chick-fil-A Has a Right to Open Crappy Sandwich Shop in Chicago

By Sarah Posner

…om opening new restaurants. Chick-Fil-A “disrespects us,” says Emanuel, because “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values.” Can I say that I hate—almost as much as a chicken sandwich—when Democrats try to throw that “values” language back in the face of conservatives. Conservatives don’t own the “values” conversation—we know, we know! (I think Rahm is having a 2006 campaign flashback.) But since when do businesses get permits (or not) based on th…

Pop-Culture Angels Are More Than Just Embarrassing Kitsch

By Ed Simon

…y from Victorian sentimentalism. Such angels are on sale at reduced price; cheap wares for cheap faith. It would be an error, however, to fully dismiss pop culture angels. Despite the fact that representations of angels in film and television, comics and music, paperback novels and posters, are filtered through market concerns, such pop culture can still speak to human meaning—and because of that they merit our attention. Besides, the bulk of art…

The Passion of Katniss: How the Hunger Games Confronts the Trauma of Violence

By Michael Schulson

…ess of its hero–and, through that sense of helplessness, the dynamics of trauma. “Trauma really is about the moment of freezing,” said Deaton. “What is traumatic is when there’s nothing that can be done.” Collins, he said, sustains a kind of trapped tension throughout the books—that feeling that you’re “never really in a safe place.” After speaking with Deaton, I found myself thinking more about that concept of safety. In contemporary warfare, the…

How Much Did Jesus Care About Sex?

By Peter Laarman

…e enemy of godliness. Yes, as far as we know, both Jesus of Nazareth and Saul/Paul of Tarsus (“Our Founders”) were deeply ascetic people. Others walking in the Way have not been. For some, sexuality has represented a terrible struggle; for others, integrating a healthy sexuality into a thoroughly Christian life has seemed to pose no difficulties at all. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one such disciple: not obsessed with or tormented by his sexuality and…

Beyond Alarmism and Denial in the Dominionism Debate

By Anthea Butler

…as a Master’s student at Fuller working the switchboard part-time, and the number one phone call that came through went something like this: “Can you connect me to C. Peter Wagner’s Church Growth Institute? I’d like to buy some materials.” No one was happier than I was when he retired from Fuller and moved to Colorado Springs! I felt like I worked at a catalog call-in center. Seriously. I would never have expected to be talking about Wagner in con…

Dutch Treat: Betsy DeVos and the Christian Schools Movement

By Peter Laarman

…e among the main beneficiaries in state after state. In December Politico caused a minor stir when it reported on comments made by Betsy and Dick DeVos 15 years ago in the context of an interview they gave during “The Gathering,” a conclave of powerful Christian activists, to the effect that replacing public schools with religious schools will “advance God’s Kingdom.” Betsy DeVos made waves of her own with this quote at last year’s annual meeting…