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Old Politics, New Bedfellows: The Olson/Boies Challenge to Prop. 8

By Jesse Lava

…n the stuff. Take the humble idea that schools should teach science in the classroom. Or that sex education should convey facts. Or that our government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Or, heck, that financial policy should be based on real-life numbers rather than the numbers that banks would like to pretend are real. We are at a point where it’s no longer clear that a large, vibrant conservative movement exists outsid…

Texas Board of Education Wants to Change History

By Lauri Lebo

…public sphere. There is a power to being told that you belong to a special class of people whose history has been oppressed by a malevolent force. That this great glorious Christian history is being suppressed by atheists. Fair and Balanced At the end of last month, the social studies advisory team began the arduous process of culling through the expert reports—separating the agenda-driven items and the code words from the sound pedagogical-based…

Rarefied Islamophobia: When Americans Duplicate the European Cultural Talk

By Jocelyne Cesari

…erlin from 2008-09. It concluded that of the 500 Muslims questioned from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds, individuals overall had highly flexible approaches to Islam and were willing to adapt their religious practice in order to fit into Western society. In the end, Caldwell does not delve into the social, economic, and migratory conditions that form the experience of many Muslims in Europe. An understanding of Muslims in Europe today cannot…

Conservative ‘Cafeteria Catholics’ Favor Opposition to Gay Marriage Over Health Care

By Paul Gorrell

…s do not enjoy all of the same benefits of marriage and, thus, have second-class status. These findings have prompted a new legislative push for same-sex marriage within the state; debate over the measure will begin this fall. To fight potential legislation that would provide marriage rights to same-sex couples in New Jersey, the bishops have joined conservative Catholic organizations like the Knights of Columbus that are aligned with right-wing R…

Double Helix: Science & Religion as Cultural Kindling; A Response to The New Republic

By Arri Eisen

…ntroduce her from all angles. I do not mean teach creationism in a science class or endorse stem-cell therapy in a church. Don’t teach creationism, teach about creationism, recognize it, use it as a teaching opportunity. To not do this exacerbates the very statistics about Americans cited by Coyne; we need to do this because of those statistics. When we do, people actually learn better, see that there are usually more than simply two sides to an a…

Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided Explores the Dark Side of Positive Thinking

By Michelle Goldberg

…, Ehrenreich tends to write as if all work towards improving the self is a diversion from the real work of improving society. “The threats we face are real and can be vanquished only by shaking off self-absorption and taking action in the world,” she writes. That’s true to some extent, but the division between internal and external change isn’t entirely neat. Some variant of determined optimism, after all, is needed for social change. How else cou…

The Revolution Will Be Whispered: An Excerpt From Everywhere a Guest, Nowhere at Home: A New Vision of Israel and Palestine

By Kim Chernin

…nd waiting for water. They’ve heard of taking the salt out of seawater and diverting water from the Nile and bringing in water from a distance with pipes. They know the important thing is to get the fundamental ideas right and then let the details fall into place by themselves. They have both been to Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam. They have heard its story, and they are convinced you can make anything happen if you believe in it, if you take small st…

A Daily Utopia: Creating Our Moral Values Every Day

By Anna Peterson

…nd in that literature. It’s great fun. Bonus Question: With a diversity of religion in the United States, what common ground is there for a common or universal ethic? This is an enduring dilemma for ethicists. Habits of the Heart suggests that our culture has a deeply rooted “expressive individualism” that can be an alternative to the utilitarian individualism which they find both widespread and destructive. I think they’re right, but I also think…

GMO or No: Problematic Intersections of Religion, Biotechnology, and Food

By Brittany Shoot

…se GM foods from a religious standpoint. Unlike some other faiths, their individual objections may be instead rooted in 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 fas…

Is Joel Osteen, Success Mag Cover Boy, Really “God’s Best”?

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…s 1,000 visitors are invited to meet him. I apparently missed the seminary class that taught pastors not to get “sidetracked in controversy.” Instead, my classes taught me that it was theologian Karl Barth that counseled pastors to use both the Bible and the newspaper in their preaching, but Osteen will have none of that. Anything that might get in the way of a happy story, or a story about how God wants you to be happy and be the best “you” you c…