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“Religious Freedom” and the Conservative Quest for Absolute Truth

By Ira Chernus

…and the morning-after pill—for conservatives to tar Obama as the commander-in-chief of a “war on religion.” “The right has picked a fight on this issue,” says Maddow, “because religiosity is a convenient partisan cudgel to use against Democrats in an election year.” Okay, Rachel. But what makes religiosity convenient? If it’s all about politics, “convenient” means effective in moving voters from one column to the other. So beneath all…

What Does Heidegger’s Anti-Semitism Mean for Jewish Philosophy?

By Aubrey L. Glazer

…ers—Terah, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the river [me-ever ha-nahar] and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from beyond the river and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring” (Joshua 24:2-3). To be identified as an ivri, a Hebrew, means that one has descended from Abraham who sojourned to Canaan from Mesopotamia, which is on the other side of the Euphrates. Interpreting the text…

Will Dems Find Moxie to Resist Immoral GOP Tax Plan?

By Peter Laarman

…course of ten years, 80% of the benefits will line the silk pockets of the 1%. A cynic might ask how they slipped up and let a full 20% go to the rabblement. But let it not be said that these guys are slouches when when it comes to self-dealing and cashing in. According to the TPC analysis, their plan will actually hurt some of the merely affluent (those in the $150,000 to $300,000 range) in order to ensure that those at the extreme high end can…

The Jarring Ugliness of Beauty Queen Carrie Prejean

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…d tumble world of misogyny along the way, though. She recounts in her “tell-all” about meeting Donald Trump in a pre-pageant meeting with the other beauty queens. Trump promptly divides the beauty pageant girls up into basically, “hot” or “not hot” categories. What? The Donald is a sexist pig? Who would have thought? Stop the presses. Despite being confronted with this bald-faced show of misogyny, Prejean is unmoved. She continues to play her role…

What Pence and Kaine Reveal About Divides in Catholicism

By Patricia Miller

…social justice issues for left-leaning Catholics and sexual restraint, law-and-order, and a muscular national defense for right-leaning Catholics. And, as Jack Jenkins notes at Think Progress: …if this sort of dissenting spirit was unique among modern American Catholics, one could plausibly argue that the United States has created an environment that bifurcates Catholics in unusual ways. But it’s not: In 2014, a global survey conducted by Univisi…

Sometimes Dialogue is Not the Answer and Neutrality is a Trap: An Interview with the Authors of ‘The Neutrality Trap’

By Chrissy Stroop

…cing. Find a person, preferably someone you don’t know well, and have a one-on-one conversation with them about an issue that troubles you. See where the conversation takes you. Then, connect with others. This is how social movements begin, connecting with one person at a time, building a network, disrupting oppressive systems, and making a plan for the future. Each one of you reading this can start a movement to advance social justice. Who will y…

Aasif Mandvi on Islamophobia, Acting, and the Long Shadow of Jon Stewart

By Haroon Moghul

…character, a Muslim American, who had renounced Islam and became very anti-Islam. The subject matter of that play made lots of Muslims very uncomfortable but I have to adhere to being a Creator, to being an artist, to being a writer, to being an actor. People don’t like to hear this, but my character on the Daily Show is a character. The way Mindy Kaling is playing a character. It’s a character, but it’s not me. Even though that character happens…

Mitt’s Jesus, Barack’s Jesus, and Why Christ’s Color Matters

By Joanna Brooks

…quite intention. Madison Grant (the spokesman for “Nordic whiteness” in the 1910s and 1920s) discussed explicitly Jesus as “Nordic” as part of his attack upon immigration from Asia and Southern and Eastern Europe. Klan members of his age, likewise, linked the racial body of Jesus to their racial national view. Of course, other times, the imaging is unintentional or at least never spoken. When Mormons erected the Christus statue in the middle of th…

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

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…on his next long flight he can pull out his Bible and take a gander at Luke 16:19-31—the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Daily, the rich man ignored poor Lazarus, but when Lazarus died he was taken to “heaven” or a place of eternal comfort. The rich man’s fate in Hades was terrible, however, as he begged Abraham to “send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” Abraham reminds rich ma…

Cafeteria Cockroaches and Synagogue-State Relations in Israel

By Shalom Goldman

…no “forbidden work” can be performed in preparation of food. (There are non-Kosher restaurants in Israel, but no non-Kosher food in the Knesset building unless someone sneaks it in!) The Knesset has three cafeterias: one serving only “milk” foods and two serving “meat” foods. In late June, one of the two meat cafeterias was shut down when a diner reported finding a cockroach on a plate of rice. The closure was not done by the Israel health authori…