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Jack Ryan Uses Bible to Exonerate Wall Street, CIA

…and nationalism, dynamics I discuss in depth in my book, The Babylon Complex (Oxford University Press, 2014). A reboot of the older Jack Ryan series—based on Tom Clancy novels like Hunt for Red October—Shadow Recruit uses an all new screenplay by Adam Cozad and David Koepp. Still, the film is highly reminiscent of the earlier series’ conservative patriotism, and Clancy’s avowed “God and country and family” Catholicism. As the story goes, Jack Ryan…

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Global LGBT Recap: Adventists Talk About, Not To, LGBT People; British Muslim Group Welcomes Gay-Rights Activist; Homophobia Exports Continue

…with. Naimasiah also criticizes western gay-rights activists who “posit sexuality and sexual desires as necessarily political identities” and writes that “To be homosexual in Uganda should surely be different in its history, its interaction with other identities and, therefore, in the possibilities that must be imagined, than in the US.” United Kingdom: Muslim Group Welcomes Gay-Rights Activist Tell Mama, a group that monitors anti-Muslim prejudi…

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UPDATE: An Abrupt End to Quebec Separatist Plan to Ban “Ostentatious Signs” of Religion

…n insignificant number of which do happen to wear (typically small) crucifixes—and thus the visual code aimed its sights more narrowly on undesirable religious minorities, while at the same time allowing the government to proclaim the even-handedness of its approach.  But whatever the actual intentions of the government, the deployment of this category of the ‘permitted sign’ wonderfully epitomized a much larger and more longstanding liberal proje…

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Policing Academic Freedom: A Book, a Controversy, and the Ominous Aftermath

…e AAR and its almost ten thousand members are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the study of religion. But to pursue excellence scholars must be free to ask any question, to offer any interpretation, and to raise any issue. If governments block the free exchange of ideas or restrict what can be said about religion, all of us are impoverished. It is only free inquiry that allows a robust understanding of the critical role that religions pla…

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The Secret History of Easter

…These smug proclamations are not only irritating, they’re a disturbing index of our level of discourse about religion. Surrounding the Easter/Ishtar conspiracy theory is a toxic brew of anti-intellectualism, heresiological claims masquerading as historical ones, and simple sadism and incivility facilitated by new media. Last year, a blog called Bell Jar wrote a nice piece qualifying and largely debunking the claim that Easter is a Pagan holiday. I…

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Brits Get A Dose of Christian Nation Politicking

…ther religious faiths, too.”  (Like the Prime Minister using his office to promote his Christian faith.) But then Cameron reveals his politician’s circumspection, arguing on the one hand that advocates of “secular neutrality fail to grasp the consequences of that neutrality, or the role that faith can play in helping people to have a moral code.” That accusation is abruptly followed by the disclaimer that “[o]f course, faith is neither necessary n…

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Is Army’s New “Humanist” Designation Just Semantic Hooey?

…ajectory of his lineage.  Indeed, in many religions, choosing a name that expresses a close coherence between self-identity and religious identity and affiliation (or having one conferred) is a defining ritual feature, as in the Sikh Nam Karam ceremony for naming a child according to the first letter of a sacred hymn. Such a name is, as Roland Barthes put it, “the prince of signifiers; its connotations are rich, social and symbolic.” While not per…

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Brits Get A Dose of Christian Nation Politicking

…other religious faiths, too.” (Like the Prime Minister using his office to promote his Christian faith.) But then Cameron reveals his politician’s circumspection, arguing on the one hand that advocates of “secular neutrality fail to grasp the consequences of that neutrality, or the role that faith can play in helping people to have a moral code.” That accusation is abruptly followed by the disclaimer that “[o]f course, faith is neither necessary n…

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Religious Discrimination and the Violence Against Women Act

…der identity (as defined in paragraph 249(c)(4) of title 18, United States Code), sexual orientation, or disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under [VAWA], and any other program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds appropriated for grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance…

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The Blockbuster Spirituality of John Green’s “The Fault In Our Stars”

…rent of two children, told The New Yorker’s Margaret Talbot, that his own experience with anxiety has its benefits: “from a novelist’s perspective, the ability to cycle through all the possibilities and choose the worst is very helpful.” I take this quote seriously, but in other interviews and in the words of Hazel’s parents, he expresses a delicate hope for memory—at least a little bit of memory—and love between parents and children. Bravo, Mr. G…

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