Search for "cheap round trip airline tickets pdx to springfield mo phone number 1-800-299-7264"

Are Religious People More Generous? (Round LXXVII)

By Evan Derkacz

…art showing that, indeed, the “Bible Engaged” appear to give a far larger amount of money to nonprofits than do “Bible Skeptics,” with averages of $3,259 and $584 respectively. In an effort to further emphasize the generosity of the Most Biblical among us, it also notes that they reported an average income that’s actually lower than Skeptics—though it also implies that on average they’re well shy of the 10% Christians are generally meant to tithe….

Beyond Alarmism and Denial in the Dominionism Debate

By Anthea Butler

…insist is the only true, orthodox faith against heresies that also include Mormonism, the emergent church, paganism, and more. In my coverage of The Response, I talked to a woman whose blog post critical of the NAR from this perspective was taken off the American Family Association website. The AFA and other big religious right political operatives are not interested in the heresy hunters, though; they’re interested in the bodies that NAR types br…

Episcopal Church Assault Data Reveals the Dark Side of Inclusive Christianity

By Charlotte Dalwood

…changes would strike that requirement. Instead, ordinands would need to demonstrate the loftier-sounding, but more nebulous, ability to “form communities that understand and welcome diverse experiences of gender and sexuality, manifest safe and appropriate boundaries, and implement strategies to prevent sexual misconduct.” The intent is to underscore “the importance of providing places for inclusion and support for those who have experienced reje…

Sacred Texting: When Religious Writ Gets Wired

By Rachel Wagner

…re judges are hearing a case about whether or not church steeples can host mobile phone masts, since the masts might be used to relay porn. Whether one embraces, challenges, or rejects the use of digitized sacred texts and the technology used to support them, they are here to stay. Some will see digitized texts as “the same as it ever was,” simply delivered via a new medium, and preserved for future readers. Others wish to restrict the digital mul…

Power Up: Turn Off the Cell Phone

By Daniel Schultz

…r if the convenience of having a cell is worthwhile, given that one of its most common uses is to find out where my wife got to in Kohl’s. But it seems to me that focusing on the micro-trend of rich people opting out of the plugged-in lifestyle doesn’t really get at the heart of the issue. I think the Amish, of all people, have it right. It’s not so much about what you as an individual are doing or not doing, as the effect technology has on the co…

Burning Down the Temple: Religion and Irony in Black Rock City

By Sarah M. Pike

…ansfixed by the fire. Each year I find the temple and its fiery demise the most moving experience on the playa; even if someone is hollering obnoxiously or playing with a laser pointer. If every other playa site invites irreverence and irony, this is still the one that takes meaning most seriously. It is a site of both voyeurism and participation, where our deepest fears and most painful losses are aired publicly and work together to create Burnin…

Francis Visits the Church that John Paul Broke

By Patricia Miller

…like Call to Action and the Women’s Ordination Conference to agitate for a more democratic church and clerical roles for women. Pope Francis will find a very different church. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, only one-quarter of Catholics attend mass every week (CARA has some of the best, most rigorous tracking of mass attendance; other surveys find higher percentages using more generous methodologies.) The number of…

“Saints Are Only Human”: Leaving the Church, But Heeding this Pope’s Lessons

By Elizabeth Colmant Estes

…slogans about immigration reform. On line I heard that parishes with large numbers of undocumented immigrants had received many tickets. No outside food or water, statues, gifts or selfie sticks were permitted. Despite 10,000 folding chairs, most of us would have no choice but to stand. Once in my appointed place behind the last row of seats, I found myself in a community of fellow pilgrims, lottery winners from local parishes, nearby colleges, an…

We Went Through Amoris Laetitia Section by Section So You Wouldn’t Have To

By Anthony Adams

…iates from the patriarchal ideal of “heteronormative uncontracepted sex in monogamous marriage.” Sections 243 and 299 would also disappoint any divorced and remarried Catholics who want to receive Communion openly. Pope Francis says they should be treated with care and kindness and respect, but he stops short of giving them access to receiving Communion. He offers the same condescension to LGBT Catholics in Section 250 when he says should be treat…

Marriage Equality Vote Costs Conservative MP a Trip to Australia

By Peter Montgomery

…of Families is one vehicle by which American religious conservatives export their anti-abortion and anti-gay-rights ideologies (or as they would put it, their support for the natural family) abroad. Peter LaBarbera and his Americans for Truth About Homosexuality are among the WCF’s partner groups, a who’s who of anti-gay and anti-choice organizations. For more on the WCF, see Gillian Kane’s Religion Dispatches report on last year’s conference in…