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An American Muslim Abroad, Or, Things I Saw in Dubai

By Haroon Moghul

…ur audience. This oversize sample inadvertently gives away the credit card number of some eight-five million men, most of whom live in Egypt. ⬆ Earlier on this day, I saw a South Asian gentleman crossing an eight-lane highway while drinking a cup of tea out of a white ceramic mug. He took his time, pausing between lanes to let cars whiz by (at roughly 70 miles per hour) and took measured sips to pass the time, enjoying his hot and fresh caffeina…

Religious Affiliation, ‘Mankind’: India’s Anti-Corruption Activist Leads Second Freedom Struggle

By April L. Bogle

…he implored. [As of the end of August a compromise had been reached, but 73-year-old activist Anna Hazare has said the battle is only half won. -Eds.] “Prisoners Threatened to Kill the Teachers, But They Kept the Session Going” Bedi, who has embraced a variety of religious influences in her life, from Christianity to Hinduism to Sikhism, relies on Vipassana, a nonsectarian Buddhist meditation practice known more commonly as “insight meditation”: V…

What’s More Frightening Than Snakes on a Plane?

By Devin Kuhn-Choi

…to move? Why do employers need to impose their religious views on their non-religious or differently-religious employees? It seems to be more about getting one’s way–and making sure everyone else has to do it your way, too–than about genuine claims to religious freedom. Further, wouldn’t standing in the aisles nearly guarantee an encounter with women? Because anyone who has ever had to navigate around another person in an airplane aisle knows ther…

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Men “Stand Up” for “Religious Freedom”… On a Plane

By Kara Loewentheil

…ell). The real difference here is that if you don’t want to deal with ultra-Orthodox men interfering in your travel, you can just take another airline. If only it were as easy for female employees affected by the numerous lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage requirement to find a better job. *Correction: This post originally indicated that gender separation was due to concerns about women’s menstrual cycles. To read mo…

Penn Jillette’s Signs You May Already Be an Atheist

By Steve A. Wiggins

…rust I have in the TSA before, Jillette’s rant in “Penn’s Bacon and a Kiss Airline” was like finding a long-lost brother; another guy who feels it is criminal to be viewed naked by strangers—involuntarily—is a true freedom fighter. This is a comedian with a conscience. He may come down on the wrong side of many traditional issues (global warming and sexual mores, e.g.), but he is keenly aware that too many people suffer. Theodicy in motion. In the…

What the Lost Finale is Really About

By S. Brent Rodriguez Plate

…mes Marlon Brando’s “Colonel Kurtz,” but with a really nice smile. The hall-of-fame philosophers in the show have been well noted, and I won’t spend much time rehearsing the Enlightenment roles of John Locke, David “Desmond” Hume, and Rousseau in the course of Western world history. What is intriguing in Lost is the way that each character seems to have alternate, double personalities from those of their namesakes. In the “real,” historical realm,…

The Religious Implications of Nudity

By Steve A. Wiggins

…wever, walked out of that gate like a prisoner on release day. I realize now what some people are forced to experience every day. It’s a feeling that religion-fed government is, like a bad sci-fi flick, simultaneously judge, jury, and executioner….

Waiting for Lightning to Strike: A Wobbly Agnostic among the Atheists

By Carolyn S. Briggs

…t of big talk, a whole lot of bluster. It’s painful to live without connect-the-dots faith. It takes so much courage, I can’t tell you. The audience rises to their feet after this call to support the de-converted—the atheists are very supportive, I will say that. I lose count of the standing ovations throughout the convention. There is also much spontaneous laughter and many atheist jokes. Lot’s wife suffered a particularly cruel fate because she…

More Mixed Signals from Pope Francis; Church of England Wrestles with Rifts; Faith Groups Lobby Pro & Con on Irish Referendum; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ganda plainly is persecution, and Archbishop Sentamu has been to stand side-by-side with the persecutors. If ever there was a time for exercising gracious restraint, an invitation to preach alongside Stanley Ntagali should be high on the list for anyone who opposes inequality and persecution. The Church of England is preparing a process of “shared conversations” to address the rifts over same-sex couple. Documents released ahead of the consultatio…

The Sacred and the Dead: The Trouble with Sugar Magnolia

By Kaya Oakes

…and the “mamas” and “old ladies” minding the camp stove while 60-something-year-old Deadhead guys hit on my teenage friends by offering them tickets to shows. Deadheads were anathema to my chosen subculture of socially conscious punks. East Bay punks were aggro and in your face about social justice, feminism, human rights; Deadheads, in our eyes, were too stoned and obsessed with their god Jerry to care. Sometimes, I’d be out in Berkeley at night…