Religion Dispatches
…s in America because of sanctuary cities. This incendiary statement is, at best, unproven. At worst, it is a willful distortion of the best research and data available. Crime rates among undocumented immigrants are notoriously difficult to track accurately, in part for the reason Clarke recognized. But the allegation that sanctuary cities are “havens” for violence is patently false. There is simply no evidence to suggest that cities that decline t…
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…they’re building the new Bucks arena, you’ll find Turner Hall, the former site of a German socialist athletic club. The old stained glass windows are still there, extolling the virtues of reason, science, freedom of inquiry, democracy, and a sound body. But the organization itself no longer exists. Today, Turner Hall is a great place to catch a band or hold a wedding, but there’s nothing particularly socialist about it, unless you count a fine se…
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…mpiled at the “Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple” site). Thrash and Leslie Wagner–Wilson are currently the only two black women survivors to publish books on their experiences. Wagner-Wilson managed to escape Jonestown before the massacre with several of her family members. As early African American members of the church when it was based in Indiana, Thrash and her sister tithed 20% of their income to Peoples Temple. Thous…
Read More…estion: how can we open the gate and connect with the public in a way that best achieves our shared goal of dismantling capitalist and white supremacist orthodoxies? It is worth asking how we might most effectively challenge the ideological trap of capitalist realism with a counter-discourse that avoids being domesticated or controlled. It is worth asking how we might most effectivity make contact with the public while dodging the establishment me…
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…estion: how can we open the gate and connect with the public in a way that best achieves our shared goal of dismantling capitalist and white supremacist orthodoxies? It is worth asking how we might most effectively challenge the ideological trap of capitalist realism with a counter-discourse that avoids being domesticated or controlled. It is worth asking how we might most effectivity make contact with the public while dodging the establishment me…
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…Leave it to TheCall to make love sound alarming, even terrifying. But the best was yet to come, and his name was Kamal. Kamal was the reason we were here (and awake). I didn’t know who Kamal was, and would only later learn his identity, although while he was speaking, I suspected he was a fraud. (I’m not the only one who finds Kamal Saleem dubious). Kamal introduced himself as an ex-terrorist, which usually makes me wonder, considering how others…
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…that “religion poisons everything” on the other. I firmly believe that the best solution to bad religion is good religion. Given the ugly and divisive side of religion that has been so prominent in American politics, I understand the appeal of these neo-atheist books. They’ve been at the top of the best-seller lists (in the category of religion no less!) because they have tapped into a backlash. However, they make the mistake of rejecting all reli…
Read More…in the dessert, coincidentally right there in Makkah so we can visit this site on our pilgrimage. Of course it wasn’t Makkah yet, but that’s another story. Now, here’s my favorite part. Hajar asks her baby daddy, well what will we do out here in the desert? And he looks and away, “God will provide.” Well thank you very much, old man—that’s just what I will do then, rely on God. So he walks off and leaves them; leaves a woman and her child, his ch…
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…ginia, and Arkansas share a troubling commonality,” AAP reports on its Web site. “Because of where they live, these women face daunting barriers to get safe abortion care if and when they need it. These least-access states have the most restrictive laws and the fewest number of abortion providers. These states also share other traits: low levels of contraceptive care, high rates of poverty, and strong anti-abortion cultures. With little help to pr…
Read More…w, I can have them both thanks to one Iowa artist’s butter nativity scene. Best Christmas fund raiser ever. A nativity scene in Boulder, Colorado has provoked the ire of local atheists who argue that the scene’s placement on the steps of the City and County Building is a state endorsement of religion. They are protesting through—you guessed it—three billboards. Worst holiday display ever: KKK Snowman. I’m also a big fan of Dreidelpalooza. God is n…
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