Religion Dispatches
…public debate is about how to balance freedom of speech with respect for religious belief. But Alexander Aan’s case, playing out in the world’s most populous Muslim country, represents a much different global reality. Here the value at stake is not just freedom of speech, but freedom of conscience. The real contest is not between atheists and believers, but between those who affirm the equality of all persons of conscience and those who deny it….
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…nds, are obtaining favorable tax treatment from the state for advancing a religious cause? If I know Petra’s views as well as I think I do, I doubt that Justice Kennedy has won her over. Petra will argue that any tax subsidy for religion, in a closed system where the power to tax is limited, violates the non-establishment clause. Petra will also argue that the principle of taxpayer-supported universal public education is severely undercut if more…
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…t’s notice that the financial crisis and “Wall Street” itself are also in self-delusion. Generally, Wall Street apologists insist that boom and bust cycles are inevitable—all circle. In fact, however, the latest bust was made far, far worse by the unreasonable amounts of risk which banks and other financial institutions were allowed to take on, because of deregulation. That deregulation was the result of concerted effort—line. Wall Street says it’…
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…ejected the “religious left” label. Moreover, many who would consider themselves on the religious left reject Wallis as their leader. Still, though, Wallis’ knack for self-promotion, combined with a lack of imagination on the part of both politicians and the media, has led to Wallis being viewed as one of the preeminent figures on the not-right-hand end of the Christian spectrum. After all, he is against poverty (although who isn’t?) and his campa…
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…d by members of other religions. Because the politics of yoga is so intimately tied to the religious dimensions, we need to critically examine decisions about what counts as religious for their political implications and real-life consequences. If members of society, both yogis and non-yogis, attribute religious dimensions to yoga, then what does it mean to impose state regulations and/or definitions upon it? The debate has brought questions to li…
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…cate his religious doubts to his father. Even Tom’s “Book Against God” gradually loses steam. So, Tom is a borderline misotheist. In the diagram above, he is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, flanked by Proudhon, Shelley, and Pullman. And I strongly suspect that Wood himself belongs in that same basic region of the continuum of God-hatred. Of course, saying this opens me up to the charge of indulging the “biographical fallacy.” But taking m…
Read More…gy answer to the question of his religious affiliation, declaring that he believed in God, that he considered himself a “good Christian,” and that he was “very proud” of his “Mormon heritage.” He also reminded the world that Mormonism today is a “diverse” faith tradition and, intriguingly, that he “adds to that diversity,” which is probably code for a less-than-orthodox approach to the faith. Huntsman is helped also by the fact that whereas Mormon…
Read More…his audience, and its fears.) The composition of the Faith and Freedom panel led me to believe he might have been attempting if not a rapprochement, then at least some balance. Ironically enough, the panel followed one on alleged anti-evangelical bigotry, though few if any seemed to grasp that irony, with the possible exception of Breger. He led off, reiterating his position that shari’ah is not the threat some of his fellow conservatives assert….
Read More…a 16-pound breech baby in a tub in a barn through her nostril if she only believes in herself. But then the sister who brought the motion… ah! You know, it was Lady Douglas Heatherscote of Braintree. (I remember because she always wore this camouflage tutu which she said subverted phallogocentrism.) Yes. Anyway. Lady Douglas pointed out that it would allow us to fabricate compelling reasons for aborting fetuses in the second and third trimester….
Read More…oment. I first want to highlight a couple of points in Vargas’ story that relate to religious activism around immigration reform. In his piece, Vargas discusses how his mother and grandparents, knowing that they got him into the United States without proper documentation, believed his undocumented status could eventually be rectified if he married an American citizen. But what they didn’t know was that Vargas is gay. He therefore falls into a cate…
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