Religion Dispatches
…On the latest Bloggingheads, I probed the evangelical reaction to Louie Giglio’s withdrawal from the inaugural activities with Christian ethicist and author David Gushee. In this segment, we discuss whether how the incident played out will undermine Democrats’ outreach to evangelicals, and if so, whether it will even matter: You can watch the whole thing here….
Read MoreThe conservative Christian pollster Lifeway has released its latest results to the perennial question, “Do you believe homosexual behavior is a sin?” Turns out, only 37% of those they polled said, “Yes.” That’s down 7% from the 44% who called “homosexual behavior” a sin just over a year ago. Now, 45% say “homosexual behavior” is not sinful. The poll mirrors a Gallup poll from last May showing that 54% of those queried said gay and lesbian relatio…
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…s showing relationships between levels of religiosity and well-being, this latest research is apt to find its way into many a sermon at declining churches across the U.K. and its former colonies. The gist (perhaps under a veneer of Christian pity): “There ya go! Your fakey-fakey, sage-burning, labyrinth-walking, church-of-the-blessed-ME ‘spirituality’ doesn’t make you happy.” Throw in some (largely inconclusive) studies on prayer and healing, an t…
Read MoreThe New York Times’ blog, The Lede, reports on the latest in a series of provocative, offensive, and frankly fratboyish Facebook posts coming from Israel’s embassy in Ireland. They go from digs at Ireland (“naïve”) for joining Europe and much of the world in voting for an upgrade in Palestine’s status at the United Nations, to the most recent—an allegation that, if Jesus were alive today, he would probably be lynched by hostile Palestinians. Nobo…
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…edia theorist Sherry Turkle, for example, registers growing concern in her latest book Alone Together (2012), but her primary worry is that a reliance upon technology blinds us to what real connection asks of us, and what it can offer. But what of the additional invisible ways that technology shapes everything we do, feel, or imagine possible? This is more than a question of being offline and online, but rather requires a reconsideration of the wa…
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…ardly receives any. Hence, despite their support for the Palestinians, the latest Israeli operation only confirmed for many Syrians that they have been abandoned. Iran’s support for Hamas didn’t really complicate things. Assad was Hamas’ main patron until recently and despite their dislike of him, many Syrians still supported Gaza and Hamas. What do you want Americans to know about Turkey, Syria, and the Middle East? The Middle East isn’t as black…
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…ssive centers, plus the cumulative effect of well-intentioned policies for promoting young academics, have effectively sabotaged the intergenerational culture essential for a rich sense of intellectual identity. Yes, I realize that annual meetings hosting thousands of participants need large facilities. Yes, the annual meetings need to offer junior faculty and graduate students opportunities to see and be seen on a national stage. Yes, adding anot…
Read More…ckly, we realized that the focus is not Roy,” Coday said. “Roy is just the latest… In the last two year, the number of people who have been silenced is incredible.” With bishops, theologians, priests, and even “liberal” Catholic publications unable to discuss women’s ordination, the editors realized that they—the laity—were the only ones left to keep the conversation going. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops isn’t likely to respond to NCR’s…
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…mon missionary in Italy, was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2011, and my latest, Marginal Mormons, just received a starred review from Kirkus.) I also marched with the Mormons for Marriage Equality contingent this year in Seattle’s Gay Pride parade, amazed to see compassionate Mormons with signs proclaiming “Sorry we’re late!” I belong to Affirmation, an organization for LGBTQ Mormons. I still have my triple combination on a bookshelf above my d…
Read More…iel Byman questions the strategic gamble Israel has embarked on: “Israel’s latest campaign in Gaza, which began on Wednesday with the killing of Hamas’ military commander, Ahmed Jabari, and air strikes on the group’s long-range rocket launchers, is a gamble — and one that Israel might lose.” Gershon Baskin, who was negotiating a cease fire with Ahmed Jabari before he was assassinated, was on Democracy Now this morning, during which he lucidly exp…
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