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“As Orthodox As They Come”: A Backstage Conversation With Rob Bell

By Andrew Aghapour and Michael Schulson

…of his evangelical base by 2011, when he published Love Wins, an argument against the existence of Hell. Cast out of the evangelical mainstream, Bell traded the pulpit for the stage. He went on a Love Wins book tour, made the cover of Time, and left Michigan for California to develop a television show. After that project fell through Bell developed a talk show for Oprah’s OWN network, and he recently joined her on the eight-city “The Life You Wan…

Vatican Considers ‘Disordered’ Language; HBO Doc on LGBT Persecution in Russia; Nigerian Bishop Shifts on Anti-Gay Law; Arson at ‘Open Mosque’ in South Africa; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…hat the bishops needed to hear. Indeed, even some of those who are already aware of the harmful effects and warning against them, may not realize the depth of the damage that is done. They may understand that it is one of the factors that turns many our community away from the Catholic Church, as noted in the press briefing – but do they understand that it is also quite literally, destructive of lives, especially young lives?” Debernardo also dete…

Death in the Desert: Riding With the Samaritans

By Lauri Lebo

…nd lost. Deadliest Year Brother David and Millsap are volunteers with the Samaritans, an organization that patrols the desert seeking people from Mexico and Central America who have crossed the Arizona border south of here and are making their way north for jobs or to rejoin family. Millsap estimates that it’s at least a three-day hike from the border across parts of the reservation. Many of these migrants, overwhelmed by the heat, rough terrain,…

Lying About Our Religion, And Other Problems With Polling

By Michael Schulson

…y it, so I will: a lot of religion polling is bullshit. This isn’t just an academic squabble. Polling firms like Pew and Gallup offer the principal lens through which journalists, pundits, religious leaders, and politicians observe the spiritual state of the union. Polls and surveys shape debates about policy and public morality. They help define key groups—evangelicals, for example, or the nones—that crop up again and again in the media. Inventin…

What the Lost Finale is Really About

By S. Brent Rodriguez Plate

…efore the finale sinks in. What then am I offering in the midst of the hullabaloo? Why write before it is over? Why write at all? Because the ultimate response to the show’s questions have already been answered. The ending of the finale is (spoiler alert) not important. There are no answers that can be given that will leave anyone feeling satisfied. It’ll be like a Thanksgiving feeding frenzy: gobble it up and think we are satiated, but an hour la…

The Religious Implications of Nudity

By Steve A. Wiggins

A TSA pat-down—security never felt so good! Or so bad. “But it’s against my religion,” I explain to the stern-looking officer who is directing me to the full-body scanner with a gaze that would stop Superman. I feel as if I have been profiled. A man traveling alone, looking like he has nothing to lose (people tell me I should smile more). It is a lazy weekday morning in the Raleigh-Durham Airport and I am returning from a business trip I didn’t r…

Penn Jillette’s Signs You May Already Be an Atheist

By Steve A. Wiggins

…God, No! was published, to great acclaim. As of October it ranked #273 in Amazon’s book sales category. (Those of us whose books are ranked down in the millions can’t help but feel a little pang of jealousy; it does tell us, however, who is getting read!) Jillette is the vocal member of Penn & Teller, the bad-boy magician duo, and a noted iconoclast. Largely a ramble through his inner monologue, God, No! is the first book to cause me to laugh out…

What’s More Frightening Than Snakes on a Plane?

By Devin Kuhn-Choi

…using to sit in their assigned seats next to women, indicate. Here on RD, Kara Loewentheil recently argued that the airplane demonstration but that it “replicates the broader social and political movement strategies we’ve seen on a personal scale,” and highlighted the similarities between these smaller-scale protests and religious employers protesting the Affordable Care Act under claims of religious freedom. While I agree with Loewentheil’s point…

How to Choose a Tour Company for Your Hajj

By Amina Wadud

…ater at the supermarket are required by the Saudi government before the visa application. It was one of the most exciting moments since I connected with the particular tour company to organize my trip for hajj! Why was I so excited? Maybe having a needle or two stuck in the arm made the proposal for this once-in-a-lifetime trip more of a reality. Surely, it could not be anything more sadistic. Actually, I became excited after I got a phone call fr…

Trump Doesn’t Need to “Pivot” if Evangelicals Do it For Him

By Paul Harvey

…is evangelical base. There hasn’t been a pivot, but the campaign team has managed to hit the “partly reset” button—at least as long as they can keep their boss’s itchy fingers off Twitter. Whether this will sway the fracturing of a considerable number of Catholic voters from that base, however, remains dubious. His address to the group also shows his evolution into someone less ill-at-ease with Bible verses and more attuned to the language of Amer…