Religion Dispatches
…conservatism. To show how definitions of “religion” and “spirituality” are used rhetorically we need only consider how AA Toronto Intergroup, when charged with discrimination on the basis of creed back in 2014, defended itself by invoking section 18 of the Human Rights code, which allows a religious group to restrict participation to the faithful. So while AA presents itself to the public as a “spiritual” program, distinguishing itself from “relig…
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…conservatism. To show how definitions of “religion” and “spirituality” are used rhetorically we need only consider how AA Toronto Intergroup, when charged with discrimination on the basis of creed back in 2014, defended itself by invoking section 18 of the Human Rights code, which allows a religious group to restrict participation to the faithful. So while AA presents itself to the public as a “spiritual” program, distinguishing itself from “relig…
Read More…exemptions. From The Sydney Morning Herald’s Eryk Bagshaw: The Greens will use Phillip Ruddock’s review of religious freedoms to build momentum for an Australian bill of rights and with Labor’s support it could be put before a Senate inquiry as early as next year. The Coalition, the Greens and the Opposition will clash over religious freedoms when Parliament resumes in February after Treasurer Scott Morrison vowed to defend Christianity from discr…
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…e that a change in the definition of marriage is unwarranted, not just because it is in opposition to the teaching of scripture and our Lord himself in Matthew 19,” he said “But because I believe marriage, traditionally understood as a union of one man and one woman, is a positive good for our society, where marriage and the procreation of children are bound together as the foundational fabric of our society, notwithstanding the sad reality that n…
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…y a group calling itself the National Conference of Citizens for Religious Freedom, led by Methodist minister Norman Vincent Peale, which claimed that Kennedy couldn’t be trusted to govern fairly because “his church insists that he is duty bound to admit to its direction.” But that attack, while animated by anti-Catholic aniumus, gave Kennedy a chance to explain how his Catholicism would function in relation to his duties as a pubic servant and of…
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…lms like Fight Club or the latest Batman flick: utopian idealists who will use any means, including violence, to bring about the transformation they seek. In practice, though, they tend to be mostly harmless. I once had a noted New Age peace activist tell me that, because all spiritual practice has ripple effects outward, “my cat is a contemplative contributor to the universe.” I swear I’m not making that up. The reasoning (if that’s what it is) i…
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…physical activity, and—as a cartoon in ORU’s student newspaper pointed out—users can also game the system by, for example, attaching the band to a hyperactive squirrel. More have criticized the policy for seeming, as Rob Quinn puts it, more “Orwell than Oral.” Why, then, does ORU continue to require its students to buy the expensive fitness band? The plan is good for everybody, ORU Provost Kathaleen Reid-Martinez argues, because the devices are co…
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…And I believe that it is important for Christians to realize that they can use that power to ask for better entertainment, things that actually do explore the deep, complex questions that have animated our faith for millennia.” Interestingly, that’s not very different than the argument Lalonde made before the film was finished, and it’s similar to the argument Jenkins and LaHaye made when they were angry at Lalonde’s earlier versions. But Left Beh…
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…I dream. Nevertheless, this formula—used so effectively in dealing with abusers and abused—is the most relevant parallel I can find to understand what occurred in this case. Instead, the two prelates delivered themselves of sonorous but largely vapid discourses. The Prefect acknowledged that some institutes chose “not to collaborate fully in the process” (maybe more than you will ever know, Cardinal Braz de Aviz), but called for the whole church…
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…it’s also an easy question to approach in an unhelpful way. Precisely because sexual abuse is appallingly common, compassionate people look for patterns to explain why it happened in this instance and not that one. And that’s a good thing: abuse prevention means recognizing common patterns and then looking for interventions that are likely to keep abuse from happening. But our pattern-seeking human brains can also steer us wrong here, especially…
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