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How to Choose a Tour Company for Your Hajj

By Amina Wadud

…tarted asking friends, and friends of friends. By far, I think this is the best thing to do if you are like me: totally disconnected with hajj and umrah travel possibilities. I was so glad I did, because I got what sounded like the best thing I could imagine to overcome all these unknowns: a hajj guide recommended highly by a friend with details that suited my personality. Things like: we went here first and there last, because it limits the lines…

COVID-Denying Father Sergei is Just the Latest Example of the Russian Orthodox Church’s ‘Holy Man’ Problem

By Katherine Kelaidis

…n Vladimir Putin has his own renegade holy man. The spiritual father knows best The trouble arises from what’s actually one of the more humane and helpful customs of Orthodox Christianity: the spiritual father. (There are technically spiritual mothers as well, but the exclusion of women from the ordained clergy has historically kept their numbers small.) Deriving from the ancient Egyptian monastic tradition (the oldest in the Christian world), it’…

The Accidental Worshiper: Following the Music

By Tripp Hudgins

…incerity of purpose that cannot be ignored. I would argue that some of the best theology right now is being done by ethnomusicologists. Haynes’ feminist critique of Mars Hill is absolutely inspired and inspiring. Navigating the fine line reflects a certain theological or ethical stance as well. It’s an ambiguous set of practices. One does not simply borrow. One reflects one’s theological or ethical convictions in the process. In Secular Music and…

Did Pope Francis Just End the Religion and Science Conflict?

By Donovan Schaefer

…focus on their common problems. Winning theological fights may not be the best use of time and resources when the health of the planet is on the line. This shift may never happen. The shadow of the ongoing debates about Darwinism—especially among American Protestants—may be too long and too dark to challenge popular acceptance of the Conflict Thesis anytime soon. It would also require an enhanced commitment on the part of the Catholic Church itse…

The Problem with AMC’s Sci-Fi Hit Humans

By Andrew Aghapour

…fear that technology might one day surpass us, the human form isn’t always best for the job. Take, for example, the synth telephone operator. Why create a physical robot for this job which has to receive audio through a wired earpiece and then respond via speaker into a microphone? Couldn’t synth software do the trick without complex parts that mimic the functions of ears and a mouth? Furthermore, wouldn’t it make better economic sense to distribu…

New Book on Trump and Evangelicals Gets it Mostly Right

By Greg Carey

…tories within evangelicalism. Fea repeatedly notes evangelicals’ mixed (at best) history with respect to race relations. He devotes nine pages to the history of racial fear in the evangelical South, but he never gets messy with the most telling factor: that no other religious group even remotely approaches white evangelicals’ preference for Trump. Race proved one of the most decisive predictors of Trump support, and white evangelicals were the mos…

Is It the Job of Religion Journalists to Define “Religion”?

By Ann Taves

…t establishes a comprehensive way of life that is held out as the right or best way of life for those who adhere to it.” The key term is “comprehensive.” CrossFit, football, Star Trek, and dieting fads are insufficiently comprehensive to count as religion. Linker, recognizing that his definition would encompass philosophy, distinguishes between them based on the source of their knowledge regarding the best way of life: “religion,” he claims, “is t…

Conservative Anglican Bishops Threaten To Split Communion; Malawi Opposition Leader Says Gays Should Be Killed; Anti-Marriage Effort Makes European Union Question Initiative Process; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…olitics, laws aside — we apply human dignity to be respected.” “God is the best judge and whatever we’re doing on this,” Viola said. “It’s not good to apply punitive laws on people.” But at Pink News Nick Duffy reports that Ken Msconda, a spokesperson for the opposition People’s Party, responded with violent anti-gay vitriol: “Arresting them won’t address this problem because sooner or later they are being released on bail. “The best way to deal w…

Resurrection of ‘Comstock Laws’ Would Threaten Access to Abortifacients — But Even That Fear Misses Bigger Picture

By Gillian Frank

…pite legal restrictions, couples in the 1930s sought to plan parenthood as best they could. In the past, most states allowed pharmacists and doctors to legally prescribe contraceptives to married couples. In the 29 states that permitted them in the mid-1930s, birth control clinics might also provide information and tools to married women to control fertility. Such clinics often required referrals from doctors, hospitals or social agencies. But man…

The Night of Power: Laylatul Qadri

By Amina Wadud

…try remembering to humble myself before the throne of the All mighty, the Bestower of favors, and go right on ahead and ask for what I want. That too shows love and trust. I trust that Allah will bring some repose, or grant a favor. I also have a little bit of concern over that: “be careful what you pray for.” Sometimes the consequences of one prayer’s answer are more troubles than you were facing. So, better to be prudent. I used to have a stick…