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Rebuilding the Wall of Separation: A Progressive Discussion on Church & State

By Bruce Ledewitz

…lear and unambiguous first principles of the Constitution were and are the best guarantee of our right to figure it all out for ourselves, and our best defense against the rear guard action being waged by the religious right and its allies in our time. So, sure, let’s have public religious and non-religious expressions in all of their richness and variety. But let’s also confront and defeat anything that would erode, in fact or appearance, the rol…

Escalating Afghanistan: What Did You Do in the Class War, Daddy?

By Peter Laarman

…ctly private property in the manner of Athenian slaves; rather, they could best be described as serfs or slaves of the public: available and expected to do the public’s bloody business of conquest and pillage. Let us say it clearly and see how it feels upon the tongue: today’s “all-volunteer” military represents a contemporary form of helotry. We give the great majority of our young very little hope for a foothold in our collapsed economy; then we…

The Battle for the Meaning of Religious Freedom Day

By Frederick Clarkson

…om may very well determine the future of democracy in our time, just as it did in the 18th century. As historian John Ragosta told RD last year: A republic could not work if government and church officials… were trying to control what we think or prescribe what was the ‘best’ religion or which people were the ‘best’ citizens based upon their religious beliefs. If people were to make informed political choices themselves, they had to be free to thi…

Forget the Pope—We Need a New Caliph!

By Haroon Moghul

…an make Turkey a truly multicultural democracy, he’ll have resurrected the best characteristics of the Ottoman Empire, which last held the Caliphate, conveniently enough in modern Turkey. The Bad: Erdogan may actually already be the Caliph, which kind of ruins our brackets. Also, his peace with the Kurds might help Erdogan stick in office yet longer, which is kind of like eating Turkish Delight every day. Plus, since the Ottomans were technically…

When Religion Becomes a Trap Rather Than a Safety Net

By Holly Welker

…divorce.” What sorts of beliefs and fears compelled her to try to make the best of what she knew was a terrible situation? How did she perceive what was supposed to be a loving, empowering religion as one that did not allow her to admit or correct mistakes? Everybody—including my dad’s mom, who my mother was close to at the time—told her, “Don’t do this. Don’t marry him.” And Mom said, “No, I’m marrying him.” I think as much as anything she was as…

The Age of Dhikr

By Amina Wadud

…mature person. Age does not make maturation, per se. Yesterday we had the best of the best; the age was augmented by the quality of maturation and illuminated by the etiquette (or adab) of simple yet deep devotion. I was, for a brief moment, at home and when this happens to me, I feel a special grace from Allah. I could just be in the midst of my own love for Allah. I did not have to fight. I did not have to struggle for justice. And even more: I…

America, the Mythical: “Mother of Exiles” or Denier of Safe Haven?

By Ed Simon

…rected on a pike at Plymouth following the conclusion of King Phillip’s War. The settlers subsequently decided that that impalement also warranted a similar declaration of general thanksgiving. As Leonard Cohen sings of America’s covenantal ambivalence, this land is “[t]he cradle of the best and of the worst.” Thanksgiving has been marshaled yet again in the battle over what is the proper interpretation of the idea of America. With thousands of Sy…

Civil Unions Battle Heats Up in Italy; Church Leaders in Malawi Defend Criminalization of Homosexuality; Report on LGBT Student Group Sparks Backlash in Indonesia; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ah, which ranks in the top five of U.S. states in teen suicide, though the numbers have not been verified. In response to the Mama Dragons report, church officials mourned the deaths and called on churches and family members to make LGBT youth feel welcome. Tanzania: Activist Profiled The latest “world voices” feature from Alturi tells the story of James Ouma, an LGBTI activist who speaks “against a growing religious backlash in Tanzania while he…

LDS Church Issues New Statement on Immigration

By Joanna Brooks

…iscourse” by the public. “Finding a successful resolution will require the best thinking and goodwill of all across the political spectrum, the highest levels of statesmanship, and the strongest desire to do what is best for all of God’s children,” Church leaders said. Elected officials and Latino activists have asked the Church to take a more public stance on immigration in part because the immigration debate has been most heated in western state…

Religion, Morality, and the Death of the American Soap Opera

By Katy E. Shrout

…in the context of reaffirming that bad situations will be resolved for the best. Characters who claim not to believe in God are aberrations, usually identified as gravely troubled—perhaps grieving a deceased loved one—and will often be depicted as recovering their faith in the end. Clergy make appearances as minor characters, but sometimes, as was the case with an Episcopal priest on One Life to Live in the 1990s, have been major players, too. It’…