Religion Dispatches
…lum era, white Protestant males continued the wanton devastation of Native American tribes as the American territories expanded; inflicted horrible suffering on slaves by tearing families apart, raping innocent women, and killing blacks as if they were not human beings; murdered Joseph Smith and harassed early Mormon followers; and discriminated against Catholics in both subtle and overtly hostile acts of violence. • In the late nineteenth and ear…
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…ventions to bring people back from the edge. One place to start addressing American extremism may be conspiracy theories—it seems that’s what most American extremists have in common and that what attracts people to conspiracy theories is well understood. Correct. We know which kinds of people and what factors make them fall down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. But I think what is the wrong question. It’s when. When distress and uncertainty…
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…old?” is available here (pdf). Conference on Race, Religion and Rhetoric: “Americans at the Pulpit and in the Public Square: A conversation on race, religion, and rhetoric in a diverse America,” is a conference organized by the American Jewish Committee and the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, and is scheduled to be held at Xavier University in New Orleans, from January 17-19. Trouble in Narnia: Bad news for Narnia fans. It…
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…spection), The Tao of Wu can be read as a psycho-spiritual analysis of the American self. Alongside reconciling his social analysis with an embrace of the American dream, RZA’s journey is deeply spiritual; and scattered throughout the book are moments of redemption, salvation, and transformation. In addition to pillars of wisdom, sutras, and meditations on fear, peace, and love and happiness, he cites divine intervention at certain events in his o…
Read More…two forces have been in American history. In Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians & Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017), historian of religion R. Marie Griffith argues that the positions of progressives (including non-Christians and liberal Christians) and conservatives (including many Protestant denominations and Catholics) have been “mutually constitutive”; that is, when there were progressive gains, conservatives respon…
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…to lose if Hindutva harassment of academics continues to flourish on North American soil. The academy needs more critical thought about South Asia, not less. Academic freedom is the very heart of the globally envied North American education system. In actively trying to undermine our educational and research efforts in North America, the Hindu Right impoverishes the study of South Asia, and, moreover, it assaults the justly cherished foundation of…
Read More…airwoman of Georgia was engaged in paying reverence to a different type of American idol. In a bizarre moment in the world of mixing religion and politics, Sue Everhart compared Republican presidential candidate John McCain to Jesus and America to God. Addressing McCain’s patriotism and devotion to America even while being tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Everhart stated, “John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross. He never de…
Read More…twork in an interview airing Thursday. “A lot of our founders believed the American Revolution was won before we ever got into a fight with the British. It was a spiritual renewal.” Funny, that’s not how I remember my Intro to American History class running. Also: “People are seeing this massive government growing and they’re realizing that it’s the government that’s hurting us and I think they’re turning back to God in effect is our salvation and…
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…k that we don’t need area studies such as African American studies, Native American Studies, Asian American studies and the like—all because race/ism is no longer an issue. Within the study of religion, this could mean that examination of African American and African diasporic traditions, which are heavily (though not exclusively) rooted in the legacy of slavery, might be seen as a glimpse into the archaic past—a past that has little to no contemp…
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…the least. Most obviously, it’s 43 years old! You maybe have noticed that American society is a little different than it was in 1972? Specifically, Americans aren’t lurching to the right anymore. In fact, according to Gallup, they might even be going the other way, getting more liberal on a broad range of social issues. Yet, as we know, the slide in declining church affiliation continues, and is even accelerating. Conservatives will no doubt poin…
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