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Wolves Repelled by Christian Rock, Bibles for Porn, Fox Rejects Super Bowl Ad

By Michael J. Altman

…es, angry with the breakfast’s organizers and their involvement in the anti-gay bill in Uganda. Five faculty members are suing the Air Force Academy over a National Day of Prayer event. And Virginia lawmakers have passed a pro-public prayer law that has many religious minorities worried. Soon to retire Senator Joe Lieberman is working on a book about his Jewish faith and his dedication to setting aside the Sabbath. The Archdiocese of New Orleans r…

Is the Episcopal Church a Bain Capital Investor?

By Elizabeth Drescher

…t know if it’s true. Paul Ryan’s convention speech was so riddled with flat-out falsehoods that even Fox News described it as “deceiving.” Romney’s, according to fact checkers at the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post, and USA Today, was only slightly less mendacious; the continuing falsehood about cuts to health care providers spun by the Romney campaign as cuts to Medicare beneficiaries noted as among the larger whoppers propagated in th…

Times‘ Cutesy Guide Veils Humanity of Muslim Women

By Mariam Durrani

…-watching. As you read this section, the assumption is that ‘you’ are a non-Muslim Westerner who has been puzzled about the name of the garment-thing that Muslim women wear in some other part of the world, so ‘you’ are invited to observe the object and ask, more or less: what’s that thing on your head? While the writer tries to explain (and I’m being generous here) that in the Quran, ‘hijab’ refers to that which preserves modesty and privacy betwe…

Replacing Godless Hollywood with Bible-Based “Cultural Dominion”

By Julie Ingersoll

…t films be “epistemologically self-conscious.” Films are to honor “covenant- keeping” and “multi-generational families,” they are to reflect “an appreciation and support for both God’s revealed law and His (seven day literal) creation revelation,” and may not include “favorable implicit or explicit portrayals of evolutionary philosophy.” The filmmakers must certify that everyone involved in the film production at every level is of “good moral char…

Arrest the Pope: New Atheist Effort to Seek Justice in Sexual Abuse Crisis Should Be Applauded

By Frances Kissling

…and then was transferred to Italy after pleading no contest to assaulting a 15-year-old girl while visiting friends in Bonifay, Fla,” according to the AP. “He now ministers to a parish in a medieval town of about 4,000 in Tuscany, where he hears confessions, celebrates Mass and works with children.” SNAP, The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is pushing for action against four former St. Louis clerics, all accused of child sexual abuse,…

Our Lady of Good Hope and Excellent Behavior: Why this Apparition and Why Now?

By Lisa Bitel

…estion posed by Bishop David Ricken’s public approval of the shrine and the 19th-century apparitions that inspired it is: Why this one, and not other literally countless reports of Marian visions and apparitions that pop up in the news every year? At a moment when Pope Benedict XVI is widely known to be cracking down on apparitions and limiting the doctrinal expansion of Marian devotion, why has Adele Brise won the status of bona fide visionary? M…

Why The Church Can’t Stop Gun Violence

By Daniel Schultz

…tter’s done this to death, and then some. I’m less interested in the prayer-vs.-action debate itself, though, than in how it usefully frames another question: if not prayer, what? It’s easy to see that political leaders could be instituting meaningful reform of American gun laws. Closing the gun show loophole would be a start. So would strengthening background checks, cracking down on straw buyers, instituting a federal waiting period, and banning…

Welcome to the Gayborhood: Jason Brown on This New Era

By The Editors

…rom an unrequited queer love story, all set against the backdrop of an anti-queer campus. You can subscribe and listen to the entire interview on Apple Podcasts, RadioPublic or wherever you listen to podcasts. Deborah caught up with Jason recently and asked him the same question posed to all of Kaleidoscope’s guests (read the other responses here): What is one of the biggest transformations that has occurred for you in this new era? In the last pr…

Do Women Have a Future in the Catholic Church? Social Justice Orgs Petition Bishops This Week

By Patricia Miller

…ete changes to create A Church for Our Daughters today at the bishops’ semi-annual meeting in San Diego. The groups participating include advocates for women priests, such as the Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests and the Women’s Ordination Conference, the Catholic LGBT equality groups DignityUSA and New Ways Ministry, the Catholic reproductive rights group Catholics for Choice, and Catholic reform organizations such as Call to Action and…

In Praise of Failure: Is Defining Religion Such a Good Idea?

By Ivan Strenski

…ng of the academic debate. Without trying to speak too much with some God’s-eye-view of this issue, permit me to offer some observations about the Oppenheimer-Linker démarche. Is Defining Religion Really Such a Good Idea? A word first about the demand for definition. There are many words that we use quite happily and productively which have no precise meanings, or for which we do not demand precise meanings. Think about the words we use every day…