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Protesters in Washington DC, the day before the January 6 insurrection, wrapped in American flags blow shofars.

Netanyahu’s Genocidal Religious Rhetoric isn’t Just an Appeal to the Israeli Right — He Has Another Constituency in Mind

By Brock Bahler

…st language from the more explicitly religious binary of Christians/enemies-of-Christ to the secularized language of civilized/savages. In Johnson v. McIntosh, Native people are called, “heathen,” “barbarous” and “Indian savages,” while the settlers are called “Christians” and “civilized inhabitants.” Europeans are said to have a right to the land because they brought “civilization and Christianity.” The religious rhetoric of heathens who had to c…

Modern Vampires: Your Neighbors and Spouses

By Joseph Laycock

…here a book out there you wish you had written? Which one? Why? Yes, The Re-Enchantment of the West, Volumes I & II by Christopher Partridge. I first discovered Partridge because he has written on the modern vampire community. The term “re-enchantment” appears with increasing frequency, but it is usually invoked rather than defined. Partridge convincingly argues that secularization has actually created the conditions for new and meaningful forms o…

Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife

By Lisa Miller

…ogy. I spoke to the head of The New Yorker’s cartoon department about cloud-and-angel cartoons; to David Byrne, formerly of Talking Heads, who wrote that great song “Heaven” (“a place where nothing ever happens”); to Albert Brooks, who wrote and directed Defending Your Life. I included references to Marc Chagall, The Simpsons, folk songs, slave spirituals, Monty Python, Michelangelo, Hamlet, Homer, popular jokes, my grandparents, Giotto, Billy Gra…

Top Five (Less Sensational, But More Dangerous) Things to Remember About Pat Robertson (1930-2023)

By Mark Hulsether

…blican committees in forty-four states. True, this does not eliminate a tug-of-war among the NCR, neoconservatives, and old-time Wall Street Republicans. However, the image of Robertson as president is a good way to focus our attention on how non-Robertsonite Republicans are in bed with the NCR. Here again we can catch this “bus” whenever we wish to ride it. 2) Robertson publishes an anti-Semitic screed and neo-conservative allies yawn. Robertson’…

Haiti and the Push for Theological Questions

By Paula M. Cooey

…ent for close to a century. Prior to the revolt French-ruled Saint-Domingue-now-Haiti was stripped of its natural resources by French occupation. Subsequent to the embargoes, in the early twentieth century, Haiti suffered invasion and occupation by this country at the expense of development on its own terms. All of these conditions—French plundering, colonial and European embargo, and US occupation—produced long-lasting and incomparable poverty an…

Aasif Mandvi on Islamophobia, Acting, and the Long Shadow of Jon Stewart

By Haroon Moghul

…character, a Muslim American, who had renounced Islam and became very anti-Islam. The subject matter of that play made lots of Muslims very uncomfortable but I have to adhere to being a Creator, to being an artist, to being a writer, to being an actor. People don’t like to hear this, but my character on the Daily Show is a character. The way Mindy Kaling is playing a character. It’s a character, but it’s not me. Even though that character happens…

Another Manufactured Outrage: Rep. Ilhan Omar Did Nothing Wrong in Listing Hamas, Israel, and U.S. Together

By Joshua Shanes

…th US & Israel have committed war crimes. It’s neither antisemitic nor anti-American to say so (as patriots of both countries do). Her words do not equate the US/Israel w/Hamas/Taliban, which carry out terror attacks against civilians.” https://twitter.com/rabbijilljacobs/status/1402971552895930373 Moreover, Omar gets so much flak for not calling out Hamas and yet when she finally does, she gets flak for not doing it right. In any event, if one is…

The 17th Century Roots of Roy Moore’s Refusal to Concede the Election

By Karen E. Park

…clear violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment and any number of Supreme Court cases. He was removed again last year for refusing to uphold federal law on same sex marriage, on the grounds that it was in violation of God’s law as found in the Old Testament. Like Winthrop, Moore believes that the Old Testament should order American society, whether Exodus or Leviticus. The ancient Israelites in these societies either adhered, or…

Diplomatic Suckerhood: Why Israel Is Fighting Toward its Own Demise

By Ira Chernus

…d in perfect harmony.” That’s the tragic fruit of a culture built on a self-image of weakness and victimization. That self-image is so pervasive, it has now become a self-fulfilling prophecy that can shape Israeli policy. According to an unnamed “senior Israeli official” quoted in Ha’aretz, “Israel is skeptical” that US envoy George Mitchell “would be able to coax Arab states to make concrete normalization commitments if only a temporary settlemen…

The Sacred and the Dead: Truckin’ as a New American Pilgrimage

By Varun Soni

…ure where the road trip is a pilgrimage and the real journey is one of self-discovery. The religious landscape of the United States has profoundly changed since the genesis of the Grateful Dead 50 years ago, especially in terms of the dramatic rise of the number of Americans who are no longer affiliated with traditional religious institutions or denominations. In the absence of traditional religious affiliation, people are increasingly turning to…