Life as a Game Show: Reading Slumdog Millionaire
While the Oscar-nominated hit portrays very little religion, the underlying framework reveals a distinctly Hindu and Indian perspective.
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Milk: Hollywood Does Gay History
While Milk does much to revive the history of the gay liberation movement, it misses a few big opportunities.
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“Not a Fan of the Undergarments”: A Mormon Mother Blogs
A Mormon mommy blogger ponders spiritual laziness, gay marriage (fine with her), projectile vomiting, the evils of daylight savings time, and the relationship between Mormon-mom perfection and antidepressants.
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The Gray Lady’s Regard: Ritual and the Wedding Pages
The New York Times Wedding/Celebration pages are pure periodical porn, invoking a cascade of genealogies and an overabundance of fortune. Religion is a whispered aside; and what of love?
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Culture Wars Today, Tomorrow, and Forever?
Undermining Obama; The Haggards Play Oprah; Coral Ridge Ministries Makeover; Focus on the Family turns to plagiarist Tim Goeglein; GOP’s Taliban Fever; and AFA’s Project Push Back.
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Pop-Eye: Meat The Wrestler
How did reviewers from the New York Times to Christianity Today miss the obvious religious references in this Oscar-nominated hit? Did they blink and reach for popcorn at the images of a tattooed Jesus Christ on Randy’s back, or was it more about the myth of modern individualism and body-soul dualism?
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Obamunism? The Traditional Values Coalition Coins a Term
Plus: Anti-abortion groups march on; Tony Perkins’ advice to Obama; Focus on the Family sets Newsweek straight; CPAC rides again; a boom in Christian films; and Training against the death penalty.
Read MoreGod in the Inauguration: JFK, Bush, and Obama
Obama’s civil religion, like JFK’s and Bush’s before him, emphasizes the connection between God and American ideals. But Obama spoke not of “endowed rights” but of “God-given promise.” Rights are inherent in the creature while promises are to be fulfilled.
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Super Bowl Sunday, American Holy Day
Indignant responses to the Janet Jackson nipple slip and the somber post-9/11 halftime show reveal glimpses of the sanctity of this yearly ritual, but it’s also in the creation of icons, the reinforcement of rules, and Americans telling themselves stories about themselves.
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Worse Than Madoff: Amway Launches Domestic Revival
The company whose founders helped finance the modern conservative movement is returning home to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.
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