Religion Dispatches
Whether or not we believe in evil as a supernatural force it cannot be denied that when we as a culture project the idea of evil outwards, onto others, it gives us license to engage in extreme forms of cruelty—witch-hunting, racism, nationalistic hatred.
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Is Lady Gaga (the self-proclaimed “fame monster” so well known for her enticing pop music, outrageous fashion, and elaborately staged spectacles) involved in a pseudo-religious conspiracy of global moment? The answer is “yes”—but not for the reasons that…
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Can a religious text be lethal? The story of Abraham and Isaac, shared by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, has been used for centuries to glorify sacrifice—and it has never been our own story more than it is right now.
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In this excerpt from Patience With God: Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or Atheism), the son of influential evangelicals asks whether anyone who remains a “professional Christian” in the evangelical/fundamentalist world risks becoming an atheist and/or a liar.
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Dan Brown reimagined Christianity in The Da Vinci Code. In his new novel, America’s most influential pop philosopher takes on Freemasonry, having fun with the bizarre legends surrounding the movement, and exposing the layer of mystical thinking that underlies modern rationalism.
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A new book by veteran organizer Marshall Ganz tells the sometimes triumphant, sometimes cautionary tale of the rise and fall of Cesar Chavez’s Farm Worker Movement. While the story of the movement’s successes is well known, the reasons for its decline are more mysterious—until now.
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When the media labels a religious group a “cult,” it fans the flames of intolerance and can endanger the group’s most vulnerable members.
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What does a sci-fi hit have to tell us about ancient Greek theater and today’s electronically-inflected cultural landscape?
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To cover a new religious movement, you have to know that the movement exists. An interview with Bruce Wilson.
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