Religion Dispatches
An interview with a singer marked for death by the Taliban. Curiously, while the Taliban claims that music is a violation of Islamic law, they do have their own melodies and hymns.
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An interview with the director of Afghan Star, a documentary that follows a tense but cathartic talent competition.
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Iran’s Green Revolt is about freedom and democracy, sure. But it usually has to take form in a particular issue or, as in the case of a growing portion of Iran’s youth, in song. Meet the resistance in the form of the underground music scene.
Read MoreAttempts at the recent Muslim Voices festival to reinvent the qawwali, of having it cross-fertilize with other musics, made the concert seem so promising as a closing event.
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Though surveys of American religion continue to reveal a rise in the “no religion,” and “unaffiliated” categories the transcendent experience of a Wilco show can lead the way to a more nuanced understanding.
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Bono finds “soul music” in the work of secular do-gooders, and a contingent of Scottish police declare themselves members of the Church of Jedi. Looks like we have religion everywhere, and not a god in sight.
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Japan, in the throes of political and financial turmoil, is still dealing with the long-running controversy over a national shrine for WWII dead.
Read MoreA professor of religious studies, challenged to write a patriotic song that isn’t militaristic, is inspired by texts on our democratic project.
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Forget the standard litany of the best-selling books and most popular movies… This year’s list includes comics, rock bands, Battlestar Galactica, “Hava Nagila” sung to the tune of “The Twist,” and “I Am the Walrus” translated into Aramaic.
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Who is that tattooed, pierced kid with the pink hair and the “You Will Not Mock Our God” T-shirt? How confusion about evangelicalism has obscured the Catholic influences of pro-life youth.
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