Searching in Vain for a “Pure” Elie Wiesel
When they read Elie Wiesel’s Night, my Bible-belt students are regularly caught up short. They…
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Ross Douthat’s Rosy Old-Time Religion
In his latest the Times’ conservative Wunderkind Ross Douthat attempts to explain the current crisis as the result of our nation’s departure from orthodoxy. An honest look at the history of orthodoxy and he might see a past rife with the sin and brutality, enforced less by faith than by coercion.
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Rethinking Religion After Latest Holistic Death
A participant at a holistic spa was, it turns out, “cooked to death.” Instead of another wave of panic, maybe we need to rethink our categories.
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Pastafarian Rights, Israeli Rosa Parks, Orthodox
Jewish P.I.
The week in religion…
Read MoreConfronting and Participating in Crass Christmas Commercialism
Paul Simon, Rev. J. M. Gates, and the meaning of Christmas.
Read MoreBush’s New Book: “Damn Right I OK’d Torture”
What message do we send when we don’t prosecute torture?
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Eat, Pray, Trash: What the Critics Don’t See
Believing in Tiger Woods
While Tiger Woods’ public apology offers us the chance to talk about rituals of confession and repentance, we must not forget to ask who this mythical “public” is that we hear so much about.
Read MoreTiger’s Confession: Maybe Marriage Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be
Tiger Woods has admitted being serially unfaithful to his wife. What does this have to do with religion? Try the themes of transgression, confession, and the institution of marriage.
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Sacred&Profane: The “Cult” of Oprah Inflames Religious Right
The Religious Right’s wildly popular video attack on Oprah’s “dangerous” teachings may not be as far off base as it first appears.
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