Pope Francis, the Bouncer
That long-ago training might yet come in handy.
Read Morereform
Tattoos, Cremation, Personal Spirituality: The Jewish World in Transformation
I think some outsiders still think American Judaism is divided into Reform, Conservative Orthodox. In recent decades, it has become much more pluralistic, with several additional groups that could be seen as fledgling denominations and many others that are floating somewhere between institutional categories. On the other hand, some insiders believe that the American Jewish religious denominational structure has collapsed.
Read More
Upside Down Judaism: Why Are Progressives Studying Talmud?
The first decade of the twenty-first century seems to have upended the Jewish world. What does it mean that conservatives, and some Orthodox, have begun to agitate for social justice, while progressives, traditionally secular, are “taking back the texts”?
Read More
The Silence of Religious Voices in the Health Care Debates
The national conversation about health care has been about everything but care, or compassion, for those truly in need. Isn’t it simply wrong for religious leaders to sit this one out?
Read More
What We Really Talk About When We Talk About Health Care
What looks like discussion about deductibles and co-pays, preventative treatment, and end-of-life care, is really about something else entirely. And then there’s all the yelling.
Read More
Rage Against the Regime: Voices from the Iranian Underground Music Scene
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 More
Dispatches from the Borderlands: Missing Voices
Many churches have relied on migrant populations—but they are silent on immigration reform…
Read More
RDPulpit: No Time for Lukewarm Economic Reform
New dimensions of criminality and injustice in the world of finance are revealed every day. So why are religious progressives—who know a thing or two about revelation—still posing, equivocating, and trimming around the edges while poor people suffer at the hands of a predator elite?
Read More
The Incredible Shrinking Catholic Church
Benedict’s ecclesial acceptance of someone most thoughtful people wouldn’t invite to a cocktail party showed a disregard of the sensibilities of his own flock.
Read MoreToo Little, Too Late?
The Pope has backtracked a bit on his reinstatement of a Holocaust-denying bishop, but that doesn’t change his fundamentally anti-Modern perspective.
Read More