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Environmentalists Are Lousy Metaphysicians
Having abandoned its roots in art, the dehumanization of the world, and the metaphysical, environmentalism has made common cause with its natural enemies and arrived at a place where its holy grail is reducing carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million.
How Mormonism Built Glenn Beck
Some are familiar with Glenn Beck’s teary Mormon conversion story, but what many are not aware of is the extent to which Mormonism has given Beck key elements of his on-air personality and messaging—and how it may shape the future of American conservatism.
A Great Gulf Fixed: Implications of the Vanishing Religious Middle
Results of a new poll show that in matters of religion the right and left are in different universes. Why, then, are progressives so insistent on finding common ground?
Could a Prophet Be Confirmed to the US Department of Labor?
Two of the Obama administration’s picks to staff the Department of Labor are coming up for confirmation this week. M. Patricia Smith and Lorelei Boylan face opposition by right-wing business forces, who don’t appreciate the kind of advocacy they represent.
Republican Gomorrah Documents the Christian Right Takeover of the GOP
Despite resorting to demonization and dated paradigms, Max Blumenthal’s muckraking first book traces the fascinating history of the religious right and its web of gothic and aggressive conspiracy theories—making a convincing case that the Republican Party has been “shattered” by a right-wing religious movement.
Liberal or Literal? James Wood, Terry Eagleton, and the New Atheism
When public intellectuals spar about religion, stalemate is often the result; atheists ignore liberal elements within religious traditions, and liberals don’t do justice to difficult truth-claims, like the divinity of Jesus. Critic James Wood has had it with both camps—but does his “third way” make sense?
C Street Scandal, the Media, the Future of the Family: An Interview with Jeff Sharlet
It was a hot summer for the Family, the exclusive conservative Christian group with designs on DC power—three politicians with ties to their C Street headquarters were caught in sex scandals. Jeff Sharlet, author of the definitive book on the secretive group, talks with us about the flickering media spotlight, and the future of the Family.
Modernity’s Fraternity: What Dan Brown Gets Right
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.
“I Want My Country Back!”: The Demography of Discontent
It’s more than white republican conservative Christians who are losing confidence in Obama. A survey taken back in April reveals the roots of this season’s protests—the results are surprising.
Racing Toward Armageddon: The Three Great Religions and the Plot to End the World: An Excerpt
Finally, something Christians, Jews, and Muslims can agree on: Apocalypse. But as the theological end-time visions of the three Abrahamic faiths converge, it is not the wrath of heaven that threatens life on Earth, but all-too-human fundamentalism and fearmongering.
Along Came a Spider: What the Pope Doesn’t See
In the official “Year for Priests,” dedicated by Pope Benedict, a priest in Florida has upped the ante on clerical malfeasance, allegedly fathering a child with a stripper, and threatening the woman with violence. What will it take for the Catholic Church to begin to take responsibility for priests gone wild?
A Jew in Church? No Big Deal
In My Jesus Year a young “metrodox” Jew spends a year church-hopping in order to get perspective on his own faith. Sounds daring, but turns out to be a fairly relaxed exercise. Our reviewer proposes a much tougher challenge...
Killing One Primate to Save Another: The Ethics of Animal Rights
A disturbing story emerged this week of a scientist leaving his research out of fear for his and his family’s lives. What are our responsibilities in this area and what do our traditions have to say about it?
Religion, AIDS, & Africa, After Obama
What is the role of religion in addressing the challenges facing contemporary African cultures? A new model suggests that religious organizations may be uniquely suited to effect change.
Tea Partiers and Religious Right Court at Values Voter Summit
Judging by this past weekend’s marquee event on the conservative calendar, the center of gravity is moving from religious right to Tea Partiers, from homosexuality to taxes. A closer look, however, reveals the growing symbiosis between the two.
The Revolution Will Be Whispered: An Excerpt From Everywhere a Guest, Nowhere at Home: A New Vision of Israel and Palestine
In this lyrical excerpt, author Kim Chernin envisions a new solution that rises up from the Sinai desert nurtured by two little girls.
Jennifer’s Body and Why I Like Buffy’s Body Better
Has a hotly anticipated new horror film about a murderous cheerleader subverted the mythos of woman as the source of evil or just the opposite?
Rum and Gunpowder: How to Take Out a Vodou Doll
A scholar of the religion known as Vodou (or Voodoo, if you’re Anglo) tells how she saved a small cloth ritual object from desecration by a gang of spooked professors.
Animal Sacrifice and Sexuality in Santería
In the wake of a religious freedom victory, scholar Salvador Vidal-Ortiz discusses the concepts of “newborns,” “wives,” and the role of gays and lesbians in Santería.
Jewish “Women of the Wall” Defy Law to Pray
A powerful documentary, “Praying in Her Own Voice,” chronicles twenty years of struggle for religious equality at one of Judaism’s most sacred sites and asks: How can there be unity when half the population is silenced?