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Survey Says: Mainline Clergy Lean Liberal
Conservative clergy and pundits have worked overtime to create the impression that there’s only one “Christian” position on the issues. A new survey proves otherwise.
Pretty People, Shiny Clothes: Biblical Illiteracy in NBC’s Kings
Television fails once again to do justice to the complexity of biblical narrative.
Divine Inspiration: Kings Works Wonders
Drawn from the Bible, Kings takes a risk that pays off. Plus, we get Ian McShane.
Fighting Demons, Raising the Dead, Taking Over the World
Is this still Christianity? Bruce Wilson offers a primer on what has been called “Third Wave Christianity,” a global movement now almost 300 million-strong whose adherents believe they can abolish evil from the world by hunting witches, chasing demons from city limits, and getting Sarah Palin elected.
Grasping At Straws: The Problem with Common Ground on Abortion
What could possibly be wrong with finding “common ground” on abortion, as a recent Cleveland Plain Dealer op-ed suggested? A closer look at the “commongroundniks” leaves a lot to be desired for those who don’t compromise on respect and support for women.
Pro-Life Tempest Over Obama’s Notre Dame Speech
Obama’s scheduled Notre Dame commencement has a small, largely powerless, group of Orthodox Catholics singing for publicity to an obliging media. Why did Notre Dame take the bait?
By the Way: Religious Right Losing its Grip?
College Democrats at Pat Robertson’s Regent U., Notre Dame’s refusal to rescind an invitation to the pro-choice president—younger evangelicals and Catholics are in rebellion and it doesn’t bode well for the once-commanding presence of the religious right.
Double Helix: Science & Religion as Cultural Kindling; A Response to The New Republic
A recent New Republic book review argued that science and religion cannot be reconciled. In response, biologist Arri Eisen suggests that we acknowledge the ‘pink elephant’—the thorny questions that arise when religion and science meet—and use it as an opportunity to teach and learn about the conflicting perspectives.
Plus: Let the Judicial Wars begin; Falwell Jr. warns of The Rapture; Out gays will create ‘turmoil’ in the military, says anti-gay leader, and more.
As Funny as the Times Will Allow: Obama on Late Night TV
The President tried to be funny on Jay Leno, and the joke fell flat. But it might be that this says more about us, his audience, than anything else.
Jesus, Please Take Away These Feelings
A play about gay teens steps outside the box, sparks a loud clamor in religious media, and rankles an archbishop.
Godless America? Say Hello to the ‘Apatheists’
Analyzing the data from a number of recent religion surveys reveals neither the downfall of religion nor the rise of atheism, as many have concluded.
Play to Extinction: Religious Groups Unite Against Predatory Gambling
What could James Dobson’s Focus on the Family and the League of Women Voters possibly have in common? They’re both members of a coalition to raise awareness of the devastating effects of, and to block, state-sponsored casino gambling in Massachusetts.
My Bible and the Bill of Rights
Refusing to cede religion to the right, the Born Again American campaign offers patriotism and religion in service of a liberal agenda. But is this sort of religious nationalism the answer?
RDBook: Selling the Good News
Who put the mega in megachurch? Two new books, one on star evangelicals and one that focuses on African-American televangelists, tell the story—and explain the remarkable influence of celebrity preachers in the religious marketplace.
Seeing What They Wanna See: Religion Surveys Reflect Surveyors
Religion surveys have become a battleground for the American religious marketplace—and a magnet for big money.
Darwin in Rome: Burden of Diversity, Mystery of Time
Two current exhibits in Rome hint at the disturbing subtext of Darwin’s theories and the root of religious opposition to them.
The Religious Violence of Defending Marriage
Defense of Marriage laws, now in place in over thirty-seven states, are actually a form of religious violence; they violate sacred texts, are idolatrous, and scapegoat a powerless group.
Twitter of Faith: Microblogging the Divine
Religious groups are discovering that Twitter can help to build a portable church, where believers can obey the timeworn injunction to “pray without ceasing”—or is it “tweet without ceasing”?
Sacred&Profane: ARIS Survey Gets ‘Religion’, Misses Boat
Can a survey capture the true nature of the sacred in America? What if the Super Bowl, kinky sex, science, Elvis, Viagra, and the iPhone hold the keys to understanding the sacred and its role in the lives of millions of Americans as they reckon with suffering and ecstasy, reproduction and aging, family and conflict, health and death?