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Pentecostal Scholars Call for Academic Freedom
A scholar of Pentecostalism tells how an academic conference became a culture war battleground, and what she plans to do about it.
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”?
Coffeehouse Churches and the ‘Party-on Messiah’: How I Lost One Leper Messiah, and Gained Another, Part 3
In this third installment of Mark Dery’s cultural critique-cum-“nonfiction novella” about a born-again teen’s transcendent encounter with Ziggy Stardust in the 1970s, our hero experiences an agape that is equal parts sanctified rapture and endorphin rush at a radical Friday night coffeehouse church. Meanwhile, the hippie Jesus of the Jesus Freaks reaches the big time in mainline protestantism.
Consumerism’s New Frontier: The Preschool Set
Recent studies show that children as young as three years old use “brand cues” to choose among food and play options—and thus is a Pandora’s toybox opened.
Sara Hurwitz’s ‘Rabba’ Title Sparks Orthodox Jewish Condemnation
Because women aren’t permitted to be rabbis in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, Sara Hurwitz was given the made-up title Mahara”t upon her ordination. A little while later, after she was quietly given the title rabba, the Orthodox Jewish world responded with condemnations.
Updated with Response: The Black Church is Dead—Long Live the Black Church
What is the black church and what does it mean to say that the black church is dead? A provocative assertion and prophetic challenge by a prominent interpreter of African-American religion occasions a lively and varied set of responses. Updated with a response to those responses by Eddie Glaude, Jr., whose article sparked the discussion.
The Mystic in the Rye: JD Salinger’s Religious Fiction
The one thing that seems able to tame even a hardened cynic like Holden Caufield, in the least overtly religious Salinger book, is an encounter with the innocence of childhood; especially children at play. It is this quest for lost innocence that defines the spiritual trajectory of Salinger’s most memorable characters. They are all teachers, parents, players, children-at-heart.
As the ‘gods’ of Hollywood descend in designer digs, religion scholars Gary Laderman and Anthea Butler discuss the divinity of celebrity in America.
Should Faith-Based Orgs Be Allowed to Discriminate in Hiring? Introducing: A New Collaboration with Bloggingheads
In this first installment, RD Contributing Editor Peter Laarman debates evangelical professor David Gushee over the Obama administration’s decision to effectively continue to allow recipients of federal faith-based funding to discriminate in hiring. In other clips, the two tangle on gay marriage, whether the Christian Right is dead, and more.
Israel Claims Holy Sites, Reignites Religious Flashpoint
Netanyahu’s decision to declare two holy sites located in the Palestinian Territories and once shared by Jews, Christians, and Muslims “national heritage sites” triggers violence and conflict.
Bedside Manners: The Broken Spirituality of Contemporary US Medical Practice
Sparked by his elderly mother’s impersonal medical care, our writer laments the fact that doctors aren’t spending nearly enough time listening to and getting to know their patients and its implications for a medical culture that focuses almost exclusively on the body; ignoring soul, spirit, and specificity.
Till There Was Rock You Only Had God: How I Lost One Leper Messiah, and Gained Another, Part 1
In this opening episode of Mark Dery's original, autobiographical essay (a “nonfiction novella”) about a suburban teen’s transcendent encounter with Ziggy Stardust, we’re introduced to David Bowie’s astro-hippie alter ego from the early 1970s, a glam-rock deity of Frankensteinian spookiness and ladyboy vulnerability.
Healed of the Sin of Religion: At Church with Sara Miles
Sara Miles was a journalist and a chef who wandered into a San Francisco church one Sunday, got religion, and stayed to start a food pantry that now feeds 600 families a week. We talked to her recently about her newest book, Jesus Freak: Feeding, Healing, Raising the Dead.
Catholic Child Neglect: DC Archdiocese Cuts Adoption Rather Than Abide Same-Sex Parents
As DC law changes to require equality for same sex couples seeking to adopt, the Catholic Church (which has been in the adoption business for generations) opts to close up shop rather than to abide by the law and treat gay and lesbian families equally.
Meet the New Haggards—Same as the Old Haggards?
Ted Haggard, one of America’s most successful megachurch preachers, was officially separated from his church back in 2006. His wife and partner, Gayle, has stuck by his side through it all and has written a new book on the experience. RD spoke with her about their former church, their evolving views on homosexuality, and the future.
When Are You Dead? Science Just Made the Work of Religion a Bit More Difficult
A new study of brain activity in those thought to be in a “vegetative” state blurs the line between life and death.
An Extravagant Welcome For All: Believe Out Loud, a Faith-Based LGBT Campaign, Launches
We know that there is a significant “uncertain middle” of mainline clergy who would show leadership on LGBT issues if they were not afraid of stirring controversy in their congregations. A new campaign aims to jump start this missing conversation and to create space in American Christianity for a true welcoming of LGBT people and their families.
New Report: More Sex in the Pulpit
While religious conservatives are vocal on issues of sexuality—from pre-marital sex to masturbation to abortion—progressive religious leaders have largely ‘abstained’ from discussing these matters in the pulpit. A new report urges more clergy education and openness on sexuality issues.
Religious Practices on Trial in Arizona: The Problem With “Experts”
New Age guru James Arthur Ray was arrested in Arizona last week, charged with manslaughter in the deadly miscarriage of a sweat lodge ritual. The news lit up with “expert” analysis, but none of it was from Indian religious leaders or practitioners. What does “expert” mean in this context?
Missionary Imposition: Idaho Baptists Charged With Kidnapping 33 Haitian Children
Had the inexperienced Idaho missionaries read so much as Haiti’s Wikipedia page they would have learned that the nation has a history of slavery, colonialism, and missions that warns against attempts to remove Haitian children from their home.