ReligionDispatches - Stories

Politics, Not Religion, At Heart of Health Care Reform Wrangle on Abortion

Sarah Posner — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Despite repeated compromises from pro-choice Democrats, anti-choice Dems threaten to kill health care reform unless all their demands are met.

A Daily Utopia: Creating Our Moral Values Every Day

Anna Peterson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:00:01 PST

The author of a new book talks to RD about the radical that lies beneath our everyday practices, whether ethics requires religion, and the “education of desire.”

Beautiful Dreamers: A Documentary Asks “What is God”?

Nathan Schneider — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Peter Rodger traveled through twenty-three countries in three years asking the same question to everyone he met, and filming, gorgeously, the results. Turns out the question—“What is God?”—reveals more than a person’s faith.

Compelled by Faith: When Prayer is Not Good For You

Mandy Van Deven — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Abby Sher collected thumbtacks and paper clips, traced the patterns on her wallpaper, and prayed fervidly to avert disaster. In another era she might have been just another pious eccentric; today she’s a recovering obsessive-compulsive who has renounced (most of) her faith.

American Fever: A Tale of Romance and Pestilence

Michael A. Elliott — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

An online novel about a flu pandemic blurs the boundaries between real “flu-blogging” and the dystopic world of its blogger protagonist. And it exposes the cultural anxiety, both religious and secular, that disease unleashes.

Hitchens Debates Conservative Evangelical: Nothing Happens

Eric Reitan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

A new documentary called <i>Collision</i> follows the collegial debate between new atheist Christopher Hitchens and conservative evangelical Doug Wilson. Spoiler alert: Neither budges and both gloat to the respective choirs they’d been preaching to. Is this the best we can do?

Religion is Not about Belief: Karen Armstrong’s The Case for God

Brian McGrath Davis — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Of all the monotheisms, Christianity has come to depend the most on the idea of belief, or doctrine. But there is a strong countertradition, now submerged, that insists that any time we say we know who God is, or what God wants, we are committing an act of heresy.

Suicide Bombers and the Prozac God: A Review of Dying for Heaven

Bruce B. Lawrence — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:00:01 PST

A new work advancing a radical theory of the motivation behind suicide bombers is almost bizarrely off the mark. Stitching together thought and observation from disparate and often dissonant sources, Georgetown theology professor Ariel Glucklich’s book would be laughable were he not a consultant to the defense community.

Good Hair, Good God! The Divine Politics of African-American Hair

Anthea Butler — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:00:01 PST

Chris Rock’s new documentary scrutinizes the politics and pathos of black hair care: from the beauty salon to the hair show, and from chemical relaxers to the Indian hair that fuels the hair weave industry.

Evolution and Creation Fight to the Death: What Emerges from the Ashes

Philip Clayton — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

You have to look long and hard in the public-square discussion today to find bilateral calls for complementarity and partnership. Yet why should the relations between evolution and creation constitute a zero-sum game?

Jesus Goes to the Dark Carnival: Hell House Gets a Makeover?

W. Scott Poole — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Evangelical-sponsored haunted houses known as “Hell Houses” were spooky attractions filled with the ghosts of the culture wars. Now, a softer, gentler version, the “Judgement House” claims to eschew politics, but does it?

A Secret History of Satan

W. Scott Poole — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

The Devil created by American culture is made in the image of American culture; our beliefs about Satan are part of a theological narrative that has shaped religion, pop culture, and even, in some cases public policy.

Decomposing Humanism: Why Replace Religion?

Austin Dacey — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Humanists are right to think that there is more to life than atheism, but wrong to think that they are the ones to provide it.

Reverend Billy For Mayor: Is He For Real?

Nathan Schneider — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:01 PDT

Performance artist or man of God? Agitator or politician? The Church of Life After Shopping’s Reverend Billy has a choir and a congregation like a preacher—does he have to be a “real” clergyman to minister to the masses?

Smelling a Secular Funk: Debating the Power of Religion in The Public Sphere

Anthony Petro — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:00:01 PDT

A supergroup of philosophers gathered in New York last week to talk about religion and public life, about the “centrality of the catastrophic” in today’s political context, and about considering the “uncommon” as opposed to “common ground” as a basis for ethics.

Mother (Nature) Will Eat You: Lars von Trier’s Antichrist

S. Brent Plate — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Von Trier’s terrifying rumination on the triad of “pain,” “grief,” and “despair” reminds us that, in contrast to the pronouncements of politicians on what is natural and normal, in nature eating one’s young is not too far out of the ordinary—especially in times of stress.

Atheists Gather in Burbank: A Humanist’s Response

Anthony B. Pinn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

An atheist convention, attended by premier nonbelievers Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, inspires some reflections on the virtue of a positive, productive humanism, rather than the anti-theism that dominates the discourse.

Good Without God: The Ethics of Atheism

Becky Garrison — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

The nonreligious population is exploding, and somebody has to minister to them. Harvard’s humanist chaplain is on the road, sharing a vision of the common good, hoping his message will resonate with theists and atheists alike.

Escalating Afghanistan: What Did You Do in the Class War, Daddy?

Peter Laarman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Don’t the clergy have a duty to challenge the march of folly in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

Mormonism’s Black Issues

Joanna Brooks — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:00:01 PDT

While many Mormons would like to forget the Church’s history of discrimination against blacks, an Apostle’s recent statements comparing the post-Proposition 8 Mormon backlash to the Civil Rights-era harassment of black voters have brought that painful past back into the spotlight.

The Good Bishop Is Right—The Time for Church Debates on Homosexuality is Past

David Gillespie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:00:01 PDT

Retired Episcopal bishop John Selby Spong has declared that he will no longer argue about the status of gay and lesbian people in the church. “There is no middle ground,” the bishop says, “between prejudice and oppression.” So much for “love the sinner, hate the sin.”

Prison as Resurrection

Caleb Smith — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

While it’s clear that prisons in this country are a disaster and a scandal, a new book delves into the system’s religious roots and the belief in the spiritual benefits of disciplinary isolation.

Vatican’s Come-Hither to Anglicans: A Theological Scandal

Mary E. Hunt — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:00:01 PDT

While the Catholic Church is touting its warm welcome to conservative Anglicans, it’s also a simple union of those who reject gay and women’s ordination.

Atlanta Falcons “Defend the Dome”: Football, Religion, and Existential Power

Kenny Smith — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

The Atlanta Falcons, defenders of the Georgia Dome, “fought, harassed, stuffed, smothered, and smacked” their way to victory last week. What is it about football that brings out such primal intensity in its fans?

The Conservative Bible Project: Looking for Conservative Diamonds in a Liberal Dung-Hill

Joseph Laycock, Thomas Fabisiak — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Andy Schlafly, son of Phyllis, wants to claim the Christian scriptures for conservatism. Why rewrite the Bible? Well, as everyone knows, Jesus is a pretty liberal dude. And everyone knows that “young girl” in Greek was really a euphemism for “bimbo.”