ReligionDispatches - Dispatches From Religion & Theology

Jesus Loses His Freak: How I Lost One Leper Messiah, and Gained Another

Mark Dery — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:01 PDT

In this fourth 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 reckons with a conflicted Christ and watches in disgust as his beloved friday night coffee house is subsumed by the very church it served as an alternative to.

The Rundown Truth: Scientology Changes Strategy in War with Media

Hugh B. Urban — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:01 PDT

For the past half-decade, Scientology has responded to withering attacks with a variety of aggressive and secretive tactics, drawing comparisons to the CIA and FBI. After a recent report alleging the use of violence, however, the church has responded by hiring an ‘independent’ panel of editors and journalists to produce a 20-page assessment of the report.

Pentecostal Scholars Call for Academic Freedom

Arlene M. Sanchez Walsh — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:00:01 PDT

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?

Aryeh Cohen — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:00:01 PDT

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

Mark Dery — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Peter Laarman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Rachel Barenblat — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:00:01 PST

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

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:00:01 PST

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

Louis A. Ruprecht — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:01 PST

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.

Hollywood Agents of God: Are Movies the Sacred Texts of our Time?

Anthea Butler, Gary Laderman — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:00:01 PST

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

Peter Laarman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Orly Halpern — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Peter Laarman — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:00:01 PST

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

Mark Dery — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Lisa Webster — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Mary E. Hunt — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:01 PST

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?

Kathryn Joyce — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:00:01 PST

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

Arri Eisen — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Peter Laarman — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Jeanne Carstensen — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:00:01 PST

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”

Johnny P. Flynn — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:01 PST

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

Anthea Butler — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:00:01 PST

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.

Christopher Hitchens, Religious in Spite of Himself?

Eric Reitan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:01 PST

In a recent interview with a Unitarian minister, the Vanity Fair columnist seemed to be nibbling at the edges of what can only be described as spirituality, leading our author to wonder whether Christopher Hitchens isn’t the best of the New Atheists for his willingness to reject atheistic dogmas.

RDPulpit: Obama Missed the Hope in State of the Union Address

Daniel Schultz — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:00:01 PST

In this adapted excerpt from his forthcoming book, RD contributor Daniel Schultz asks whether the president’s State of the Union address will foster hope, ‘newness,’ and faith or just reinforce the base assumptions about power and the economy.

How Does an Atheist Come to Believe in God?: An Interview with Jacob Needleman

Lisa Webster — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:00:01 PST

RD’s senior editor sits down with philosopher Jacob Needleman, whose autobiography What is God? describes his journey from young Ivy-educated professor and atheist, to talk about fundamentalism, atheism, separating the sacred from religion, and why listening is the first step of every ethics.