The Nation of Islam at the End of the Apocalyptic Age?
Has the Nation of Islam, a tradition hinged on separatism, evolved into supporters of the President of the United States? If so, how does that affect the Nation’s ground-up community networks and sociopolitical analysis of American society?
Sex and the Chosen People: Be Fruitful and Multiply, Etc.
From essays on same-sex segregation in Orthodoxy to the Jewish case against marriage to queer theology, this collection—edited by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg—offers everything you ever wanted to know about Judaism and sexuality but were afraid to ask.
Growing Up Cult: A Memoir of Life with Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy wanted to win a Nobel prize, and to be more famous than the Dalai Lama or the Pope. Jayanti Tamm writes a book about what happens when a good guru goes bad.
Death With Dignity: Combatting Religious Opposition to Physician-Assisted Suicide
Modern medicine can prolong the lives of dying people, but in doing so it often prolongs suffering. Do religious arguments against suicide apply in these tragic cases?
Church and State in Japan: The Case of the Yasukuni Shrine
Japan, in the throes of political and financial turmoil, is still dealing with the long-running controversy over a national shrine for WWII dead.
Grassroots Faith: The Lessons of The Social Gospel
Religious progressives might be arguing now over whose voices are heard in Washington, but it takes more than an ability to gain an audience with national political elites to spawn a movement; it requires the concerted effort to build a following.
The Bible as Security Blanket, Blindfold, or Weapon
Drawing on sources as diverse as feminist theology, biblical criticism and Midrash, renowned poet Alicia Suskin Ostriker’s latest book of essays seeks to rescue the Bible from the clutches of narrow conservatism.
Response: Is the Centrist Orthodoxy True?
Mark Silk's recent analysis of the rift between the "prophets" and the "priests" of the left hinges on the assumption that reaching out to centrist evangelicals will help Democrats. But will it?
Pop-Eye: Global Jesus on Film
In this invitation to inter-cinematic dialogue, S. Brent Plate offers a Lenten season roundup of Jesus films from all across the world, and not a blue-eyed protagonist among them.
Karma Chameleon: From Zen Practitioner to Episcopal Bishop
Under fire from Conservatives, an Episcopalian Zen practitioner's shot at becoming a Bishop is in jeopardy. A stroll through Christian history puts Forrester's practices in perspective.
Hitching a Freedom Ride: Gay Ain’t the New Black…
Due to the widespread acceptance of black civil rights, some members and friends of the LGBTQ community have hitched their conceptual wagons to the black freedom struggle of the 20th century. While gay rights are no trifling matter, those eager to make comparisons may want to hold their horses.
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.
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?
Mormon Bloggernacle is No Choir
A recent RD story on Mormon Mommy Bloggers sparked debate in LDS blogs and revealed a community in transition. What exactly is the “Bloggernacle”—and are “Mormon Mommy Bloggers” a part of it? And what happens to a church built on gathering when the internet becomes the primary meeting space?
By the Way: James Dobson Departs the Scene
As the old guard retires, a generational challenge emerges for the Christian Right. Who can lead a movement whose constituency no longer agrees with its core tenets?
“Not a Fan of the Undergarments”: A Mormon Mother Blogs
A Mormon mommy blogger ponders spiritual laziness, gay marriage (fine with her), projectile vomiting, the evils of daylight savings time, and the relationship between Mormon-mom perfection and antidepressants.
RDPulpit: I Am Not A Number: Gays and Lesbians and Opinion Polls
A new poll shows that a majority of Americans support legal recognition for gay unions. Our columnist wishes they would stop taking surveys and start taking action.
Milk: Hollywood Does Gay History
While Milk does much to revive the history of the gay liberation movement, it misses a few big opportunities.
By the Way: Naming The Religious Right
Leaders of the religious right have recently begun to complain about the various names by which their movement is known. But if the shoe fits...
It’s Hard to be a Jew
A scholar of nonviolence shares his struggle with Jewish identity during a time of escalating conflict and violence in Israel.
Dreaming Cyborg Dreams: Virtual Identity and Religious Experience
The fantasy realms of online gaming become even more surreal when religion enters the scene; imagine Batman going on pilgrimage to Mecca, or a virtual crucifixion, or massive Bibles, raining from the sky.
What Does Darwin Mean to You?
An RD columnist and biologist asks a poet, a public health expert, and an evolutionary biologist how Darwin affects their beliefs.
The Birth of Un-Cool: How Disgusted Liberals Became Neoconservatives
In the same way that actual radicals were chic among left-leaning socialites in the late seventies, NASCAR and pork rinds were a mark of authenticity for conservatives throughout the Bush years. But now some Republicans are rethinking their down-market identities.
Found in Translation: How a Thirteenth-Century Islamic Poet Conquered America
The best-selling poet in America today was born in Afghanistan, practiced a form of Islam that originated in Iraq, and has been dead for 800 years. How did a white man from Tennessee, who doesn’t read a lick of Persian, make Rumi accessible to mainstream America?