The Unbelieving Future of Christian Faith
Adherence to doctrine has long been a marker of faith among Christians. But what do the creeds and fine distinctions of theological argument have to do with commitment to justice?
Why David Sometimes Wins: What We Must Learn From Cesar Chavez
A new book by veteran organizer Marshall Ganz tells the sometimes triumphant, sometimes cautionary tale of the rise and fall of Cesar Chavez’s Farm Worker Movement. While the story of the movement’s successes is well known, the reasons for its decline are more mysterious—until now.
When compromise at all costs is the rule, and anyone who wants to help the poor is labeled a radical, it's time to quit looking for middle ground.
On the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen square protests, we are watching another struggle for justice on the streets of Tehran. And we remember the words of Dr. King: “No lie can live forever.”
Obama’s Pick Sotomayor Derided by Conservatives For Empathy
Conservatives insist that empathy is a touchy-feely code word for pro-choice and pro-LGBT rights. But true empathy is a form of intelligence that, according to studies, may be missing in those predisposed to authoritarian rule. Why would right-wingers be suspicious of a Supreme Court Justice with a high EQ, a trait commonly associated with women?
America, Religious Values, and the Death Penalty; Or, If it Was Good Enough for Jesus and Socrates...
The United States is still using the logic of vengeance in enforcing the death penalty, and it is the only Western country within its primary coalitions to do so. When did it start? How can it end? What is wrong with us?
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.
AIDS Progress is Paradoxical
When you consider the Pope on condoms, a hospital’s failure to follow simple precautions, and the fading of activism, we’re still coming up short in the fight against AIDS. Still, even at the intersection of AIDS and religion, the news ain't all bad.
Post-Modern Progressives, or Liberalism Ain’t What It Used To Be
With whom does one make alliances for the sake of peace in the world? Post-modern progressive theology does not compromise, but neither does it insist on a single truth. In its journey toward justice, it keeps its eye on the practical.
In a recent speech on the the economy, Obama could have stressed biblical justice; instead he opted for a “post-partisan” emphasis on firm foundations and solidarity in common cause.
RDPulpit: No Time for Lukewarm Economic Reform
New dimensions of criminality and injustice in the world of finance are revealed every day. So why are religious progressives—who know a thing or two about revelation—still posing, equivocating, and trimming around the edges while poor people suffer at the hands of a predator elite?
Women, Girls, and HIV/AIDS: Does Awareness Help?
There is a ribbon for everything, it seems. But, as we mark National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we must remember that justice requires more than simple awareness.
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.
Nonviolence: Between Our Safety And Our Ideals
Nonviolent resistance movements were part of the 20th century’s eternal contribution to human history; can those ideals be sustained and reinvigorated for a new era?
For King, the challenges of a dawning age required a recognition that globalization had produced what he called a geographical togetherness and that this togetherness very much needed a spiritual grounding.
From Yes We Can to Yes, We Did!
If King could have conceived of this day, with the coincidence of a holiday in his honor and the swearing-in of the first president of African descent, he would surely have marveled. And then he would have set us all to work.
Power, The Presidency, and Social Change
Barack Obama has proven himself a keen thinker, a good organizer, and a person with a moral sensibility that bends toward justice. But what happens to a community organizer from Chicago when he becomes president?
MLK SPECIAL: Awake From Dreaming—King to Obama
In a series of short essays, special to Religion Dispatches, religious historians, philosophers, and ethicists celebrate Obama’s place in American history while heeding Dr. King’s continued prophetic challenge for our nation.
RD10Q: Wage Theft in America: Why Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid
A leading worker justice organizer writes a book on how and why employers are stealing from the workforce, to the tune of billions every year.
Death Penalty, Debated (Dedicated to the Memory of Sarah Horowitz)
The tension between an anti-death penalty activist and her conservative father, author David Horowitz, echoes the nation’s tension.
The Cynical Use of “Freedom of Religion”
On the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we pay attention to the ways that religious groups are trying to claim that their right to religious freedom entitles them to oppress others.
Rick Warren’s Biblical Blowback
The proper role of government is to punish evildoers, Pastor Rick Warren tells Sean Hannity. If the Rev’s read is to be believed, the United States is in deep trouble.
Religion in Tension on World AIDS Day
From “God Hates Fags” to Desmond Tutu’s calls for compassion, religion has been deeply intertwined with the struggle for AIDS justice. Fully two decades after activists first challenged church authority on HIV/AIDS religion's report card is mixed.
If we allow the progressive movement to be reactive without first building the shared values and beliefs that make such actions sustainable, then our house will turn out to have been built upon sand. And when the electoral rains come, we will be washed away...
Living to See the Day: Civil Rights Leaders and Obama
Forty years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, veterans of the Civil Rights era still expected that they would not live to see an African American elected to the presidency. But iconic figures like C.T. Vivian supported Obama and believed that the arc was bending toward justice.