The Myth of “Voodoo”: A Caribbean American Response to Representations of Haiti
Notwithstanding Haiti’s Christian character, the Haitian personality, if there is one, has been nurtured by a Vodou civilization that any responsible treatment of the subject must disentangle from the Western world’s manufactured “voodoo” culture.
Haiti and the Push for Theological Questions
Preachers and public figures have often used natural disaster as an occasion to opine about God’s justice, or lack thereof. Or to make the definitive case against a divine order. But Haiti deserves to be addressed on its own terms, and in relation to the needs of those still suffering.
Once again, Pat Robertson has embarrassed the larger Christian community with his comments on Haiti, but the idea of God as a judge is deeply rooted in American religion.
“Biblical” Disaster: Understanding Religion in Haiti
Note to Pat Robertson: Haiti is not a nation of Vodou practitioners. It is, and continues to be, overwhelmingly Christian.
Into the often childish and bloody conflict between religion and science comes a humble suggestion: “Art is the New Religion.”
The Unbearable Magnetism of Watching Obama Slip on a Banana Peel
Having put himself in the spotlight the president ought to be aware of the history of the polity’s relationship to tragedy and comedy. Rise and fall.
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.