What could Obama’s take on Iranian democracy, early-modern theodicy, and twentieth-century leftist thought have in common? Despite these wide variations…
Who’s afraid of Pelagius?
politics
War crimes, politics, and being changed by faith
Although Charles Taylor is currently on trial for allegedly funding and fueling the civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone, the…
Delegation of American Muslim leaders visits Auschwitz and Dachau
In Forward, the Jewish weekly newspaper, A.J. Goodman reports on a recent trip of Muslim leaders to Auschwitz and Dachau.
Obama bears witness (to the past of a tricky phrase)
To “bear witness:” Obama’s phrase was widely quoted but not seriously analyzed. Some attacked (and some still attack) the President…
I hope you like circles
Perceptions of the environment, however intensively managed that environment may in fact be, turn into experiences of nature, self, and…
Kenya has a new constitution
In Kenya, the "yes" side was able to claim a landslide victory in a referendum on what has been heralded…
Parodic politics
Perhaps the upswing in religious individualism in this postmodern, postsecular period doesn’t herald the breakdown of community after all—nor does…
Who are the “spiritual but not religious”?
Who are the Americans who identify as “spiritual but not religious”? What unifying characteristics, qualities, and beliefs might they share?…
Religion, spirituality, and the sexual scandal
Religion and the sex scandal are still closely linked, though the targets of public outrage have morphed: it is often…
Civil earth religion versus religious nationalism
My contribution to these discussions seeks to expand the analytical horizon of the foregoing discussion of civil religion both chronologically…