At Science and Religion Today, historian Randall Stephens attempts to explain the distinct and enduring religiosity of the American south.
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Announcements, events, and opportunities related to topics of interest to TIF readers are posted here. Additionally you may find round-ups of news items and brief commentary on current events.
For a listing of all of the events announcements, click here.
For a listing of announcements regarding books, click here.
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Afghanistan’s women
by Jessica PolebaumAt Reuters's Afghan Journal, Golnar Motevalli asks how reintegrating the Taliban might affect the already tenuous position women inhabit in Afghan public life.
January 29, 2010
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$4.4 million for free will
by Nathan SchneiderIn line with its professed 2010 funding priority of "Finding Free Will," the John Templeton Foundation has just awarded $4.4 million for a new project, to be led by Alfred Mele at Florida State University, for "empirical and philosophical explorations" into "Free Will: Human and Divine."
February 1, 2010
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“New” pantheism enters the Oscar race
by Kathryn ReklisAfter claiming two of the big prizes at this year’s Golden Globes (Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director – Motion Picture), James Cameron’s Avatar is on a fast track to Oscar glory, hoping to prove it has more to offer than fancy special effects and groundbreaking digital technology. Heavy-handed and lacking in originality---almost every review compares it to Dances with Wolves in space---the political overtones of the well-worn “outsider goes native in order to protect the aboriginals and regain his own spiritual equanimity” storyline have garnered less debate than its palatable pantheism and environmental spirituality.
February 1, 2010
books
This Incredible Need to Believe
by Todd KesselmanJulia Kristeva's latest work, This Incredible Need to Believe, explores the fundamental role of belief within the psyche, as it relates to structures of self-identity and the production of meaning. On this basis, she argues for a new political orientation that would address the compelling force of belief within the secular world.
February 1, 2010
events
“We Have Never Been Secular: Re-thinking the Sacred”
by Jessica PolebaumThe New School for Social Research's Department of Sociology will hold its annual graduate student conference, "We Have Never Been Secular: Re-Thinking the Sacred," in New York City on April 9, 2010. It's organizers invite graduate students to submit paper proposals by February 12, 2010.
February 1, 2010
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Mayor of southern California city wants to make town a “Christian Community”
by Rebecca SagerIn Lancaster, CA, many argue that Mayor R. Rex Parris is attempting to make the town a "Christian" community by supporting a ballot initiative that would make prayer---including prayer invoking a specific deity---mandatory at all city meetings.
February 1, 2010
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The uncertain future of Catholic dissent
by Nathan SchneiderAfter radical Catholic theologian Mary Daly's death last month, and that of Edward Schillebeeckx in December, Charlotte Allen wonders in The Wall Street Journal whether anybody is left to carry on the intellectual torch of Catholic dissent
February 2, 2010
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Is Islamic finance safe?
by Nathan SchneiderAs we've sometimes noted here, advocates have claimed that Islamic, Sharia-compliant financial products and systems are safer than conventional ones. At Davos, reports Reuters, a top regulator for the government of Qatar disagrees.
February 2, 2010
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Obama urged to skip National Prayer Breakfast
by Rebecca SagerCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has urged the President to not attend the National Prayer Breakfast, reports the Huffington Post.
February 2, 2010