At The Faith Divide, Eboo Patel weighs in on the ongoing "culture war" over the religious content of textbooks in Texas.
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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.
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A trifecta of problems
by John SchmalzbauerThree of Insider Higher Ed's most recent dispatches focus on a trifecta of problems in the academic study of religion.
February 22, 2010
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Spirit quest
by Ruth BraunsteinAt the New York Times, Charles M. Blow weighs in on new data showing that "Young adults are looking for spirituality but not necessarily through organized religion," a topic being explored in depth by the SSRC's project on Spirituality, Political Engagement, and Public Life.
February 22, 2010
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Taking stock of intelligent design
by Nathan SchneiderPhysicist Stephen Barr, at First Things, looks back on the "intelligent design" movement and asks if it has done any good for either science or religion.
February 22, 2010
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From Bush to Obama, the faith-based initiative is still all politics
by Rebecca SagerLate last week, the Brookings Institute convened a day-long conference marking the tenth anniversary of the faith-based initiative. Josh DuBois, current head of the new White House Faith and Neighborhood Council, kicked off the conference by discussing the latest White House efforts and arguing that these would mark a new kind of faith-based initiative. However, while he stressed the differences between the Bush and Obama White House efforts, there has been little actual evidence of these differences.
February 22, 2010
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Stanley Fish on religion and secular reasoning
by David WalkerIn his most recent Opinionator article at NYTimes.com, Stanley Fish comments on the epistemological and ontological assumptions made in discussions of secular law and action.
February 23, 2010
books
Faith from the NIH
by Nathan SchneiderWhen Francis Collins was appointed director of the National Institutes of Health last year, he stepped down from leading the BioLogos Foundation, which "explores, celebrates, and promotes the harmony of modern science and the Christian faith." But the position won't stop him from releasing a new book with HarperOne next month, entitled Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith.
February 25, 2010
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Economic breakdown by religious group
by Rebecca SagerWe try to understand the relationship between economics and nearly every other demographic characteristic, so why not religion? This chart from GOOD, in collaboration with Column Five Media, breaks down the main religious groups in the US by income.
February 25, 2010
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Religion at The Huffington Post
by Nathan SchneiderLaunching the new Religion section at The Huffington Post, to be edited by Paul Raushenbush, Arianna Huffington sets the tone for a courteous dialogue, "HuffPost style."
February 25, 2010
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Exploring Buddhist violence
by Kathryn ReklisMichael Jerryson discusses his new book Buddhist Warfare, co-edited with Mark Juergensmeyer, at Religion Dispatches, explaining "how the notion of a purely mystical and otherworldly Buddhism—promoted by some of the great interpreters of the tradition—denies its adherents’ humanity."
February 26, 2010