The concept of the soul has an important place in the conceptual apparatuses of towering figures of modern social thought such as Georg Simmel, W. E. B. DuBois, or György Lukács. Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, philosopher Stephen T. Asma wonders why the concept still lingers in academia despite the justified skepticism of most present-day academics.
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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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Where does Europe end and Islam begin?
by Charles GelmanIn an interview with Eren Güvercin, Olivier Roy tries to clear up some of the misconceptions that plague and exacerbate debates over the cultural commensurability of Islam and contemporary Europe.
May 11, 2010
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Jesuit university rescinds offer to sociologist
by Ruth BraunsteinMarquette University, a Catholic university run by Jesuits, has come under fire after rescinding its offer to Seattle University sociologist Jodi O'Brien to serve as Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. In a statement to The New York Times, Marquette's president, Rev. Robert A. Wild, denies that the decision was based on O'Brien's sexual orientation, instead claiming that concerns arose after the administration "found some strongly negative statements about marriage and family.” At Sexuality & Society, Shari Dworkin and Kari Lerum (who acknowledge that they are long term colleagues of Dr. O’Brien) discuss the backlash that is emerging in response to Marquette's decision.
May 12, 2010
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Cyber-theology
by Sam HanThe bulk of the debates on religion and science today focus on ethical issues regarding advances in medical science and technology, such as cloning and stem-cell research, while far less attention has been paid to the potentials of computing and artificial intelligence (though this very topic was the subject of early cyberneticist Norbert Wiener's God and Golem, Inc.). Oxford University Press, however, has just published Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality, by Robert Geraci, which attempts to articulate what the author calls a "cyber-theology."
May 17, 2010
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Sexual abuse across faith lines
by Ruth BraunsteinAt Ahead of the Trend, the blog of the Association of Religion Data Archives, religion writer David Briggs reports that sexual abuse of children in religious organizations extends beyond the Catholic Church.
May 19, 2010
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Glenn Beck’s history book club
by John SchmalzbauerWhat's the number one bestseller on Amazon.com? Give up? As of May 20, 2010, it was George Washington's Sacred Fire by Peter A. Lillback, a work arguing that our first president "was indeed a devout, practicing Christian," a view rejected by many scholars of colonial America. How did a seminary president become Amazon's bestselling author? On Tuesday, May 18, Lillback made an appearance on the Glenn Beck Program with Jerry Falwell, Jr., chancellor of Liberty University. Though the focus was on the roots of social justice, Beck took the opportunity to plug Lillback's George Washington's Sacred Fire. Lillback thanked him for the exposure.
May 21, 2010
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Coverage of a Muslim Miss USA
by Ruth BraunsteinAt the Scoop, Courtney Bender explores the media's coverage of the Miss USA pageant and finds that "reading the coverage of Rima Fakih is a bit like going down the rabbit hole."
May 21, 2010
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Shrinking no more
by John D. BoyTwo recent studies conducted by the Christian organization LifeWay Research and supervised by missiological thought leader Ed Stetzer provide an enhanced quantitative picture of the phenomenon of "church planting"---the founding of new churches---in the contemporary United States.
May 24, 2010
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Does religion unite or divide?
by Ruth BraunsteinAt Reset DOC, Marco Cesario provides an overview of a recent roundtable discussion held at the Bilgi University in Istanbul, in which participants were asked whether religion was "an integrating or dividing factor in societies of the third millennium?"
May 25, 2010
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Empty pews for some churches in Harlem
by Sam HanThe New York Times recently published an article by Trymaine Lee detailing the hard times that the smaller, less well-known African American churches in Harlem have come upon. This includes not only financial difficulty but poor attendance (which are undoubtedly linked). Both have to do with the utter absence of young people in not only these churches but many mainline Protestant churches across the country. But in Harlem, there are very local factors as to why these smaller churches are struggling.
May 25, 2010