In the Irish Times, David Adams, an atheist, addresses the contention that religion has no place at all in modern society.

At the New Yorker's public policy blog, Think Tank, Steve Coll assesses Al Qaeda's military resilience in light of its political marginalization, and asks how American counterterrorism policy should respond to this paradox.

At Religion Dispatches, Ronald B. Neal writes about the recent resignation of Dr. Brad Braxton from his position as pastor of Riverside Church, and the implications this holds for progressive Christianity.

Glenn C. Altschuler discusses Albert Einstein's stance on secularism, Zionism, and Israel.

Rasha Elass writes at the National about the Shariah Index Project, which will rate how closely different nations adhere to the principles of Islam.

At Progressive Revival, Diana Butler Bass highlights recent stories in the news about the decline of Christian churches, and asks why.

Byron R. McCane writes about the way atheists have changed their stance in America.

In a photo essay at Tikkun Daily Blog, photographer Julia Dean and writer Jay Adler portray the American Indian Church in San Carlos, Arizona. Katharine Sontag introduces the photo essay and the wider project of which it is a part.

At God's Politics blog, Rose Marie Berger comments on a recent article in Sojourners Magazine, in which Karin Granberg-Michaelson outlines the "theological roots of whole person health care."

At the Washington Post, Anthony Shadid writes about the diverging forms of governance in Iran and Iraq, both of which have large Shi'a Muslim populations.