"Much has changed since this essay was published in 2008—much scary and depressing, but some—thank goodness—hopeful." In this update, Roger…
activism
“Citizen science,” environmental action, and religious pluralism
I joined Restoring Eden as a participant observer in 2016, soon after they carried out a series of citizen science…
Climate strikes as rites of mourning the future
Climate strikes are rites of mourning the future, lamenting current catastrophes, and demanding world leaders to radically reduce carbon emissions.…
Gandhi’s birthday and the American religious left
For those of us in the United States, Gandhi’s birthday is also an opportunity to reflect on how lessons from…
Reparative capitalism
What would it mean to sever philanthropy—affectively, politically—from reciprocal obligation? What would it look like to enact politics on a…
Camp conviction and the politics of religion: Or, that naked public square’s really a drag
Discussions of religion in public life usually presume two things about religious conviction: it focuses on a set of beliefs…
Conviction and humility in American Buddhist activism
Despite this image of Buddhists as quiet and humble, inward-looking rather than outward-focused, there is a long tradition of American…
Religion, secularism, and Black Lives Matter
In February 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was initially released on…
Occupy Gezi, beyond the religious-secular cleavage
The protests in Turkey started on May 27 with a modest resistance movement against the destruction of Istanbul’s Gezi Park…
An excursion through the partitions of Taksim Square
Taksim Meydanı. Partition Square. Although it has taken on potent new resonances in recent days, the name of Istanbul’s throbbing central…