In anticipation of the Grammy Awards tonight, Neill Strauss asks, "Why do so many musical superstars think that their careers…
Competitive theism at the Grammys
culture
Culture, nature, and mediation
Matthew Engelke is right: religion is about mediation. Ironically so, because it is about the divine; but because the divine…
Muslims and their garb
A few weeks have passed since Juan Williams, the erstwhile NPR commentator, said that he gets nervous when he sees…
The quiet (ir)religion of the polite and apathetic
For many Minnesotans, religion is a private matter that shouldn’t be talked about---not even among friends. For others, it hardly…
Traditionalism and female subordination in church
In her article, "The Persistence of Patriarchy," subtitled Hard to believe, but some churches are still talking about male headship,…
Reshaping Islam’s image with… comic books?
The events of September 11th, 2001, changed the image of Islam for many in the world. The religion that, most…
Re-evaluating Flannery O’Connor
In Commentary, Terry Teachout writes that for many years, Flannery O'Connor's readers and critics failed to grasp the meaning of…
The (really) strong program
Whenever there is talk about an ‘emerging strong program’ and ‘a new sociology of religion,’ we need to keep in…
Humanists as cultural agents
Without art, Victor Shklovsky writes in "Art as Technique," "life is reckoned as nothing. Habitualization devours works, clothes, furniture, one's…
A speck, a fleck, and—voila!—a governor
Clifford Geertz said it first (riffing on Ryle): the difference between twitches and winks could only be accomplished by "sorting…