Ann Taves is a professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and, this year, is serving…
The study of special experiences: An interview with Ann Taves
spirituality
Shifting drivers of change
Today, contemporary voluntary religion entails a “common-sense” epistemology that in some ways is strangely unaware of its own limits. Today’s…
Who has ‘religion’?
More and more Americans say they have no formal religious affiliation. National surveys, scholarly findings, and media coverage make that…
New poll on Americans’ unorthodox beliefs
Reuters (via FaithWorld) reports on a new Pew Forum poll that reminds us that the spectrum of Americans' spiritual beliefs…
Regulating yoga
As the Washington Post's Maria Glod reports, a group of yoga instructors in Virginia have asked a federal judge to…
Taxing yoga: exercise or spiritual practice?
Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported on a controversy that erupted over the decision by Missouri tax authorities to…
Taxing yoga: exercise or spiritual practice?
Controversy has erupted over a decision by Missouri tax authorities to require yoga centers to collect and pay a sales…
Age of spirit: An interview with Harvey Cox
In September, Harvey Cox retired after 44 years of teaching at Harvard Divinity School. Retirement, however, has not slowed him…
Spiritual machines: An interview with John Lardas Modern
John Lardas Modern, an assistant professor of religious studies at Franklin & Marshall College, draws on Beat poets, phrenologists, prison…
Unchurched believers
In 2002 we reported that the fraction of American adults with no religious preference doubled from 7 to 14 percent…