It is hardly a secret that one of America’s most religious — or to be more precise, Christian — institutions is the military. Despite the juridical and rhetorical lip service paid to the separation of church and state, the military is a place where such separation is seen as inimical to institutional interests ranging from [...]
Tags:America·Army·atheist·Barbara Hagerty·camouflage·chaplains·Christian soldiers·code·empire·euphemisms·irony·Islamic extremists·Justin Griffith·meditation·military·monks·separation of church and state·spiritual fitness·spirituality·United States
In a series of just published articles not so subtly titled Murderers and Martyrs: The Difficult Struggle of Christians in the Orient, the German newsmagazine Spiegel details the sorry plight of Christians in Egypt and Pakistan. Although the facts and reporting are unfortunately accurate, this is sure to ratchet up the already considerable levels of [...]
Tags:Bernard Lewis·Christians·colonialism·Coptic Christians·Copts·Edward Said·Egypt·essentializing·Germany·imperialism·Murderers and Martyrs·Muslims·Orient·orientalism·Pakistan·persecution·radical Islam·Spiegel
It is no secret that economic debates often have a religious flavor and similar passion; sometimes this flavor is metaphorical but other times is direct. Indeed, there many people — especially in the United States, who explicitly equate their economics with morals and religion.
Some worship at the altar of gold (the gold standard to be [...]
Tags:Adam Smith·Ben Friedman·Bill O'Reilly·David Ricardo·deism·deist·economics·Economics as a Moral Science·economy·free markets·Friedrich von Hayek·Glenn Beck·gold standard·invisible hand·Ludwig von Mises·Mike Huckabee·Milton Friedman·morals·Ron Paul·Rush Limbaugh·Sarah Palin·Theory of Moral Sentiments·Wealth of Nations
“Prepare to believe”! This is the injunction found underneath the Creation Museum’s logo, helpfully reminding us that credulity is more important than fact. What are we supposed to believe? That the biblical creation story is literally true and explains everything:
The state-of-the-art 70,000 square foot museum brings the pages of the Bible to life, casting its [...]
Tags:Abraham·Adam·Answers in Genesis·Ark Encounter·Bedrock City·biblical literalism·Brontosaurus ribs·Christians·creation·Creation Museum·creationists·Custer·dinosaurs·Eve·evolution·Flintstones·Garden of Eden·incest·Muslims·Noah's ark·Paleolithic·separation of church and state·South Dakota·theme park·Tower of Babel·young earth
In the NYT’s Art & Design section, Nicolai Ouroussoff has a fascinating report (and nice slideshow) on the controversial construction boom in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. The Saudi royals seem so impressed by Sin City’s overwhelming and kitschy architecture, they have imported Vegas sized and styled buildings to better serve the (very rich) [...]
Tags:architecture·capitalism·class·class conflict·commerce·consumerism·Grand Mosque·hajj·Islam·jihad·jihadists·kaaba·Las Vegas·Mecca·modernity·Muslims·Nicolai Ouroussoff·pilgrimage tourism·pilgrims·Saudi Arabia
This is the eye-catching title of a new book by Craig Monson, and it looks to be rollicking fun. Here is what our correspondent at The Economist has to say about this work of non-fiction:
Convents in 16th- and 17th-century Italy were largely dumping-grounds for spare women: widows, discarded mistresses, converted prostitutes and, above all, the [...]
Tags:Catholic Church·chastity·cloister·cloistering·convent·Craig Monson·dowry·Get thee to a nunn'ry·Hamlet·nunneries·nunnery·nuns·Nuns Behaving Badly·Ophelia·patriarchy·Shakespeare
Just the other day, I commented on the origin of ritual and noted that Jonathan Z. Smith sees “the thrill of coincidence” as at least a partial explanation. Before rationalists dismiss this thrill as mere superstition, Smith also notes that the same kind of coincidence resides at the heart of scholarship:
The discovery that two events, [...]
Tags:Africa·Assembly of God·Catholics·charismatics·charms·coincidence·evangelicals·exorcism·Foursquare Gospel·Geoffrey MacDonald·Glimpses of African Belief·indigenous beliefs·Johann Hari·Jonathan Z. Smith·Massachusetts·mediums·pagans·Pentecostals·possession·psychics·ritual·rituals·rosaries·saints·Salem·secret interconnection·spells·spiritual tourism·spiritualism·superstitition·The Gathering·The Masque of Africa·The Vault·transubstantiation·V.S. Naipaul·voodoo·Wicca·witchcraft
Though I have yet to view a single episode of PBS’ five part series “God in America,” I have been catching comments here and there which suggest it is worth watching. My avoidance to date is born of studied tedium — how much Cotton Mather and Ken Burns can one take in a lifetime?
Our correspondent [...]
Tags:Al-Qaeda·American evangelism·apocalypse·apocalyptic·artificial threats·atheism·Billy Graham·Brumaire·Cold War·communism·Cotton Mather·Dwight Eisenhower·farce·fear based religion·Fox News·God in America·Hegel·Karl Marx·Ken Burns·military-industrial complex·Osama bin Laden·PBS·politics of fear·propaganda·Puff Graham·Rupert Murdoch·Soul of a Nation·tragedy·Wall Street Journal·William Randolph Hearst
Sedona, Arizona is ground zero for New Age spiritual retreats and commercialization of all things New Age. For several thousand dollars, you can spend a long weekend in Sedona taking in the mystical charms of its four vortexes, all the while being shepherded in your quest by gurus such as Mark Amaru Pinkham, whose spectacular [...]
Tags:Angel Valley·Archangel Michael·Arizona·aura cleansings·chakras·commercialization·commoditization·crystals·four vortexes·gurus·Janelle Sparkman·Marc Lacey·Mark Amaru Pinkham·metaphysical·Michael Hamilton·New Age·North American Grand Prior of The International Order of Gnostic Templars·Sedona·Sedona Metaphysical Spiritual Association·spiritual consumption·spiritual retreats·Spiritual Warrior·sweat lodges·vortex·vortices
Over at Newsweek, Lisa Miller has written an insightful piece on the “Religious Studies Revival.” For undergraduates thinking about a major (or graduate school), it is a must read. Miller begins with an imaginary scene that I suppose is quite real:
“You want to major in what?” Such is the anguished cry of parents, who, having [...]
Tags:academic study of religion·Anthropology of Religion·cognitive science of religion·curriculum·doctrine·evolution of religion·history of religion·interdisciplinary·Lisa Miller·psychology of religion·religious studies departments·religious studies major·Religious Studies Revival·sociology of religion·theology
