When Shrugging is Not an Option
- May/June 2025
- April 30, 2025
France clearly has a problem with its religious minorities. But is it a cultural, political, or social problem? A few years ago France took an aggressive stance against cults and sects as part of a strategy for dealing with religious minorities. While this raised opposition around the world, there was indifference within the "hexagon" of
READ MOREAfter a rather short debate in the lower chamber of the French Parliament, the law banning symbols of religious affiliation in the public schools was adopted on February 10, 2004, with a majority of 494 votes to 36. Actually, the problem has a long history in France, reflecting certain characteristics of the political culture and
READ MOREAs a citizen of the United States, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks made me feel violated, insecure, and helpless. Ironically, some of the American government's response is also making me feel violated, insecure, and helpless. We have seen the passage of the U.S.A. Patriot Act and establishment of the new Department of Homeland Security.
READ MOREIn the public library with my children recently I spotted a DVD version of Gods and Generals. I've long had an interest in history—it was for a time my major in college—and the Civil War was an area I particularly concentrated on. Filmmakers have a tendency to rewrite history, but I couldn't resist checking out
READ MOREAs our jet descended rather noisily through thin cloud cover toward Ambon airport in the Maluku province of Indonesia, what we saw suggested a tropical paradise. Turquoise waters revealed fascinating reef patterns from the air. The jungle-covered peaks behind Ambon city matched the great curve of a bay, that in the process of defining the
READ MOREA $1,125 scholarship hardly seems worth the attention of constitutional scholars, high-priced appellate attorneys, and the Court of last resort. But that is exactly what happened when Washington Sate student Joshua Davey applied for the Washington Promise Scholarship program and then declared his double major in pastoral ministries and business management. On May 19, 2003,
READ MOREWhat is the cost of discipleship? It cost Joshua Davey $2,500 when he decided to declare a major in pastoral studies. Joshua won a Washington State scholarship based on academic achievement and financial need to pursue almost any field of study—including religion if he studied it from a dispassionate academic view at a place such
READ MORE"To preserve freedom of conscience for all its citizens in matters of religious faith and belief, Washington's constitution limits the involvement of government. It limits both the ability to regulate religious activities and to fund religious activities." With that statement, Narda Pierce, attorney for the State of Washington, began oral arguments in one of the
READ MOREIn July of last year advertisements appeared in the newspapers of Rhode Island and Maine showing a courtroom door with a sign reading "Catholics Need Not Apply." The ads had been placed by an organization called the Committee for Justice (CFJ), which is led by C. Boyden Gray, former White House counsel to President George
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