When Shrugging is Not an Option
- May/June 2025
- April 30, 2025
The rightful drawing—and blurring—of the line between the free exercise of one’s religion and the choices made by persons of varying sexual orientation has again become a major front in America’s continuing culture wars. Most recently a law passed by the Mississippi state legislature and signed by the state’s governor, Phil Bryant,
READ MOREFew observers of the American political scene could have predicted the prominent role religion is playing in the current 2016 presidential election. Indeed, this election might still become one of the most religiously contentious in our history. There were hints of this from the beginning. A Republican candidate launched his campaign from a
READ MOREFor years we’ve been told that Europe is secular—postmodern, godless, and even indifferent to religion. I never bought the narrative. To me the post-World War II rejection of religion was just another variation of the hedonism that followed World War I. In both cases religious identity remained even as personal faith was jettisoned. The Clinton
READ MOREOn April 28, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the matter of Obergefell v. Hodges. In a revealing moment of candor, a confession was made about the ramifications of a resulting decision that deems same-sex marriages constitutional in all 50 states. Justice Samuel Alito posed a question to U.S. solicitor general
READ MOREA story, perhaps apocryphal, made the rounds in Sweden decades ago. A Soviet apparatchik came to political leaders in Stockholm in the 1970s with one desperate question. “How have you managed to do it?” he asked. That is, How have you managed to eradicate religion? Though the Swedes hadn’t exactly eradicated religious faith,
READ MOREOf late the word “Armageddon” is popping up more and more in popular usage. “Armageddon” conjures up thoughts about the end of the world, annihilation, and utter destruction. Although there are numerous interpretations of the word found in Revelation 16:14, the precise biblical meaning seems to refer to the Hebrew phrase “har +
READ MOREAn analysis of the vision of religious freedom put forward by American philosopher and author Martha Nussbaum.
READ MOREIt is right to be concerned about the rise of religious fear in the United States. Of course that goes in spades for Europe. Fear can be displaced from one thing to another, so that nervousness about the economy can be transferred to a scapegoat group—people of another religion or nationality, for example. While fear
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