Religious Freedom and Discrimination
- September/October 2016
- September 1, 2016
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 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 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 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 MOREShortly after the fall of the Soviet Union Samuel P. Huntington, the distinguished Harvard political scientist, postulated a “clash of civilizations” as the new paradigm in global politics. But today, 25 years later, it is increasingly clear we are actually faced with a “clash of tribalisms.” Jihadists have set Muslims more
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 +
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