This post is written in conjunction with the “Religion and Law in the U.S.” course dialogue project and is directed by Grace Yia-Hei Kao. During World War I, many states instituted mandatory flag pledges as a way to inculcate children with a sense of American unity and patriotism. But by the late 1930’s, close to [...]

This post is written in conjunction with the “Religion and Law in the U.S.” course dialogue project and is directed by Grace Yia-Hei Kao. “[The] Plaintiff hasn’t a ghost of a chance.” So Justice Israel Rubin of the Appellate level of the New York Supreme Court wryly said in his majority opinion in response to [...]

This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar” course and is directed by Dr. Monica A. Coleman. I begin by stating that Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us is my first introduction to author Seth Godin.  I have not read any of his other books and was not familiar with [...]

This post is written in conjunction with the “Religion and Law in the U.S.” course dialogue project and is directed by Grace Yia-Hei Kao. The relationship between medicine, religion, and law has recently become a dominant theme in the media. Outrage has been conveyed over the Obama Administration’s decision that nearly all employers cover contraceptives [...]

This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. My college math professor was one of a kind. He affectionately called his calculator “Fritz,” and would put it in his back pocket on cold mornings to warm it up. He would get one haircut [...]

This post is written in conjunction with the “Religion and Law in the U.S.” course dialogue project and is directed by Grace Yia-Hei Kao. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” With this amendment to the U.S. constitution, I and many other religious people feel welcome to practice, establish, and propagate our [...]

I first became aware of Gary Dorrien in February of 2005, when he gave a speech at Progressive Christians Uniting’s annual gala. He spoke eloquently on the subject of Empire, proffering new and challenging ideas even among a group of people who were already well aware of George W. Bush’s cabinet and the Administration’s Project [...]

The Republican primaries are giving us a foretaste of the themes the Party intends to run on in this year’s presidential campaign. It appears that at the core of the Republicans’ message will once again be an effort to portray President Obama as somehow not really a true American. Newt Gingrich has been comparing Obama’s [...]

Wangari Maathai, to the detriment of Kenya and the world, died last September. She was a storyteller, a scholar, a feminist, an advocate, and an environmentalist. She founded the Green Belt Movement, a nonprofit organization that has as its mission “to mobilize community consciousness –  using tree planting as an entry point – for self-determination, [...]

This post is written in conjunction with the “Religion and Law in the U.S.” course dialogue project and is directed by Grace Yia-Hei Kao. Upon reflecting on the topic “What is Religion”, particularly in regards to the Malnak v. Yogi case, I thought back to my days of going through Yoga Teacher training.  It was [...]