Religion and forms of spirituality have continued to encapsulate individuals and society at large. Whether you associate with the dominant religions of the world — Christianity, Islam, or Judaism, or find meaning in Paganism, Hinduism, or Buddhism, religion influences our cultural and social identities. Religion became historically significant through its disputes over land ownership and cultural differences. Patriarchy and religion have heavily relied upon each other in maintaining the religious system; men have primarily instigated religious battles and crusades. Although... Read more

by Ebony A. Utley R3 Contributor  *This first appeared in the Rap and Religion Blog Not unlike the coming of a messiah, Yeezus, Kanye West’s sixth album was heavily anticipated before its release date on June 18th. In all fairness, most of that was due to an internet leak and not any inherent mystical properties of the album itself. In fact, its minimalist sound, promotion, and packaging (there is no coverart) would seem to imply that there’s less offensiveness within this... Read more

What follows is an excerpt from the book, Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas where Bono talks about Jesus Christ: Bono: My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honor. I don’t let my religious world get... Read more

Faithful readers of this blog know that I have a bugaboo about survey research that calls people who say they have no religion “unaffiliated” — as if they were just waiting to be signed up. It’s so much less ominously secular than calling them “Nones.” That’s hardly an isolated example of sociological religion-coddling, according to my colleague Barry Kosmin (director of Trinity’s Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture) and Ryan Cragun of the University of Tampa. In... Read more

In April, Dr. Monica Miller visited Washington State University to give a wonderful talk. R3 friend Dr. David J. Leonard sat down for a conversation with Dr. Miller, author of Religion and Hip Hop where they discussed her work on hip-hop, media culture, and contemporary racial discourse. In the fall, Dr. Miller will join faculty at Lehigh University. You can follow Dr. Miller on twitter @religionhiphop and Dr. Leonard on Twitter @drdavidjleonard. Read more

The Constitution of Religious Freedom: God, Politics, and the First Amendment by Dennis J. Goldford Baylor University Press , 2013 What inspired you to write The Constitution of Religious Freedom? At a practical level, I have been fascinated by the rise of Christian conservatism, and particularly the claim of what some call Christian nationalism, that America is a Christian nation, as a major factor in American politics. At a theoretical level, I have always thought that, at its broadest, politics is... Read more

Gay Americans are much less religious than the general U.S. population, and about three in 10 of them say they have felt unwelcome in a house of worship, a new study shows. The Pew Research Center’s study, released Thursday (June 13), details how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans view many of the country’s prominent faiths: in a word, unfriendly. The vast majority said Islam (84 percent); the Mormon church (83 percent); the Roman Catholic Church (79 percent); and evangelical... Read more

Why would evangelical Christians want anything to do with public schools? Judging from decades of culture war rhetoric, these are bastions of secular humanism where God and his fearers are unwelcome. School prayers — not allowed. Teaching creationism — verboten. Abstinence-only sex education — few to be found. Sharing the gospel openly — forget about it. Little wonder, then, that many evangelicals withhold their support, and kids. And through their support of conservative politicians and policies, evangelicals have been, broadly... Read more

“When I was younger, porn cost money, and water was free. What happened?” — Joke Blogger Imagine a world where you are unable to walk down the street watching sexually explicit content through your glasses. Unthinkable, at least for the pornography industry. Just as Google Glass banned pornography from its new device, so, too, are porn app developers already busy figuring out how to break into the latest technology. In a nation where close to half of adults will tell you viewing... Read more

by Andre E. Johnson R3 Editor *This is the fourth and last installment of “On the Battlefield for My Lord” series. Read the other installments here. After the capture of Fort Fisher and the Union soldiers moving further South, Turner focused more on describing black/white relations. In Smithville, North Carolina, Turner wrote that the white people “showed a bitter and chagrined countenance, while the blacks appeared timid and doubtful.” One black woman however, did not show any timidity. Turner reported... Read more