On March 10, Hindus around the world will celebrate Shivaratri (The Night of Shiva). I share these theological reflections on the occasion of this sacred festival. For centuries, Hindus have worshiped and described God through the name and form of Shiva. The name Shiva connotes kindness, benevolence and grace. Shiva is also commonly known as Shankara, meaning one who acts unceasingly for the good of all. The many names and forms of God available in the Hindu tradition are not... Read more

The History Channel’s miniseries on the Bible is a ratings blockbuster. The Bible is an incredibly important text in the history and culture of the United States, Western world and has its roots in the Eastern world. One would think that the media outlet that entitled itself the “History Channel” would be concerned about those roots. One might even think that the History Channel would endeavor to expose and explore those roots. But last night on episode two, the ill-named... Read more

Historical Boston is held together by a thin red line. Running along the city’s cobblestone sidewalks from Boston Common to the Charlestown Navy Yard, this painted path binds scattered sites related to Revolutionary-era Boston into a historic district known as the “Freedom Trail.” Seemingly every iconic moment of America’s founding is included on this red line of liberty: Bunker Hill, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s house, and the site of the Boston Massacre. But as anyone who has actually traversed the trail’s two-and-a-half-mile... Read more

When I turned 18, and was fresh out of Bnei Akiva and the Israeli state religious school system, Alice Miller had just triumphed in her struggle in the High Court, paving the way for other women who aspired to be pilots in the Israel Air Force.My generation has grown as a result of struggles like Alice Miller’s.I am grateful to these feminist women who led groundbreaking efforts, who struggled so that we as women could benefit from greater freedom and... Read more

We often ask whether religion is good for women but I think it’s just as interesting to ask “are women good for religion?” I am not sure they are at the moment. Here’s what’s been happening: women have been wanting greater roles, more leadership, greater participation and at the same time that has actually been becoming harder for them to do –leaving us with a bit of a crisis. Women have always been interested in religion and been extremely active in... Read more

Every 12 years, millions of pilgrims gather for the Kumbh Mela at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers near Allahabad, India. The pilgrims bathe in the holy waters to purify themselves of sin. The Kumbh Mela is one of the most important pilgrimages in Hinduism and the largest temporary gathering anywhere in the world. Many observers describe the Kumbh Mela as a religious fair. This description is apt. The atmosphere is as much spectacle as spiritual, with flashing... Read more

Up until now, the year’s big cable-ratings story has been the ever-growing success of zombie drama The Walking Dead on AMC. Sunday night, though, History channel had the highest-rated scripted drama on cable for the year, for the beginning of a story in which only one main character rises from the dead, and that not until nearly the end. The first two hours of History’s Mark Burnett miniseries adaptation of The Bible scored 13.1 million viewers, more than any fiction cable show... Read more

I’m a Christian and as such I consider myself as being both spiritual and religious but these quotes do seem to be potent and convey something worth pondering. Over the past few years, there’s been a notable rise in the percent of the young adult population who identify themselves as being either “spiritual but not religious”  or as“none of the above” – entirely unaffiliated spiritually. I suppose this may be related to a tendency for young adults to register as “independent” instead of... Read more

Where have I seen this before? Moses realizing his calling, leading his people, parting the Red Sea (only this time with CGI assistance); Samson, falling for Delilah; King David, marching as to war; Jesus (yet another fine-looking white guy), breathless, sexy, mouthing his beatitudes before suffering on the cross; and much, much more. Admittedly, I had not seen Noah (portrayed here by an actor with a fine Scottish brogue) deliver some of the key Creation verses from Genesis on film before, but that prologue... Read more

In his wonderful, and still relatively new, book American Heathens: Religion, Race, and Reconstruction in California (University of California Press and Huntington Library, 2012), Joshua Paddison transports us to post-Civil War California, where the meaning of citizenship is under debate. Who was American? Paddison argues that California stood at the center of the debate because of its multiethnic society, where “race” included black and white but also Indian and Chinese, where “religion” included Protestant, Catholic, and several varieties of non-Christian.... Read more