Religion, and religious institutions, are not only granted undeserved credit for their role in social movements, but are also not afforded the responsibility they deserve for the damage they inflict to the movements they infect, and the communities represented by those movements.  Christians are all too ready to yell about the involvement of Islamic organizations in the Arab Spring, yet, as Occupy Churches spring up in American tent cities, and Occupy Faith groups begin to flourish, they turn a blind... Read more

By Michael F. Bird Patheos My former post December 25th Means the Triumph of Christianity over Paganism caused a bit of an uproar in pagan circles. Just read the comments. My wife reads my blog so I won’t repeat the content of some of those comments. Across the street at the Patheos Portal, Star Foster responds in a post When Interfaith Gets Ugly, with me obviously being the “ugly”. Now I’m not exactly a chip off a chippendale, my teeth are more crooked... Read more

by Joseph KnippenbergFirst Thoughts This is a useful, if flawed, tour d’horizon of the top ten potential religion and politics flashpoints in the upcoming year. I’ll note my quibbles and quarrels in each instance.Read the list here Read more

By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor Rick Santorum rode a largely evangelical wave of support to finish eight votes behind Mitt Romney in the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday night, according to CNN entrance polls, but the evangelical bloc nonetheless appeared to be seriously splintered. Santorum garnered 34% of evangelical caucus-goers, according to entrance polls, the libertarian Ron Paul garnered 18%, while Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry each took 14% of that vote. Michele Bachmann won 6% of evangelical... Read more

Few biblical prophecies have generated as much heat as this week’s blessing of Judah: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet.” The verse following, however, adds the caveat, ad sheyavo shiloh, and therein lies the problem.The JPS Bible translates the phrase, “so that tribute shall come to him,” but admits that its meaning is actually “wholly obscure.” The first two words, ad sheyavo could also mean “until there arises…” as if to... Read more

To have so many candidates in the current campaign say faith is a significant part of their lives and has a major impact on how they think about politics and policies—this is unique.” So says Gary Scott Smith, professor of history at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. He should know. He wrote a book that examined the faith of 11 American presidents (Faith and the Presidency from George Washington to George W. Bush, Oxford University Press), and is working on... Read more

by Abdus Sattar Ghazali Where there are Muslims, there are problems.” This alarmingly sweeping comment by the New York Post best reflects the dilemma of the seven-million strong American Muslim community which remains under siege in the post-9/11 era. The New York Post comment came amid heated discussion and opposition to the proposed Sheepshead Bay (NY) Mosque. In a hard hitting article titled “New Yorkistan? Don’t rule it out!” Shavana Abruzzo wrote: “There’s no denying the elephant in the room.... Read more

When Herman Cain, a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, announced the suspension of his campaign on December 3rd, his statement included the declarations, “I am at peace with my God. I am at peace with my wife.” He suspended his campaign soon after allegations were made that he had had a long-term extramarital affair. The subtext for the first sentence, then, is something like, “My God has forgiven me” or “My God knows me and understands me” or... Read more

by Rajiv MalhotraHuffington Post In an earlier blog, I introduced the concept of mutual respect and why it is superior to the patronizing notion of “tolerance” that is typically celebrated at interfaith events. My recent book, “Being Different” (Harpercollins, 2011), is entirely about appreciating how traditions differ from one another rather than seeing them as the same. In parallel with these works, I have been in conversations and debates with numerous thinkers of traditions other than my own. One such... Read more

by Daniel White HodgeConversantLife Faith and religion within the public sphere has an interesting personality. A personality which has race and culture at the center fueling its character. Therefore, with the recent rise in fame of Denver Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow, I find it interesting how his faith and spiritual notions are being played out in the public arena. Allow me to first say that I have no problem with him “performing” his faith in a public manner. Yet, the... Read more