by Rhetoric Race and Religion Contributor Gee JoynerRainbows and Lilacs I have always wondered whether preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or the ‘gospel’ or philosophy of any deity for that matter, was a social calling of humanity or a profession– which reaps massively grotesque amounts of financial benefits. I am not sure, but I do believe some ministers tend to get into the business as a means to create a self-worth and societal relevance that they could not acquire... Read more

By EMILY BRENNANNew York Times RONNELLE ADAMS came out to his mother twice, first about his homosexuality, then about his atheism. “My mother is very devout,” said Mr. Adams, 30, a Washington resident who has published an atheist children’s book, “Aching and Praying,” but who in high school considered becoming a Baptist preacher. “She started telling me her issues with homosexuality, which were, of course, Biblical,” he said. “ ‘I just don’t care what the Bible says about that,’ I... Read more

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshhRx9ydvWG0lkNjvm8 Read more

Benedict XVI said he came to Benin, a country of eight million in West Africa, to deliver a message of hope. Throughout the Nov. 18-20 trip, he repeatedly invoked the image of Africa as a “spiritual lung” for humanity, praising its deeply religious worldview and stressing that the joy, resilience and traditional moral values of Africa are precious gifts to the world.It may seem counterintuitive that an 84-year-old German intellectual should be the Western leader most enthusiastic about Africa, yet... Read more

Let’s talk about charity. What should the federal government be doing to help those less well off? It’s an appropriate question as the nation enters the season of giving, when even the grumpiest among us silence the inner Scrooge and drop a few coppers into the donation kettle.The congressional superommittee’s recent failure to reach compromise on how to trim the national debt, be it by raising taxes on the wealthy, cutting spending or some combination of the two, provides the... Read more

So as you’ve probably figured out, I am fascinated by Asian Americans and their religions. And wherever possible I try to find the best examples that can shed light on this population because they help us to learn about how we know anything about religion today, and how we need to improve what we know. I mentioned earlier that sociologists are struggling over how to identify Asian Americans and their religious preferences in surveys. And I alluded to the problem... Read more

By Janice Shaw Crouse There is nothing edifying about our current situation, where yet another high-profile politician faces the cameras to defend himself against charges of sexual harassment. Herman Cain, Republican presidential candidate, finally stated categorically in a press conference that he has “never acted inappropriately with anyone – period.” How sad that the public, so jaded by similar protestations of innocence in the face of accusations, cannot take his words at face value. We have seen far too many... Read more

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN,  New York Times Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith will most likely cost him support in the primaries, but even Republicans with reservations about his religion would rally to his side in a general election against President Obama, according to a poll released Wednesday. The poll, by the Pew Research Center, examined the impact of religion on the 2012 election in light of claims by some analysts that a Mormon stigma is significant enough to impede Mr. Romney’s run... Read more

By Nathan SchneiderReligion Dispatches The first time I went to the American Academy of Religion conference it really got my hopes up. This was the fall of 2006 and, with only a summer in between, I’d just finished college and begun my first year of a PhD program in religious studies. The AAR was at the enormous new Washington, DC convention center. Fittingly, one of the plenary speakers was Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state who had just written... Read more

In current government policy in the UK, there is great emphasis on inter-faith dialogue, encounter and partnership, such as in the government white paper, Face to Face and Side by Side: A Framework for Partnership in our Multi-Faith Society. But while the white paper stresses the importance of social cohesion and social relationships, it lacks any account of how the very relationships it is concerned to uphold are increasingly subordinated to and undermined by the needs of the market and... Read more