Suppose you actually do have an angel over your shoulder telling you the right thing to do. That angel probably wouldn’t tell you anything you didn’t already know. A recent study in Science aimed at uncovering how we experience morality in our everyday lives suggests that religious people are no more moral—or immoral—than non-religious people. Whether or not we believe that divine precepts give us guidance, our behavior is remarkably similar. The fact that atheists are apparently as moral as believers will... Read more

As we watch the fighters of the Islamic State (Isis) rampaging through the Middle East, tearing apart the modern nation-states of Syria and Iraq created by departing European colonialists, it may be difficult to believe we are living in the 21st century. The sight of throngs of terrified refugees and the savage and indiscriminate violence is all too reminiscent of barbarian tribes sweeping away the Roman empire, or the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan cutting a swath through China, Anatolia,... Read more

A number of studies have suggested that religion plays a critical role in black Americans’ mental health and life satisfaction, aiding their ability to cope with personal and societal stressors. However, a new study indicates that spirituality, rather than religiosity, may be the element that is essential to black women’s psychological well-being. University of Illinois researchers Tamilia D. Reed and Helen A. Neville conducted the study, which appeared recently in the Journal of Black Psychology. Reed is a doctoral student... Read more

For a while, during our adolescence in the nineties, it felt like hip-hop could answer all of life’s questions for us.  While it evolved spontaneously, it was nurtured by healthy doses of street corner intellect and convergent esoterica to such an extent that relating to hip-hop has often felt like relating to an all-knowing, all-powerful being. I had these thoughts dancing in my mind when I visited an old acquaintance in a Craighall complex the other day. I remembered once,... Read more

Nearly three-quarters of the public (72%) now thinks religion is losing influence in American life, up 5 percentage points from 2010 to the highest level in Pew Research polling over the past decade. And most people who say religion’s influence is waning see this as a bad thing. Perhaps as a consequence, a growing share of the American public wants religion to play a role in U.S. politics. The share of Americans who say churches and other houses of worship should... Read more

He’s been crowned the “new hip-hop king” and his newest album, Anomaly, topped iTunes and Amazon charts the day of its September 9 release. He’s been invited to birthday parties for both Billy Graham and Michael Jordan and riffed on NBC’s Tonight Show with host Jimmy Fallon. It’s the kind of mainstream success that has eluded most Christian rappers. Then again, some people are still trying to decide if hip-hop star Lecrae is a Christian rapper, or a rapper who... Read more

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman elected to head a national branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, announced Tuesday (Sept. 23) that she will not seek a second nine-year term in office. Her departure will likely set off debates over her legacy and the future of the 2 million-member denomination. “I believe I can best serve this church by opening the door for other bishops to more freely discern their own vocation to this ministry,” Jefferts... Read more

I believe that people should weigh their political opinions in light of their faith commitments. For those who are Christians, I also think that those faith commitments ought to be decisive. But we craft those views in a pluralistic society in which many will be unsympathetic to what we believe and, where people are sympathetic, they will often agree for completely different reasons than the ones that motivate us. Rightly, our Constitution protects them and us, and I am grateful... Read more

The past several weeks, pictures and videos of the response in Ferguson, MO to the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer have looked eerily similar to protests during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Christians from around the country got involved and insisted that the life and value of all people must be honored. While not a solely Christian movement and not one that originated in the church, the protests and voices coming out of the Ferguson... Read more

Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson have more in common than the fact that their domestic violence has become headline news. They’re both running backs in the midst of successful careers. Both have wives and child(ren). And both men are, apparently, Christians. Adrian Peterson, in his first “official” statement after being indicted by a grand jury for injury to a child, posted a photo of Bible verses to his Twitter account. Ray Rice, who was cut from the Baltimore Ravens once... Read more