Category: Challenges
Religious Leadership and Violence Prevention after Tucson
This month, it became clear that Americans must do more to prevent violence. A congresswoman was shot in the head in what seems to have been a politically motivated assassination attempt – only ... Read More
The Real News Story
Here’s a news headline for you: The trial begins in Phoenix today for Faleh Hassan Almaleki, the Iraqi immigrant accused of killing his daughter for becoming too Westernized. The prosecution’s arg... Read More
Dynamic Stillness
The State of Formation seeks to provide a platform for emerging religious and ethical leaders in formation. But what does it really mean to be in formation? This personal reflection looks at reconcili... Read More
Respecting the Faithful, Respecting Faith – Part 1: Strength in the Face of Despair
In January 1956, Martin Luther King was in despair. His decisions as a civil rights leader in Montgomery, Alabama were being questioned, even by former supporters. He had been receiving anonymous deat... Read More
I Accept the Other, But I Fight with My Brother: why intra-faith relations can be the biggest challenge of all
When I am invited to attend Muslim salaat (one of the five daily prayer sessions) I sit in the back with the other women. I comply with gender customs as a guest. I cover my hair under hijab without h... Read More
Going Home For Christmas (or The “I am From” Post)
The past several years have been full of change- c’est la vie, no? After returning to the States from Mexico, my wife and I stayed in the San Francisco area before moving to Boston in order to emb... Read More
An Atheist and William Connolly
William E. Connolly’s Why I Am Not a Secularist (1999) has been hailed a landmark contribution to the study of secularism and modern society. In it Connolly argues for a “refashioning” of secu... Read More
Bury the Bloody Hatchet: Secularism, Islam, and Reconciliation in Afghanistan
When the US negotiated peace with American Indians just a few years after the American Revolution, they used religiously-inspired, culturally relevant symbols to “bury the hatchet.” However, the... Read More