Category: Social Issues
Holiday of Horrors: Halloween, Hate, and the (Dis)Honoring of Tradition
I used to love Halloween. As a child, I adored the dressing up as my favorite super heroine, rock star, animal, or – when I got a little older and fancier – donning some nice, natural looking fang... Read More
Is God Afraid of Sexuality? – Part 1
When I facilitate quarterly Interfaith Spirituality & Sexuality discussions, I often encourage people to look at the authority in their lives by simply asking, “What is the Truth? What is the Li... Read More
“Just Tell Our Story” — Dispatch from Palestine
We met Shirim at her family’s olive grove plot. It falls just outside the Betar Illit settlement. More accurately, it falls on the entire hill but the settlement imposed itself right on top of the f... Read More
The Struggle for Dalit Rights in South Asia
Have you ever had a theme assert itself over and over in a very short period of time, as if the universe was sending you cosmic hints to pay attention? In my case, the message right now involves socia... Read More
An Improvised Family: Yom Kippur with Rome’s Progressive Jews
Normally people do not go to Rome to refrain from eating. But it was Yom Kippur, and I was on my way to afternoon services at Beth Hillel, Rome’s new progressive Jewish community. My long walk to th... Read More
First Steps: A Christian’s Perspective on Ecotheology
Everyone knows about dinosaurs. I mean, dinosaurs are cool. For a species of animal that hasn’t been around several million years, they have quite the legacy. We still go to see them in museums. Kid... Read More
Buddhism>Atheism: How Religious Literacy Can Help the Air Force, Part II
Find Part I of this post here. Alexis de Tocqueville, a 19th century French historian, observed how Americans treated religion when he visited the United States. The longer he stayed, the more he real... Read More
Buddhism>Atheism? How Religious Literacy Can Help the Air Force, Part I
This is the first in a two-part post. Stay tuned for Part II. A few days ago, I visited my undergraduate university, the University of Southern California, and made a beeline for the Office of Relig... Read More