Category: Social Issues
Islamophobia, Sikhophobia, and Media Profiling
In fact, the first casualty of a hate crime in post-9/11 America was a Sikh-American named Balbir Singh Sodhi. According to official reports, his murderer said he killed Sodhi because "he was dark-ski... Read More
The Wronging Of Alan Turing: Sex, Shame, and the Complexity of a Human Being
Are you reading this on a computer? Then thank the guy on the left. The prosecution of computer science pioneer Alan Turing for homosexuality under Great Britain's indecency laws is a modern example o... Read More
How a Humanist Found Redemption
“You’ll find the next patient interesting Tom, I think he is a lifer.” I grabbed the patient’s chart to assess his clinical history. As I looked up previous lab values and problems, I stumbled... Read More
How to Stay Christian in an Election Year
I was very young when I first experienced a crisis between my religion and my politics. The most vivid moment in this emerging crisis was March 19, 2003, the night before I turned 16 years old. This w... Read More
Moving from Sibling Rivalry to Religious Solidarity
As part of my navel-gazing over the notion that “I don’t not believe in God” (at least not anymore), and the logical subsequent question of whether I do believe, I’ve been thinking about what ... Read More
Including Ourselves: A Lesson from an Elevator-Ride
It’s not uncommon for kids to ask their parents about “that thing” on my head. In most instances, the parents look at me uncomfortably, embarrassed that I might be offended in some w... Read More
Keep It Up, Sisters
There seems to have been a lot of “not Catholic” labeling happening in the past few months. Earlier this month, Margaret Farley’s 2006 book Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics was... Read More
Making Room for People With Disabilities
Here in Illinois, Governor Quinn has been pushing hard to close state institutions for people with developmental disabilities, along with some prisons and state mental hospitals. There are a handful o... Read More