I attended the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia. I was amazed by the preponderance of sacred fashion statements (the hats!), the number of New Age practitioners from ...Read More
The Freudian take on religion, that it is all about sex, or more precisely all about repressed sexual urges, is hardly new. Nevertheless, it was somewhat startling when renowned sociologist of relig...Read More
I recently received an email from the fine editorial staff at State of Formation informing me that I am officially a lapsed contributor and my posting account might be deleted. This is very true. I ha...Read More
In addition to being Tu Bishvat—The New Year for the Trees, a minor holiday which has been increasing in significance due to its environmental and Kabbalistic themes, this past Shabbat happened also...Read More
I just returned from my last final of the semester. It was…unconventional, to say the least. Instead of sitting in a wood-paneled classroom for three hours getting intimate with a blue book, I spent...Read More
It was the opening day of the Texas Legislative session, and our Interfaith Service of Public Witness was off to a rocky start. A few minutes before the start time, three of the participating speakers...Read More
A man armed with guns walked into an elementary school and killed many people, most of whom were children. My hands shake even just typing such words. The news reports are still being updated, and the...Read More
When I was young, my dad used to tell us stories. The stories always involved two young children, a girl and a boy, adventurous analogues for my brother and me, who would be sent off by their parents ...Read More
This article was first published at “The Bloviating Ignoramus,” a blog for politics and culture. I understand the Church of England’s stance against the ordination of women as an example of bl...Read More
There is a beautiful Irish proverb that states, “It is in the shelter of each other that people live.” Perhaps it takes a superstorm washing away parts of your childhood, a collective of vagabonds...Read More