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
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
Last Thanksgiving, the field of academic religious studies lost one its brightest young luminaries. Sarah Hammond had just begun her career as a professor of American religious history at the College ...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
The most fulfilling and reassuring conversation I had in the days following the 2012 election was with someone whom I deeply disagree with. As a liberal Jew from the Northeast, my beliefs about Americ...Read More
Cross-posted from Historicisms. One of the more uncomfortable aspects of the “Mormon Moment” for me was seeing LDS scripture deployed against the candidate on whose behalf I chose to exerc...Read More
Note: this essay draws on material originally published in two posts on my personal blog, Historicisms. Having just read Mark McCormack’s post, “Dialogue in the Age of Unfriending,” ...Read More
I’m posting this on Election Day, because it just occurred to me now. I’m also writing today as the only thing I can write as, sometimes: as a Christian. I hope that those of other faiths ...Read More
Like many religious persons, I have watched this presidential election with particular interest. As far as religion is concerned, this election has posed interesting dilemmas, perspectives, and...Read More
As I browsed through Facebook statuses this afternoon, I saw a new status that appeared to be going viral among people who are blind. It said, “One thing I take pride in is that my vote is priva...Read More