(OPINION) America today is a paradox: A land of both freedom and fear. For some, the journey is from fear to freedom; for others, from freedom to fear. “My way or no way” has become a mantra.
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Sadly, Richard died on Nov. 26. He left behind a wonderful wife, Caroline, and four children and many grandchildren. The most acute loss is undoubtedly theirs. He had countless friends, too, all of which are grieving his loss. He had just retired and assumed the title of director emeritus of CEME and was on the verge of enjoying a well-earned retirement filled with only the things he wanted to do when a surprise cancer diagnosis cut those plans short.
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(ANALYSIS) I can pretty much pinpoint the moment I got the inspiration for this post. I was riding my spin bike in the basement, watching a series on my phone called “Band of Brothers.” I know, I know — I should have watched it multiple times by now.
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Every December, the same chorus returns — pastors, pundits and pious influencers lamenting that Christmas has been “commercialized.” But gift-giving isn’t a betrayal of Christmas. In truth, it’s a reenactment of it. The problem is pretense, not presents. It’s when generosity becomes performance, and the spirit of giving becomes a selfie opportunity.
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The hit series “Stranger Things” has become one of the biggest shows ever streamed on Netflix. The series, featuring a nostalgic mix of 1980s pop culture, government conspiracies and creatures from another dimension, have captivated millions. “Stranger Things” is not a religious series, but reminds viewers faith can take many forms.
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(REVIEW) The rom-com is about Joan and Larry, an elderly couple who are reunited in the afterlife as their younger, happier selves. They find themselves in a waiting room where souls have just a week to decide which “eternity zone” they want to spend forever in. Larry and Joan can’t be together if he’s in “beach” world and she’s in “mountain” world.
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(OPINION) It’s popular advice for new graduates: “Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Love for one’s work, Americans are often told, is the surest route to success. As we approach the long Thanksgiving weekend with plenty of time off, many are asking the question, “Is work really a virtue?”
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(ANALYSIS) Reading these living picture books aloud at Thanksgiving allows children to meet the story in its full shape — its beauty, its failures, its moments of generosity, and its deep contradictions. They see people whose faith guided them across an ocean, and people whose spiritual practices had been rooted in this land for generations.
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(OPINION) Take a moment in this season of gratitude to pity the greedy. Consider the illness of greed and those afflicted with the inability to be satisfied. These people may never know gratitude in their relentless drive to possess and hoard.
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At a Delhi temple, Afghan Sikhs gather in prayer, their voices rising in unison, yet their hearts weighed down with longing for a homeland they were forced to leave. Among them is Daya Singh. He fled Afghanistan twice — first in 1992 when the Taliban seized control, and again in 2006 after facing persecution for being Sikh.
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(ANALYSIS) “News as we have hitherto known it has died and been laid to rest.” So wrote illustrious former BBC war correspondent Martin Bell, ending his autobiography, “War and the Death of News.” He was not writing the BBC’s obituary, but he could have been. No, he was arguing the BBC no longer knew the difference between fairness and neutrality.
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(ANALYSIS) One of the most important questions we are trying to answer in The Nones Project is: Do non-religious people have feelings of self-worth and satisfaction that are similar to traditionally religious Americans? In many ways, this may be the most important issue to address when talking about the rising share of nones in the United States.
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The U.S. designation of Nigeria as an egregious violator of religious freedoms has not gone far enough to stem violence there, top persecution watchdogs said amid an intense uptick in attacks on Christians in the African nation.
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(ANALYSIS) Nine in 10 Americans gather around a table to share food on Thanksgiving. At this polarizing moment, anything that promises to bring Americans together warrants our attention. The emphasis on the Pilgrims’ 1620 landing and 1621 feast erased a great deal of religious history and narrowed conceptions of who belongs in America — at times excluding groups such as Native Americans, Catholics and Jews.
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(ANALYSIS) During the Renaissance, it was a common motif in paintings. There would be a skull in the background or possibly an hourglass.
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(REVIEW) This makes film’s presentation feel extremely — for lack of a better word — basic. The movie, however, never figures out exactly which of these threads it wants to follow. Is it about the trials? The nature of evil and whether the Nazis were unique or not? Is it trying to educate viewers about Holocaust history, or say something new about it?
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For more than a decade, Hindu businessman Balwant Rathore and his Muslim partner Mohammad Harun have run their shop together. Then, without warning, they were told to vacate their shop. Blaming “Love Jihad”, a Hindu nationalist leader’s son ordered Muslims to leave the market.
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(ANALYSIS) Students’ sense of religious and spiritual belonging comes from everyday relationships — authentic connections and conversations that faculty and staff can help foster. I believe universities can create an environment where all students, including religious minorities, feel seen, accepted and appreciated.
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(ANALYSIS) A majority of mainline Protestant Christians voted for Donald Trump in 2024. They also supported him in 2020 and 2016. In fact, even during Barack Obama’s landslide election in 2008, the mainline was evenly divided at the ballot box.
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(OPINION) Among humanity, the opportunities for offense are endless. But if you don’t want to get trapped in this habit of spreading bile, you don’t have to. Pastor Paul Prather gives practical tips to have more peaceful, loving relationships.
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