If there was something off about the logo the Atlanta Falcons unveiled on social media this week, whoever runs their accounts did, uh, not see it.
Read More
After reading a recent piece this week at Religion Unplugged â headlined âAI might be conscious. If so, God help usâ â I was curious: âDoes AI have a soul?â
Read More
As the economy strains the U.S. public, pastors report increasing pressures and giving lagging behind inflation. Lifeway Researchâs annual tracking survey reveals most U.S. Protestant pastors (54%) report the economy is negatively impacting their congregation. Slightly more than a third (36%) say itâs having no impact, while 8% see a positive economic effect.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Where do you go to vote on Election Day? I am assuming that all you readers are actually voting. If you donât, itâs my solemn duty as a classically trained political scientist to tell you that your vote matters and all that. Iâve voted in a bunch of different places in my life, especially when I was in college and graduate school.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) The planned execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan sparked renewed debate among Christians over capital punishment. Catholic leaders cited church teaching opposing the death penalty, while some evangelical leaders defended it biblically. Disagreement also centered on whether televising executions promotes justice or glorifies violence.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) As some religious studies scholars argue, the charge that Hindus worship false gods and idols took hold in American national culture nearly two centuries ago. Nineteenth-century American schoolbooks, shaped by Protestant beliefs, sorted religions into âtrue and false,â treating Hindu âidolatryâ as proof of moral degradation.
Read More
Sharia, often called Islamic law, is a system of religious guidelines that inform how Muslims understand their responsibilities to God, themselves, their families and society. The Arabic word â sharia â is commonly translated as âthe wayâ or âthe path.â It refers to a way of life rooted in Islamic teachings rather than simply a collection of laws enforced by a government.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) From the Yazidis to the Rohingya, from the Uyghurs to other communities facing growing threats around the world, the use and abuse of AI, technology and social media must not go unpunished. Ignoring these new methods of persecution means that responses to such atrocities will never be adequate.
Read More
The latest grant round drew 466 applicants and includes the programâs first recipient in Arkansas, as historic houses of worship seek funding to preserve their buildings and community services.
Read More
Day after day, the senator-judges begin proceedings by asking God for the same things â truth, wisdom, justice and freedom from bias. As they prepare to decide Vice President Sara Duterteâs fate, those prayers have become an implicit measure of the responsibility they have assumed: To turn appeals for divine guidance into a verdict determined by evidence, law and conscience.
Read More
Wall Street investment banks have discovered what Southern Baptist financial ministries long have known: Dallas is a great place to do business. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are among the banks that have established or are considering major offices in Dallas. They join the headquarters of GuideStone Financial Resources and the Baptist Church Loan Corporation.
Read More
On this weekâs show, Religion Unplugged spoke with âAmerican Ramblerâ author Isaac Fitzgerald in order to separate fact from fiction in the tale of Johnny Appleseed and to understand how the writerâs own path, like the legendary figure, led to a connection with nature, an openness towards faith and a few legends of his own.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) There is also a contemporary way of eating lotus. It consists in settling in. At first, we live off our reserves: convictions, habits and certainties we acquired when we still remembered where we were going. Then we compromise.
Read More
St. Johnâs and two other Episcopal churches in Maineâs Aroostook County â St. Paulâs Episcopal Church in Fort Fairfield and Church of the Good Shepherd in Houlton â have been without a spiritual director since the priest they shared retired last year.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) A significant case the U.S. Supreme Court will hear on appeal Nov. 3 evokes major elements of this centuryâs culture wars. This public policy clash pits claims based upon venerable religious rights against modern-day LGBT rights. It involves money and taxes, the Trump Administration, politicians of both parties, the Catholic Church and an array of national organizations.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Returning to my failed flight to the mountains, my own beloved, a goddess in her own right, reminded me: âYou are a student of Hinduism, and you know that the Himalayan peaks are goddesses.â Unlike the Hindus of Nepal, the Buddhists of Bhutan keep a respective distance from the goddess and their kings always banned mountaineering in their own Himalayas.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Americans who trust science and reason more than their churchesâ teachings, but still believe in God or attend services, are also more likely to believe in magic than those who prioritize religious teachings.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) The Association of Religion Data Archives is awesome for a project like this because I can quickly find the datasets that I need to answer this question from multiple angles. I am going to use two different sources â the General Social Survey, which allows me to trace the contours of American religion all the way back to the early 1970s, and the Pew Religious Landscape Survey, which permits me to do a really deep dive on the state of Catholic retention in the last couple of years.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) AI is everywhere. While itâs undeniably omnipresent, is anyone actually home upstairs? According to one researcher, the answer is yes. For centuries, religion has held a strict monopoly on the soul. Sentience, moral agency and the âimage of Godâ have served as the sacred divide separating humanity from inanimate matter.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Political shamelessness threatens democracy by weakening leadersâ respect for ethical principles and the rule of law. Drawing on Platoâs Laws, this article explores reverence as a virtue that encourages humility, self-restraint and recognition of human limitations, arguing that responsible leadership requires accountability and respect for principles beyond personal interests.
Read More