Graduate Program in ReligionJulie Zauzmer, Washington Post The name of the gathering almost sounded like an oxymoron: the “Humanist Clergy Collaboratory.” A meeting to organize religious leaders — for people who don’t believe in organized religion? “Well,” Amanda Poppei joked, “some people would say we’re not that organized.” But the humanist clergy — spiritual leaders for people who don’t like to talk about God but do like to gather for a moral purpose — are trying to get a lot more organized. The “collaboratory,” which Poppei hosted at… read more about Clergy who don’t believe in organized religion? Humanists think 2017 is their time to grow. »
Mustafa Akyol, New York Times I recently watched a curious debate that took place in 2015 at the Free Press Society of Denmark. On one side was Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician and anti-Islam campaigner whose ascendance to power was, I’m happy to say, checked by the elections in the Netherlands this month. On the other side was Flemming Rose, the journalist who angered many Muslims in 2005 by publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The crux of the debate was… read more about Is Free Speech Good for Muslims? »
(RNS) Faced with mounting criticism for its decision to give a major award to the Rev. Tim Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and one of the country’s best-known conservative Christian thinkers, Princeton Theological Seminary has reversed course and said Keller will not receive the honor. In an email to faculty and students on Wednesday morning (March 22), the president of the venerable mainline Protestant seminary, the Rev. Craig Barnes, said he remains committed to academic… read more about Princeton Theological Seminary reverses decision to honor Redeemer’s Tim Keller »
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD, NY TIMES Since he was elected in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India has played a cagey game, appeasing his party’s hard-line Hindu base while promoting secular goals of development and economic growth. Despite worrying signs that he was willing to humor Hindu extremists, Mr. Modi refrained from overtly approving violence against the nation’s Muslim minority. On Sunday, Mr. Modi revealed his hand. Emboldened by a landslide victory in recent elections in India’s… read more about Mr. Modi’s Perilous Embrace of Hindu Extremists »
By Jacob Marthaller, Washington Post Reports emerged last week that the White House will make it easier for the United States to launch drone strikes, potentially opening the door to attacks that could kill civilian bystanders. Compared to another travel ban, a new health-care law and an investigation into Russian interference in our democracy, this new drone policy attracted little public attention. But this critical policy shift in American defense stands in stark contrast with the religious values of many of our… read more about Trump’s new drone strike policy might violate centuries of Christian ethics »
By MARTIN PATRIQUIN MONTREAL — “Where is it written in the criminal code that I don’t have the right to leave someone a pig’s head? Is it Islamophobic? Well, no, it’s just an anodyne gesture.” So said the Quebec City radio host Éric Duhaime last summer, two days after a pig’s head was left on the doorstep of the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, the city’s largest mosque. The severed bloodied head was wrapped in cellophane and festooned with ribbons. The culprits were never caught, though Mr. Duhaime was quick to come to… read more about Failing Quebec’s Muslims »
By Tom Gjelten WASHINGTON -- The collision of two core American values — freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination — is prompting a showdown in legislatures and courts across the country. For some conservatives, religious freedom means the right to act on their opposition to same-sex marriage and other practices that go against their beliefs. LGBT advocates and their allies, meanwhile, say no one in the United States should face discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Click here to read more. read more about In Religious Freedom Debate, 2 American Values Clash »
By Julie Zauzmer BOSTON — In humans’ mysterious journey to become intelligent, socializing creatures like no other in the animal world, one innovation played an essential role: religion. That’s the theory that a preeminent evolutionary scientist is setting out to prove. Click here to read more. read more about A scientist’s new theory: Religion was key to humans’ social evolution »
By David Leonhardt My late father and I had a friendly running debate about anti-Semistism. He had experienced some nasty anti-Semitic teasing as a child in the 1950s. And when a high-profile incident happened in the United States during his adult life, he’d often express a concern that it signaled the start of a resurgence. I’ve experienced no meaningful anti-Semitism in my life, save the occasional hateful reader email. When he expressed alarm, I would reply with optimism: Wide-scale American anti-Semitism was a… read more about The New American Anti-Semitism »
By Julie Zauzmer Almost 30 years ago, Reid Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church followed a path trod by many a congregation, a business and a family — out of Washington and into the suburbs. Today, the church is charting a new course: a return to the heart of the city. The District is growing by about 900 people every month. And so this megachurch, with more than 15,000 members at its two suburban locations in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, wants to be where the people are. Click here to read more. read more about After following its congregation to the suburbs, this church is heading back to the city »
By Jim Wallis Many people in our nation, and indeed around the world, are scared by the things happening in Washington. Those most affected by the actions of this administration are especially afraid. But today, we announce a plan of action in response. Immigrant families are faced with an administration crackdown on undocumented people. Children are afraid to go to school, families are avoiding medical facilities, and some people have expressed their fears of even going to church where they might be targeted and… read more about People of Faith Are Pledging to Protect People Under Threat by Trump’s New Policies »
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) Pope Francis appeared to back Native Americans seeking to halt part of the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying indigenous cultures have a right to defend “their ancestral relationship to the earth.” The Latin American pope, who has often strongly defended indigenous rights since his election in 2013, made his comments on protection of native lands to representative of tribes attending the Indigenous Peoples Forum in Rome on Wednesday (Feb. 15). While he did not name the pipeline, he used strong and clear… read more about Pope appears to back native tribes in Dakota Pipeline conflict »
On Feb. 11, more than 80,000 people gathered in Raleigh, N.C., for the largest Moral Monday march yet — challenging Trumpism in Washington, D.C., and legislative overreach in our state. More important than the numbers, though, are people’s convictions: Principle, not party, is the reason why we march. We march because our deepest religious traditions have trained our bodies to stand up in the face of injustice. Read more from Rev. William J. Barber II here. read more about In North Carolina, the March Against Extreme Policies Is Working »
From the imagery of the divine mother in Beyonce’s performance to Busta Rhymes’s jab at President Trump’s “Muslim ban,” religion took center stage at the 2017 Grammy Awards. It’s been featured before at the awards ceremony — in gospel hymns, a mock exorcism, even a real mass marriage ceremony — but Tripp Hudgins, a doctoral student in liturgical studies and ethnomusicology at the Graduate Theological Union, noted, “What makes the religious impulse so evident this year is that this year it’s reflecting the countercultural.”… read more about Beyonce, Chance the Rapper, A Tribe Called Quest bring religion to Grammys »
New York Times -- Is President Trump trying to make enemies of the entire Muslim world? That could well happen if he follows up his primitive ban on refugees and visa holders from seven Muslim nations with an order designating the Muslim Brotherhood — perhaps the most influential Islamist group in the Middle East — as a terrorist organization. Such an order, now under consideration, would be seen by many Muslims as another attempt to vilify adherents of Islam. It appears to be part of a mission by the president and his… read more about All of Islam Isn't the Enemy »
RALEIGH -- In the face of President Donald Trump’s order that would shut down travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, and an attack last month on a mosque in Quebec, faith communities in the Triangle are working together to promote unity and peace. Trump’s executive order Jan. 27 temporarily barred immigrants, refugees and some U.S. citizens from seven countries from traveling to the United States, sparking protests across the country – including at least two in the Triangle. A federal judge in Seattle… read more about ‘Of course they’re worried’: Triangle faith groups react to Trump travel order, Canadian mosque attack »
Over the past 20 years, I have asked Christians and atheists, poets and physicists, authors and activists to speak on air about something that ultimately defies each and every one of our words. This radio adventure began in the mid-1990s, when I emerged from divinity school to find a media and political landscape in which the conversation about faith had been handed to a few strident, polarizing voices. I longed to create a conversational space that could honor the intellectual as well as the spiritual content of this… read more about Krista Tippett: Religion does not have a monopoly on faith »
(RNS) Donors have given nearly $1 million to rebuild a South Texas mosque, with many monetary and in-kind donations coming from Christians and Jews. Authorities have not declared a cause of the blaze that incinerated the Islamic Center of Victoria, about 100 miles southwest of Houston, on Saturday (Jan. 28). But many people are wondering whether the fire was a hate crime. Comments on the mosque’s online fundraiser page speak of love trumping hate, and of freedom of religion. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $972,000 had… read more about An interfaith embrace after a Texas mosque burns to the ground »
Mohsen Kadivar—a research professor of religious studies originally from Iran and now a United States permanent resident—was in Berlin, Germany for a fellowship when news broke of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigration of foreign nationals from seven countries, Iran included. Kadivar, who is also an Iranian dissident, spoke to The Chronicle about the confusion surrounding the order and his reaction to protests stateside. Read the full interview here. read more about Abroad but not alone: Religious studies professor Mohsen Kadivar describes being affected by Trump's executive order »
Observers around the world will celebrate World Religion Day Sunday, marking the 67th annual feast dedicated to spiritual unity and interfaith dialogue established by the Baha'i community. Click here for the entire article. read more about What Is World Religion Day 2017? Holiday Celebrates Spiritual Unity And Peace Between Faiths »
Graduate Program in Religion's Assistant Professor Mona Hassan, along with Assistant Professor Mustafa Tuna (Slavic & Eurasian Studies) and Associate Professor Bruce Hall (HIstory), have had their project “Triangle Seminar on the Histories of Muslim Societies & Communities,” chosen for the Fall 2016 competition of the Provost’s Intellectual Community Planning Grants. The Intellectual Community Planning Grants, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per group, are for Duke faculty interested in convening a group of… read more about Hassan's Project Chosen for Provost Competition »
Richard Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, published Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness. In Reading Backwards, Hays maps the shocking ways the four Gospel writers interpreted Israel’s Scripture to craft their literary witnesses to the Church’s one Christ. The Gospels’ scriptural imagination discovered inside the long tradition of a resilient Jewish monotheism a novel and revolutionary Christology. read more about Richard Hays Publishes New Book »
As mainline Protestant Christianity undergoes profound change and challenges, new Duke Divinity School Dean Elaine Heath says that Duke Divinity School is well placed to play a leading role in the changes that are needed in theological education. “Because of Duke’s outstanding history in preparing leaders for the church and the academy, and its anchoring in one of the top research universities in the world, we have marvelous resources with which to respond to the challenges in theological education today,” she says. As the… read more about Dean Elaine Heath: A Commitment to Shaping Leaders for Mission »
Douglas Campbell, professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, has been awarded the Duke Endowment Fellowship from the National Humanities Center. The grant of $50,000 will support work on his book, Depicting Paul: The Book of Acts and History, during the 2016–17 academic year. Campbell’s research examines the historicity of the book of Acts by comparing its depiction of Paul with evidence about the life of the apostle found in the letters attributed to him, which Campbell analyzed in his book Framing Paul: An… read more about Campbell Receives National Humanities Center Fellowship »
Omid Safi, Director of Duke's Islamic Studies Center, discusses the Orlando nightclub shooting. read more about Light Through the Wounds of Orlando »
Whether it's reducing carbon emissions or increasing solar energy, environmentalists see a need for people to change the way they treat the earth in the shadow of climate change. Likewise, some religion leaders see their faith as motivation to care better for the environment. Listen to WUNC interview with Authors Steven Jurovics and Dr. Norman Wirzba discussing ways faith intersects with the natural world. Host Frank Stasio talks with Steven Jurovics, author of Hospitable Planet: Faith, Action and Climate Change (… read more about How Religion Changes The Way We View The Natural World »
Some Duke teachers enjoy the challenge of introducing students to new fields of study. Language instructor JoAnne Van Tuyl once taught a class in Russian to French teaching assistants to help them understand what it’s like to be a student in a class teaching a language they didn’t know. Others excel in getting students to think in new ways about subjects they already think they know. Mark Goodacre of Religious Studies has earned praise for teaching the New Testament to students who often bring fairly set ideas to the… read more about Honoring Teaching, Leadership in Trinity College »
Stephen Chapman, associate professor of Old Testament, published 1 Samuel As Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary. This work offers a robustly theological and explicitly Christian reading of 1 Samuel. Chapman's commentary reveals the theological drama at the heart of that biblical book as it probes the tension between civil religion and vital religious faith through the characters of Saul and David. Watch Dr. Chapman's interview with Eerdmans. read more about Stephen Chapman Publishes New Book »
Norman Wirzba, professor of Theology, Ecology, and Agrarian Studies, published Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity. In the book, Wirzba asserts that Christianity has slid off its rightful foundation, arguing that the faith only makes sense and can only be expressed in a healthy way if it seen as based on love, with a mission of training others in the way of love. It’s often said that God is love, yet his message of compassion and caring for others is often overshadowed by the battles dividing us politically,… read more about Norman Wirzba Publishes "Way of Love" »