The Intertwined Pull of the Secular and Religious in a Divided America

February 10, 2019 By Fr. Carl Chudy

On Wednesday, January 16th, at the Adam’s Middle School in a small, bedroom community in Holliston, Massachusetts, a community conversation was held entitled, “Why Hate? Why Here? Why Now? What’s next?” The impetus of this gathering centered around the discovery of a swastika carved into the slide of the school playground. One of the panelists, Rabbi Jennifer Rudin injected, “When incidents like this happen, all that fear, rational or irrational, comes back.” Some months before, the painful memory of... Read more

Schools Shouldn’t Be Able to Legally Discriminate Against Students for Religious Reasons

January 31, 2019 By Kate Harveston

Karen Pence is America’s second lady and the wife of U.S. vice president Mike Pence. She also, quite recently, made “news” by returning to Immanuel Christian School full-time, where she previously spent 12 years as a teacher. But is this news, really? Very little here feels surprising. Immanuel Christian School does not permit LGBTQ students to enroll. It does not permit sons and daughters of the LGBTQ community to enroll, regardless of that student’s sexual orientation. It does not allow... Read more

The Problem with “Thoughts and Prayers”

January 28, 2019 By Kate Harveston

The use of the phrase “thoughts and prayers” in the wake of mass shootings and other devastation has become practically autonomic. The phrase is nothing new, but our betrayal of its meaning is an increasingly annoying phenomenon, particularly with the rise of social media. We don’t normally use it anymore to show that we’ll actually do anything. We don’t use it to signal to victims’ families that we’ll march until we can’t stand if it means delivering a better world... Read more

Kentucky College Visits Ark Encounter Using Scholarship Funds; Ken Ham Hopes to Provoke Supreme Court Battle

January 16, 2019 By Guest Contributor

“One stop along the way” on a school field trip may have been a serious breach of the Establishment Clause. Read more

Reaching ‘Faith Healers’ Is an Urgent Public Health Need. How Do We Do It?

January 10, 2019 By Kate Harveston

Our species has spent thousands of years trying to use magic to cure diseases. When these efforts appear successful, prayers of intercession get replaced by prayers of thanks. But when the recipient of prayers succumbs, when the magic fails, it’s part of a greater plan. The lessons we choose to learn from these deaths — or not learn — and the urgency they bring to our medical-scientific apparatuses are some of our greatest tests as a species. Religion can do... Read more

Why Aren’t You a Trump Supporter?

December 19, 2018 By Dale McGowan

You have your answer ready. Now for the next question. Read more

American Pluralism: Its Promises and Struggles

November 30, 2018 By Fr. Carl Chudy

On November 1 – 7, 2018, more than 10,000 people from all over the world representing more than 200 different faith traditions and spiritualities gathered at Toronto, Canada for the Parliament of World’s Religions. The 7th Parliament since 1893 in Chicago The 7th Parliament featured more than 500 programs and events across six major tracks: The Women’s Track: The Dignity of Women Across the World’s Wisdom Traditions Countering War, Hate & Violence Track: Peace and Love: Not War, Hate &... Read more

The Power of Potentialism

November 29, 2018 By Guest Contributor

We don't live in a world driven by potentialism. But we should. Read more

Christians Are Divided on the Legalization of Cannabis. Why?

November 9, 2018 By Kate Harveston

Cannabis is legal for recreational use in Canada now. It’s already far exceeding most peoples’ wildest expectations in terms of tax revenue and excitement generated. It’s a significant moment that has much of the world watching either in triumph or horror. As a nation unto itself, Christianity is split practically down the middle. Many liberal-minded Protestants tend toward supporting cannabis legalization. Some even favor additional decriminalization for other drug types as well. They see these measures as stepping stones toward a more... Read more

On Religion and Human Need

October 29, 2018 By Kate Harveston

What do people need? It’s a serious question. Apart from food, water and sleep, what do humans really need in order to be complete and satisfied? Surprisingly, nearly everybody on earth has a similar answer. The difference lies in how honest we are with ourselves about the nature of those needs, what we’re willing to do to make sure they’re met and whether we’ll ever figure out how primitive most of our needs really are. Remember learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy? Many of... Read more