religious

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

CULTURE, Journalism

Religious Lies, Conmen And Coercive Control: How Cults Corrupt Our Desire For Love And Connection

Project Mayhem is an all-male cult – but unlike the real cults that Sarah Steel writes about in Do As I Say, Project Mayhem is fictitious. It comes from the mind of Chuck Palahniuk in his masterpiece novel Fight Club, a dark exploration of contemporary masculinity that describes how a group of men come together to form a fringe group with fringe ideas – and how this can go wrong. Project Mayhem exhibits many key elements of what we see in cults. In Do As I Say, Steel (creator of the podcast Let’s Talk About Sects) explores how cults usually exhibit some of the following attributes: they have unique in-group language, they require intense work schedules of members, their leaders will often deliver endless sermons, and they will restrict access to media. Members are directed not to ask que...

Far from being anti-religious, faith and spirituality run deep in Black Lives Matter

14Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Religion

Far from being anti-religious, faith and spirituality run deep in Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matters (BLM) has been portrayed by its detractors as many things: Marxist, radical, anti-American. Added to this growing list of charges is that it is either irreligious or doing religion wrong. In late July, for instance, conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan tweeted that BLM was “incompatible” with Christianity. He isn’t alone in that belief. Despite receiving the backing of diverse faith leaders and groups, BLM has been attacked by sections of the religious right. One evangelical institution felt compelled to issue a statement warning Christians about the movement’s “Godless agenda.” Other evangelicals have gone further, accusing BLM founders of being “witches” and “operating in the demonic realm.” Joining conservative Christians are some self-proclaimed liberals and ...

John Lewis and C.T. Vivian belonged to a long tradition of religious leaders in the civil rights struggle

20Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, Religion

John Lewis and C.T. Vivian belonged to a long tradition of religious leaders in the civil rights struggle

With the deaths of Rep. John Lewis and the Rev. Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian, the U.S. has lost two civil rights greats who drew upon their faith as they pushed for equality for Black Americans. Vivian, an early adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died July 17 at the age of 95. News of his passing was followed just hours later by that of Lewis, 80, an ordained Baptist minister and towering figure in the civil rights struggle. That both men were people of the cloth is no coincidence. From the earliest times in U.S. history, religious leaders have led the struggle for liberation and racial justice for Black Americans. As an ordained minister and a historian, I see a common thread running from Black resistance in the earliest periods of slavery in the antebellum South, through the c...

The Supreme Court just expanded the ‘ministerial exception’ shielding religious employers from anti-bias laws

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

The Supreme Court just expanded the ‘ministerial exception’ shielding religious employers from anti-bias laws

Should religious employers be allowed to discriminate? When it comes to houses of worship selecting spiritual leaders, then the answer from lower courts has long been “yes.” Even if, say, a member of the clergy is dismissed on the grounds of their race, gender identity, age or disability. That’s because churches can claim a “ministerial exception” from complying with nondiscrimination laws. The Supreme Court has just expanded that exemption to cover employees at religious schools. In so doing, they may have opened the doors to faith-based providers of services such as health care and social services, as well as education, to openly discriminate against staff who may perform some religious duties. ‘Unwanted ministers’ The ruling in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru is not th...

Black religious leaders are up front and central in US protests – as they have been for the last 200 years

17Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Religion

Black religious leaders are up front and central in US protests – as they have been for the last 200 years

When the Rev. Al Sharpton implored white America to “get your knee off our necks” at the memorial of George Floyd, his words were carried by news outlets across the globe. Meanwhile in the U.S., the Rev. William J. Barber II has been an ever-present voice in the protests, prompting some to place him as the successor to past civil rights greats. That people of the cloth are at the forefront of the current protests over police brutality should not be a surprise. From the earliest times of the United States’ history, religious leaders have led the struggle for liberation and racial justice for black Americans. As an ordained minister and a historian, I see it as a common thread running through the history of the United States, from black resistance in the earliest periods of slavery in the ...

Are religious communities reviving the revival? In the US, outdoor worship has a long tradition

10Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Religion

Are religious communities reviving the revival? In the US, outdoor worship has a long tradition

Religious communities have been forced to find alternative ways to worship together during the coronavirus pandemic. For some that has meant going online, but others have turned to a distinctly non-digital practice steeped in this history of the American religious experience: outdoor worship. Prayer sessions in parking lots and services in green spaces formed part of an improvised response to the lockdown by religious leaders and they may now be part of the plan as the United States emerges from the crisis. Indeed, a team of clergy and scientists have issued a new guide suggesting, among other recommendations, that baptisms could take place in “flowing streams, lakes or in beach settings.” So are brick-and-mortar houses of worship essential? It is a question that states and courts, incl...