What it takes to get things done. At a post-election press conference last week, President Barack Obamaengaged in some public self-reflection. He felt “bad,” he said. The “shellacking” he and his party sustained the night before had prompted him to consider […]
Humble Pie Eating Contest Read More »
NewsweekThe neuroscientist and rationalist has made his name attacking religious faith. Who knew he was so spiritual? Sam Harris, a member of the tribe known as “the new atheists,” wishes the headline to this story said something else. How about
Sam Harris Believes in God Read More »
NewsweekA mystic and the modern woman. Lest one imagine that female achievement and ambition is a new phenomenon, the life of Hildegard von Bingen stands as a stark corrective. Hildegard lived in the 12th century. Born to a noble family,
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NewsweekThe wife of Justice Clarence Thomas is a Tea Party activist. Together, they’re the right’s new power couple. Justice Clarence Thomas probably had a ho-hum day on June 7, 2010. From time to time, the Supreme Court of the United States makes
A minister and the politics of poverty. In a political season, it’s easy for a journalist to be cynical—until David Beckmann walks into your office. Beckmann, in his blue blazer, looks like any Washington lobbyist, down to the dark circles
Sarah Palin says a new crop of conservative women will ‘rise up’ to protect their cubs. But will they? ma·ma griz·zly noun, pl. -zlies 1. Large brown bear, female of the species, native to North America with big claws. 2. A certain
Conventional wisdom in the last election cycle held that Mitt Romney could never win the hearts of America’s conservative evangelicals—the Republican base—because he’s Mormon, and evangelicals don’t consider Mormons to be properly Christian. “I don’t believe conservative Christians will vote
A new religion book and the mosque. While researching their forthcoming book about American religion, the Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam and his colleagues polled on this hypothetical question: Say a group of Buddhists wanted to build a large temple
Our State of Disgrace Read More »
NewsweekPope Benedict is hitting all the wrong notes in his trip to the United Kingdom. Ireland, where the Roman Catholic Church’s sex-abuse scandal has been the most appalling—hundreds of children molested over decades—is a short plane ride from England. And
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NewsweekA Greek Orthodox congregation has been waiting longer—and working harder—than Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to restore the church that was destroyed on September 11, 2001. Father Mark Arey won’t put it quite this way, but he doesn’t see why Muslims
The Other Religion at Ground Zero Read More »
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