Washington Post

The religious authorities and pundits are wrong: Technology is good for religion

Sikhs don’t make much religion news. They don’t go on TV announcing their intention to burn Korans; they don’t loudly forecast apocalypse; and they have not had to defend their faith as one of them races to be president of the United States. But the Sikh community caught my attention recently with the announcement of its FlyRight app, which, when …

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Mark Silk, a commentator on religion and politics who keeps above the fray

One of the smartest commentators on American politics and religion is someone you’ve probably never heard of. His wry and careful handling of flammable subjects is always admirable. But a recent blog post, which brought together three culture-wars figureheads — the Texas mega pastor Joel Osteen; New York Times columnist Ross Douthat; and Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee — in …

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Obama’s embrace of gay marriage makes for a spiritual Mother’s Day

When President Obama threw his support behind same-sex marriage, he did something much more than please the members of the LGBT community and the people who love them. He gave hope and encouragement to millions of Americans struggling to do right by their children in unconventional or nontraditional families by implicitly asserting “as a practicing Christian” that using the Bible as …

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After Vatican’s rebuke of nuns, time to hear Mary’s voice

Imagine the fury of the men of Galilee when a young, unmarried girl showed up in their village pregnant. They must have talked about punishments. Stoning — a legitimate penalty, condoned by Deuteronomy — would have been appropriate, although the more compassionate among them might have suggested something gentler: ostracism or banishment. If the girl had been allowed to speak …

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Catholic activists pushing politicians to turn tide against the death penalty

Soon, probably next week, Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy  will sign into a law a bill that abolishes the death penalty in his state. When he does, Connecticut will be the fifth state to enact such legislation in as many years — and the third with a governor who was raised Roman Catholic. As a younger man, Malloy supported the death penalty. …

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Trayvon Martin: Doing justice, having faith in social media

At first, the nationwide ‘‘hoodie’’ protest over Trayvon Martin’s death — in which Americans donned sweatshirts in solidarity with the slain teenager and his family — felt shallow and reflexive, a consumerist reaction. What’s this? I wondered. Is Abercrombie & Fitch now in the business of underwriting our moral outrage? Then I saw Bobby Rush’s performance Wednesday on the floor of the U.S. …

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Rick Santorum, cafeteria Catholic?

He has seven children, attends a Latin Mass and has driven issues of reproductive rights back into the center of American politics. In 2002, he traveled to Rome to express his support for the founder of the ultra-conservative Catholic lay movement called Opus Dei. With these boxes on his religious resume checked, Rick Santorum has convinced Americans, even those who disagree …

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