A 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, […]
Not a ‘Weak Creature’ Read More »
NewsweekA 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
Fiddling While Christianity Burns Read More »
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 »
NewsweekWhat ‘stealth jihad’ doesn’t mean. Here is the latest semantic assault from the party that brought you “Islamo-facism” (circa 2005) and “Axis of Evil” (2002). The term “stealth jihad” is suddenly voguish among politically ambitious right wingers who see President
If President Obama wants to convince Americans to support the ‘Ground Zero mosque’ he needs to tie it to our personal tolerance for other faiths. With his remarks last week in support of “the mosque at Ground Zero” and his rather lame
Religious Pluralism at Ground Zero? Read More »
NewsweekA proposed mosque tests the limits of American tolerance. They have almost everything in common, including the tragedy that defines their lives. Both women were born in the Bronx and educated in Catholic schools. They married and raised kids of
War Over Ground Zero Read More »
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