She may have won the Pulitzer Prize and had the president of the United States interview her, not the other way around, but Marilynne Robinson isn’t exactly known for having her pulse on pop culture. She doesn’t pump out hits a la novelists like John Grisham. Instead, her works emerge years apart and are quiet, enduring, and thoughtful.
Source: Patheos | Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon
Think back to the images from last year in Murrieta, California, where buses of unaccompanied minors and women with children, all fleeing violence in Central America, were blocked by angry, screaming adults. In his column about this incident, the Christian evangelical, Jim Wallis, told of a talk he had recently given on immigration to his son’s fifth-grade class in Washington, DC–a class that was racially, ethnically, and religiously diverse.
Source: Religion & Politics | Eric C. Miller
For all the media attention paid to the Religious Right, much less energy has been spent looking into its counterpart, the Religious Left. And yet, when Barack Obama first ran for president in 2008, he appealed directly to religious voters, pairing his Christian faith with his progressive politics—something his Democratic predecessors Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did as well.
Source: The Gleaner | Beth Smith
Who your neighbor is and how you should treat them were topics addressed by keynote speaker Lisa Sharon Harper at Saturday's Summit on Race, Poverty and Inequality held at the Henderson Fine Arts Center.
Source: Huffington Post | Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz
The crush of religious people I have just witnessed is staggering. Under one roof, a tapestry of faiths flock together -- Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Humanists, Jews -- congregated in a singular location to discuss some of the most pressing matters facing humanity today. But for every external difference of faith I see, this conference is harmonious. People are in good spirits. Here in Salt Lake City I attended my first Parliament of the World Religions -- the largest inter-religious conference in the world -- and I have been moved from what I have witnessed.
Source: Huffington Post | Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon
Former South Carolina governor David Beasley closed a recent three day gathering focused on Islamophobia and Religious Freedom at Temple University by reminding the thirty plus leaders gathered that Jesus commanded his followers to love their neighbor. In the tone sounding more like a preacher than a former politician, Beasley exhorted, "Jesus never said, 'Love your neighbor...
Source: Huffington Post | Tim Ward
The Parliament of the World's Religions (October 15-19, 2015 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) is the oldest, largest and the most inclusive gathering of people of all faith and traditions. This year the Parliament connects the dots between spirituality, culture and politics with major speakers such as the Dalai Lama, Dr. Karen Armstrong, Rev. Jim Wallis and Dr. Vandana Shiva, bringing their global wisdom and practice to the Parliament's theme, Reclaiming the Heart of Our Humanity.
Source: Deseret News | Marjorie Cortez
To understand the roots of poverty in the United States, look no further than the nation's criminal justice system, says Rami Nashashibi, executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network of Chicago.
Source: OnIslam | Muneeb Nasir
Thousands of people from around the world filled the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday evening for the opening ceremonies of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” said Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions to thunderous applause from the audience.
Source: National Public Radio | All Things Considered
Rev. Jim Wallis leads the Christian social justice group Sojourners. He is known for merging faith with public life, urging candidates for office to discuss moral issues in a way that transcends ideological divisions. Michel Martin talks with Wallis about his book America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Source: Deseret News | Drew Clark
If you ask a random person on the street what the First Amendment is all about, he or she is likely to say something about freedom of speech. These freedoms are part of our core national political beliefs.
Yet the very first words of the amendment address something that frequently seems beyond the core of political life: The state's attitude toward religion.
Source: Huffington Post | Jim Wallis
There is nothing we can do to reduce the growing number of mass shootings in America -- except get more people to have guns. Unbelievably, that's what conservative spokespersons and Republican presidential candidates are saying after the latest college massacre in Oregon which killed 10 and wounded 7 others.
Unacceptable.
Source: The Washington Post | Catherine Woodiwiss
NAIROBI, KENYA — In a small side hall inside a ministry building, a group of young developers and artists huddled over their laptops. Half-filled Fanta and Coke bottles sat forgotten in the center of the table as the group worked in studied concentration while gospel music played in the background. With crumpled candy wrappers lying nearby, the scene was reminiscent of a college dorm hall or cafeteria. But but rather than cramming for exams, these young Kenyans were trying to hack government corruption.
Source: The Tiger News | Saavon Smalls
While the Black Lives Matter movement officially started after George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin, the fight for true racial equality began long before then with the Civil Rights Era. Among the allies of the African American freedom activists were the Kennedy family, a large number of Jewish-Americans and notably, progressive evangelicals.
Source: Examiner.com | D. Andrew Kille
The Parliament of the World's Religions, the largest interreligious gathering in the world, will convene for its fifth modern session in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 15-19. It's been a long time coming, anticipation has been building, and thousands of participants from around the world are expected to take part in the seminars and religious practices and to hear from such internationally-respected speakers as Mairead Maguire, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Dr. Karen Armstrong, Dr. Tariq Ramadan, Dr. Eboo Patel, Chief Arvol Lookinghorse, Valarie Kaur, Dr. Arun Gandhi, Rev.
Source: Religion Dispatches | Jesse James DeConto
Religious historian Diana Butler Bass is our preeminent narrator of the decline of traditional religion and the emergence of progressive and spiritual-but-not-religious faith in the 21stcentury.
Source: Deseret News | Marjorie Cortez
On his recent visit to Utah, Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid walked briskly through the Salt Palace Convention Center, taking mental notes of the preparations for the upcomingParliament of the World's Religions.
In less than two weeks, some 10,000 devotees of 50 faith traditions from 80 countries are expected to fill the halls of the convention facility for the largest interfaith event in the world.
Source: Huffington Post | Jim Wallis
The first thing the new Pope Francis said to the world in St. Peter's Square when he accepted the papacy was "I am a sinner." In a final mass of one million people in Philadelphia, the last words Francis spoke to the American people were, "Please pray for me; don't forget!"
Source: Rome News-Tribune | Kenneth Fuller
I met with a black friend for lunch about two years ago and discussed my concerns about the status of racial harmony in our community. I had my conscience aroused over the death of young Trayvon Martin and the reaction I received from my white friends in the days following the verdict acquitting George Zimmerman. I related to my black friend that the verdict was greeted by my white friends by offers of high fives and celebration. I was stunned and saddened and did not understand the glee.
Source: Arkansas Online | John Brummett
Pope Francis is not a liberal or conservative. He transcends pedestrian labels that drive wedges in American society.
So perhaps it trivializes spirituality and religion to keep political score on the pope's visit. But it also might lend instruction and context to some of our raging debates.
So here's how I score it: In the current American political context, Pope Francis was mostly, but not exclusively, left-leaning in his address to Congress on Thursday.