No Slack for the Dalai Lama—Religious Leaders and their Fogyish Rhetoric

There’s no question religious leaders possess enormous influence over the faithful. For centuries, religious leaders like the Pope and the Dalai Lama have been seen as a beacon of hope and guidance for believers. They... Read More
The Pope Effect: Will Francis Bring Nonbelievers to the Catholic Church?

In the lead-up to Pope Francis’s long-awaited visit, not a day seems to go by without a new headline lauding the pontiff for his compassion and ingenuity. Even the humanist community may be divided on... Read More
Interfaith Dialogue Is NOT as Pointless as We Like to Think

With one sweeping generality, it’s easy (albeit unconstructive) to dismiss or invalidate an entire community’s ideas. And try as we might to take our minds off autopilot in challenging our assumptions and ideas about others,... Read More
The Secret Catholics of Jamestown

In 2010, archeologists from Preservation Virginia discovered four post holes on the Jamestown Settlement (the first successful colonial settlement in the US) which were the remains of what they believe to be the earliest church... Read More
Beer Blasphemy: “Sweet Baby Jesus” Porter Offends Customers in Cleveland

Does putting Jesus’s name on a beer bottle constitute blasphemy? That seems to be what customers of a Cleveland, Ohio, area grocery store chain think. Indeed, their complaints led the Heinen’s stores to remove “Sweet... Read More
The Slow Humanization of the Presbyterian Church

When the 1.8 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, announced last week that its policies would change to allow ministers to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies, it reminded us that... Read More
Should Public Schools Close for Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Holidays?

Public school administrators have to consider numerous factors when deciding when class ought to be in session. Add religion into the mix of considerations and rational planning becomes impossible. If compelled to balance competing claims... Read More