Latest Articles

Since Charles William Eliot's future is our past, it's easy for us to see where his prophecy missed the mark. But could we do better?

Also protesting President Robert Mugabe, Archbishop of York John Sentamu hasn't worn a clerical collar in nine years.

Tim LaHaye, a creator of the Left Behind series, who was once named the most influential American evangelical, died July 25 in the San Diego area at age 90 after a recent stroke....

The realization came to me while watching the “Mothers of the Movement” speaking at the Democratic National Convention. These mothers of children who had died too young and too violently, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and more, had come to Philadelphia to speak. Sandra Bland’s mom was leading them off with words of faith and grace. And that’s when I thought about Donald Trump’s speech at his own convention last week, and about the overarching message of fear, intolerance, and negativity that has come to define his campaign.

“Make America Safe Again,” said the signs and speakers on the first night of the Republican National Convention. The desire to feel and be safe crosses political boundaries; it informs a litany of human actions. Yet the very concept seems unexamined. What makes for safety? Is it the same as feeling safe? Is it the same as comfort?

According to some Mormon traditions, God and Jesus have made babies—God with the Heavenly Mother, and Jesus with one of his wives.

American Christianity has faced theological-political crises before. Repeatedly, visions of what is possible for the nation have fallen short of reality. In the past, periods of change pushed faithful people to reconsider what they believed, not only about the nation but also about the meaning of God’s call to justice. In each critical moment, for good or ill, Americans altered their religious views, and the horizon of what was possible expanded or contracted. In revolutionary America, disunity resulted from debates over whether faith required obedience to the king or a revolt.

“Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Like most children raised by Christian parents in the South, I learned that song before I learned to sing my ABCs.

Belief in the incarnation places suffering bodies within the realm of Christian responsibility.

Matt grew up in the Episcopal Church. One Sunday he appeared at the altar—with his arms crossed over his chest.

Fire is a dangerous image for Jesus to use, even if he doesn’t mean it literally. What kind of God would bring fire to the earth?

My garden is cranking again this summer, and one of the most remarkable things about a garden is just how much it varies year to year. You'd think, given how much remains the same, that a garden would be a consistent thing.

What’s a miracle? How can we (frail human creatures that we are!) separate contingency—what’s possible but unpredictable, an event that seems unlikely or unintended—from miracle?

Why and how I bless my children

American civil religion is dead, to paraphrase Nietzsche. We have killed it.

A week ago I led a memorial service, a celebration of life, for a two-day old. It was excruciating, as you might imagine. It was also stunning and beautiful, as you might not imagine. Pain was real and evident, but more present was the love that surrounded these two parents and these three grandparents. That service came on the tail of four other deaths in our congregation, all women in their nineties. 

Far from being meaningless slights with minimal harm, microagressions intrude on the spiritual lives of those who are already marginalized and oppressed.

c. 2016 Religion News Service...

As a child, I followed the order of worship in the bulletin, mentally checking off each item. My eyes were on the prize.

 ...