Good Reasons for Knowing Little
If an informed citizenry is crucial to a healthy democracy, the incentives against that can be remarkably rational and compelling to an average American.
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That Big Religious Freedom Case Is Not What You Think
The “biggest religious freedom case” of the Supreme Court’s current term may have more to do with the complicated relationship between courts, regulatory agencies, and state legislators than religion.
If More Treatment Is the Answer, Why Haven’t the Numbers Gone Down?
As suicide numbers increase, we continue to hear suggestions that “undertreatment” is the main problem. After two decades of rising treatment rates, could it be time to reassess?
Is Sexuality Who We Are or What We Do?
That this thing called “sexuality” ought to dictate much of our lives is hardly questioned anymore, including among Christians. But is this right or true?
Why Bad Things Must Happen to Good People
In an orderly and just world, religion would be just a cosmic vending machine. Unpredictable suffering makes true virtue possible.
Knowing Less Than We Think
In discussing civic engagement and political participation, it’s often taken for granted that Americans have a basic knowledge of what’s going on. Do they?
The Beginning and End of Slavery in America
The history of America is inextricable from the history of slavery. Following the 400th anniversary of its ending last year and today’s celebration, some thoughts in reflection.
How Social Media has Changed the Religious Experience
The experience of faith has changed a lot this decade, with some significant changes arguably arising from how faith has responded to the ascendance of the social web.
We Look to Headlines for Direction. Let’s Make Them True
We depend on headlines to quickly summarize the truth of a matter. When they do the opposite, like the Washington Post piece last week, the damage is real.
Anguishing at America’s Future? Let Christmas Console You
Is it only Jesus’ birth we celebrate at Christmas? Not if we’re paying attention to the songs we sing.
The $100 Billion ‘Mormon Church’ story: A Contextual Analysis
Major headlines this week left a vivid impression in the public mind of a major scandal uncovered in the Church of Jesus Christ. A closer, more careful look suggests otherwise.
Faith, Facts, and Freedom
We often find ourselves profoundly shaped and grounded by secular liturgies without ever fully considering their logical, moral, or spiritual implications.