Sightings Articles
Irony as the Form of Wisdom, and Its Limit -- W. Clark Gilpin
Irony is one of the principal forms of wisdom, as wisdom has been understood in world philosophical and spiritual traditions. Among the contributions of irony to wisdom traditions, perhaps the most important has been its counsel of humility with re...
October 16, 2014
Religion Scholars Challenge Patriot Act -- W. Clark Gilpin
On Wednesday, January 25, the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the world's largest association of scholars of religion, joined a lawsuit that challenges a key provision of the USA Patriot Act. Citing the 2004 revocation of a travel visa for noted ...
February 9, 2006
Abu Ghraib: In Search of the Prisoner's Voice — W. Clark Gilpin
In recent months, both the United States and the international community have been seared by images of U.S. soldiers engaged in the physical abuse and humiliation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. But, despite many pictures of the Abu Ghraib prisoners, th...
July 8, 2004
Marriage and Civil Society — W. Clark Gilpin
In a society that seems intent on subjecting every institution and daily practice to methodical cost-benefit analysis, the cadences of the marriage vow in the Book of Common Prayer are beginning to sound radical: ". . . for better for worse, for rich...
June 19, 2003
The Political Pretension to Grand Values — W. Clark Gilpin
Jean Bethke Elshtain, ethicist and political philosopher at the University of Chicago, has recently challenged theologians and religiously concerned citizens to rethink the relationship of war to justice in light of the war on Iraq. Building on her o...
May 15, 2003
Are Theological Schools an Asset to Civic Life? -- W. Clark Gilpin
American citizens -- even those actively involved in churches and synagogues -- are largely unaware of seminaries and divinity schools in their own cities and regions. They seldom think of theological schools as part of "the civic mix" of newspapers,...
June 8, 2001
Public Perceptions of Theological Education -- W. Clark Gilpin
What do members of the wider public know about theological education and think about the religious leaders that seminaries train? Such questions recently prompted Auburn Theological Seminary's Center for the Study of Theological Education to conduct...