Sightings Articles
![Students rest on the green lawn on the main quad at University of Chicago](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-06/uchicago-spring-2023-5_web.jpg?itok=M-ZA8ma3)
Sightings on Summer Hiatus
Enjoy a curated reading list until we return for Autumn Quarter in September....
June 27, 2024
![An American flag hangs in a classroom with the English alphabet on the wall behind it.](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-06/5402942501_551b46c3a4_o_drupal.jpg?itok=Pb4qRvyS)
Civil Religion as a Gateway to Christian Nationalism
The inclusion of “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was a sectarian move whose exclusionary effects are increasingly evident in today's religious landscape....
June 20, 2024
![Pro-palestine protesters with Palestinian flags and signs](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-06/janne-leimola-szf2ceg7pqk-unsplash-2_web.jpg?itok=mGC0ZvMM)
What We Write about When We Write about the War in Gaza
Ire rises when terms that have been used to characterize violence against Jews in the past are leveled against the state of Israel....
June 12, 2024
![Jürgen Moltmann stands at a podium and speaks into several microphones](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-06/congres_wereldraad_van_kerken_in_utrecht_dr_moltmann_bestanddeelnr_925-8071_web_0.jpg?itok=WZI58vZa)
The Fullness of Life: Remembering Jürgen Moltmann
The Protestant theologian's writing, like his demeanor, was humble, self-effacing, and quietly revolutionary....
June 7, 2024
![A person with long purple hair wears the pink and blue transgender flag in the style of a cape.](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-05/karollyne-videira-hubert-c6pf1cilsgg-unsplash_web.jpg?itok=R9nn6RON)
Liberalism’s Identity Irresolution
The premise of state neutrality has given rise to identitarian conflict that cannot be resolved by appeals to the fundamental rules of the social order....
May 31, 2024
![A man in a blue shirt and safety goggles adds droplets to a test tube](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-05/national-cancer-institute-dyqfoftwgxw-unsplash_web.jpg?itok=wQVVatM6)
Asking the Right Questions about Genetic Engineering
Religious voices are valuable in considering the implications of human genetic engineering....
May 22, 2024
![A pile of shiny gold coins with the letter "B" prominent on their face](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-05/kanchanara-4kjjezdyo3m-unsplash_web.jpg?itok=0H3pISGr)
The Passion of Bitcoin Jesus
In the rush to declare cryptocurrency a new religion, we risk overlooking these stories about how “old” religions are making sense of crypto....
May 15, 2024
![Figurines on a shelf](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-05/kadyn-pierce-49x42qrgumq-unsplash_web.jpg?itok=opOIrAS6)
Demon Slayer: Pop Religion and Japanese Anime
The recent anime film both draws inspiration from Japanese religions and functions as a source of inspiration for religious practices....
May 8, 2024
![Black and white image of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-05/bundesarchiv_bild_102-00652_richard_loeb_und_nathan_leopold_web.jpg?itok=KqKklZwx)
Telling the Stories of Leopold and Loeb
Thinking about Leopold and Loeb as well as their inspiration and their trial shows the importance of how we narrate the history of morality....
May 3, 2024
![Saint Catherine of Siena in white veil and crown of thorns, looking down.](/sites/default/files/styles/news_listing_featured_image/public/2024-04/franceschini_baldassare_-_st_catherine_of_siena_-_google_art_project_web.jpg?itok=h-kOEybC)
Diagnosing Saints
Identifying health issues in religious exemplars can help reduce stigma and illustrate that virtue and mental illness are not mutually exclusive, but we must hold such diagnoses lightly....