Sightings Articles
Readings on Church and State — Martin E. Marty
With all the stir about "church" and "state" these days, a friend asked for a brush-up reading list for summer. I was glad to work that up, and thought it might be of interest to Sightings readers -- a bonus issue, if you will. Here are some readings...
May 4, 2005
This Side of Theocracy — Martin E. Marty
In last week's U.S. News & World Report, Michael Barone reassured readers that the United States is not "headed toward a theocracy .... [W]hether the United States is on its way to becoming a theocracy is actually a silly question" ("Faith in Our Fut...
May 2, 2005
God's Graffiti — Jeremy Biles
There's been quite a stir a few blocks from my apartment on Chicago's northwest side. According to many of the neighborhood's pious, the Blessed Virgin Mary has manifested in a most unlikely spot. On the concrete wall alongside W. Fullerton Ave., in ...
April 28, 2005
Considering Pope Benedict XVI — Martin E. Marty
Back from relative hiding on mounts and in wastelands during a papal funeral and a papal election, I have returned to the real world. Asked frequently for my take on Pope Benedict XVI, I have this to offer: -- Benedict XVI is a good choice of name...
April 25, 2005
On Common Ground — Michael Hogue
Earth Day, April 22, offers an occasion for those of us who work at the intersection of theological ethics and environmentalism to reflect on our vocation. I find that today I remain perplexed by some of the same issues that brought me into this fiel...
April 21, 2005
Furious with Frist — Martin E. Marty
Consult the Sightings archive and you will find few columns that display a preoccupation with the Christian right. Many do discuss the evangelical cohort -- fundamentalist, evangelical, Pentecostal, Southern Baptist, conservative Protestant -- becaus...
April 18, 2005
Asian Christians Witness for Peace — Samuel C. Pearson
With a theme of "Building Communities of Peace for All," the Christian Conference of Asia held its twelfth general assembly in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from March 31 to April 6. About two hundred voting delegates from Asian Christian churches conducted ...
April 14, 2005
Protestants and the Pope — Martin E. Marty
Twenty-five percent of polled Americans "prefer" being Catholic, fifty percent prefer being Protestant/Evangelical, and the rest prefer "other" -- Muslim, Jewish, Mormon, Orthodox, or none of the above. How did the Protestant half behave after Pope J...
April 11, 2005
Islam and Political Change in Central Asia — Patrick A. Hatcher
The recent revolution in Kyrgyzstan has thrust Central Asia into the headlines, if only briefly. Largely inspired by Georgia's Rose and Ukraine's Orange Revolutions, Kyrgyzstan's "Tulip Revolution" could stimulate change in neighboring republics, sev...
April 7, 2005
Making Headlines —Martin E. Marty
Never, never let go unchallenged the observations that our nation and its world used to be more religious, that citizens used to pay more attention to religion, that the media used to do more with religion than they do today. Once a year I do a reali...