Sightings Articles
Marching Orders — James L. Evans
It may be that President Bush and his re-election campaign have finally found the limits of evangelical good will. The President's high profile faith and open acknowledgement of Jesus as his favorite political philosopher has endeared him to evangel...
July 15, 2004
Book Ends — Martin E. Marty
Sighted in The Associated Press (July 9) and, more extensively, in the New York Times (July 8) was a story about the drastic decline in the number of book readers in our society. We are becoming an ever less literate nation. There are still some re...
July 13, 2004
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
Secular in Politics, Strong in Faith — Martin E. Marty
Two republican leaders got things right, or pretty much so, during the past fortnight. I am referring to recent debates concerning religion and politics, personal faith and public policy, and private spirituality and the open parading of it. Senat...
July 5, 2004
Dumb Words?: God and the New British Artists — Spencer Dew
The New British Artist movement first made headlines this side of the Atlantic with the arrival of the "Sensation" show at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in October 1999. In the ensuing protests, some of the pieces became iconic, albeit more as fodder fo...
July 1, 2004
Dumb Words?: God and the New British Artists — Spencer Dew
The New British Artist movement first made headlines this side of the Atlantic with the arrival of the "Sensation" show at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in October 1999. In the ensuing protests, some of the pieces became iconic, albeit more as fodder fo...
July 1, 2004
My Atheist Friend: A Follow Up — Martin E. Marty
I usually hesitate to double back and revisit a just-visited theme, especially when there are so many other religion-in-culture events to sight, but last week's column prompted so many good responses that we wanted to note them. (As often mentioned, ...
June 28, 2004
Confidences — Duane R. Bidwell
A minister who is licensed by the state of Texas as a mental-health professional cannot claim First Amendment protections for a breach of confidentiality, a Texas appeals court has ruled. The case alleges that Fort Worth minister C. L. "Buddy" Wes...
June 24, 2004
Specter of Strife — Martin E. Marty
—Martin E. Marty At a recent event that commingled superstars (e.g., Rhodes and Marshall scholars, Nobel prize winners, etc.) from fifty nations, "my favorite atheist" came up with two questions for me. The first had to do with the panel on which ...
June 21, 2004
The Reagan Mantle — Martin E. Marty
Friday at 4:44, four papers on our porch sometimes provide editorial-opinion texts for Sightings on deadline day. This past Friday (June 11), President Reagan's funeral gave a theme to several, but not all. In the Chicago Tribune, Richard Norton S...