Sightings Articles
Blasphemy and Freedom -- Martin E. Marty
The Charlie Hebdo incident: we cannot not sight it and refrain from all comment. ...
January 12, 2015
In 2014, Marriage and Contraception Dominated US Religion News
marriage and contraception dominated 2014’s domestic religion news headlines. ...
January 8, 2015
Handel's Messiah: A Christmas Oratorio? -- Emily C. Hoyler
The Christian season of Advent abounds with traditions that have been upheld, invented, and reimagined over the centuries. In the West, one such tradition is attending Handel’s oratorio, Messiah (1741), with its famed “Hallelujah” chorus. Every Decem...
December 25, 2014
Post-War on Christmas -- Martin E. Marty
Now that the “War on Christmas” is over—its publicist, Fox News Bill O’Reilly, announced this finding last week—we can survey the post-war terrain. We consider it to be one episode in the ongoing unfolding of what Sightings keeps citing as a “religio...
December 22, 2014
The Bioethics of Euthanasia in India: Past and Present
Hinduism’s response to the question of euthanasia...
December 18, 2014
Torture in America -- Martin E. Marty
let me propose an analogy between personal and national experiences.
December 15, 2014
After Voyeurism Scandal, Questions About Orthodox Rabbis' Control of Female Conversions -- David Gottlieb
Barry Freundel, the senior rabbi at Kesher Israel, a Washington, D.C., modern Orthodox synagogue, was fired by his congregation last week, almost two months after his arrest on charges of voyeurism. Rabbi Freundel’s arrest caused a fault line to appe...
December 11, 2014
Sacred Sites -- Martin E. Marty
We have just remembered Pearl Harbor, pondered protest-worthy crises of the moment and, with an eye to international affairs, expressed reason to fear for the future. But it is also proper to keep broad perspectives, and to do our sightings in somewh...