Sightings Articles

lgbtq jewish person makes hallah

Judaism | Renewal Judaism | clergy

Centering Lay Leaders in Faith Communities

Rather than wringing our hands about the lack of moral superheroes within the clergy, American rabbis should embrace the shift towards lay leaders....

June 1, 2022
empty church

political partisanship | Christian Nationalism | Roe v. Wade | Southern Baptist sexual abuse scandal | Federalist Society | U.S. Supreme Court

Partisanship in Religion and Politics

Many lament the obliteration of bipartisan politics: too few acknowledge it as a casualty of the idea that America is a "Christian nation"....

May 25, 2022
medieval stained glass with two female musicians

Russian War on Ukraine | Sacred music | Pessimism

Songs In Dark Times

When marked by piety and ambiguity, songs can fill a void in our dark times. Perhaps it is time to sing again......

May 18, 2022
legally blonde elle woods

feminism | Film | women

Getting Serious about Legally Blonde

The 2001 comedy shatters expectations about what makes a good heroine...

May 9, 2022
israeli apartheid in palestine

Israeli Apartheid in Palestine | Palestinians | Israel | Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) | United Church of Christ | Global Ministries | Episcopal Church | American Friends Service Committee | Presbyterian Church (USA) | United Nations

Is Israel Practicing Apartheid? American Churches Join the Conversation

A public debate is growing about the State of Israel’s more than fifty-year occupation of Palestinian territory: American Christian organizations are joining the conversation....

May 5, 2022
red panda

Film | Evangelicalism | AAPI Inclusion

Evangelical Critics Are Turning Red

Outrage over a recent children's film illustrates the narrowness of evangelicalism and the experiences it has failed to understand....

April 22, 2022
passover easter ramadan

Easter | Passover | Ramadan

Rare Convergences and Sacred Calendars

The convergence of sacred calendars, rare as it is, should help marshal the will of believers in these traditions to live fully into human time fearlessly seeking reconciliation among their traditions even as these calendars offer the violent and dea...

April 20, 2022
Walker

Baptist Christianity | structural racism | Martin Luther King Jr.

Sunday Politics in Georgia: Punting on Historical Reckoning

As Sen. Raphael Warnock seeks reelection this year in Georgia, the Baptist minister might find a key group working against him—fellow pastors....

April 12, 2022
franz

Franz Bibfeldt | Martin Marty | Academic Humor

The Return of Franz Bibfeldt

Bibfeldt’s return invites us to remember that there is an essential place for the occasional fit of laughter in even the most scholarly house....

April 6, 2022
ukraine and chronicles image

Russian War on Ukraine | Ukraine | Hebrew Bible

On Kinship, Collective Memory, and Ukraine

The developing, collective memory of Ukraine’s recent history, with the short stories and images that encapsulate and promote it, is unlikely to be suppressed or soon forgotten....

March 29, 2022