Sightings Articles
Ministerial Exception : by Martin E. Marty
Those who observe United States Supreme Court decisions on "church and state" are dealing with what many call the most important "religious liberty" case in decades, at least since the 1940s. Like so many cases, this one had a parochial start. The de...
January 16, 2012
Rational Animals : by Kristel Clayville
Definitions of what it means to be human have been sought out for centuries in many academic disciplines. Theology and philosophy have been at the forefront of this humanistic inquiry, but since Darwin's writing, biology and psychology have posited t...
January 12, 2012
John Banzhaf's Fatwa against Catholic University : by Brett G. Scharffs
A complaint was filed in October 2011 by a George Washington University law professor against Catholic University claiming that it violated the human rights of Muslim students by displaying crucifixes in University rooms and refusing to provide a roo...
January 10, 2012
The Politics of Religion and Regionalism on the Supreme Courts by Michael Sohn
Last year when Justice John Paul Stevens retired from the Supreme Court and was replaced by Justice Elena Kagan, it provoked some concern over the religious and regional backgrounds of the members who served on the nation's top bench. With six Cathol...
December 22, 2011
The Politics of Religion and Regionalism on the Supreme Courts — Michael Sohn
Last year when Justice John Paul Stevens retired from the Supreme Court and was replaced by Justice Elena Kagan, it provoked some concern over the religious and regional backgrounds of the members who served on the nation's top bench. With six Cathol...
December 22, 2011
Platinga and Theism by Martin E. Marty
Chelsea Clinton, Hedy Lamarr, Shakespeare as author of Titus Andronicus (seen in the family of "torture-porn" art), and Damien Hirst, major-major painter of images ( "dead animals—sharks, zebras, piglets. . . and cigarette butts," according to The Ne...
December 19, 2011
Church Bells in Tochimilco, Mexico: An Old Feud Revisited by Christoph Rosenmueller
I spent a few weeks last summer in the Mexican town Tochimilco, a municipality (municipalidad) in the state of Puebla. Set to a breathtaking scene with the majestic Popocatepetl Volcano in the backdrop, this charming town boasts a former Franciscan m...
December 15, 2011
Church Bells in Tochimilco, Mexico: An Old Feud Revisited — Christoph Rosenmüller
I spent a few weeks last summer in the Mexican town Tochimilco, a municipality (municipalidad) in the state of Puebla. Set to a breathtaking scene with the majestic Popocatepetl Volcano in the backdrop, this charming town boasts a former Franciscan m...
December 15, 2011
Atheism in America — Martin E. Marty
Picking up from where we left off last week on "practical atheism:" Atheism shows up in our Sightings on occasion, partly as a refreshing alternative to the over-covered examples of "religion-in-American-public-life" which crowd the cable television ...
December 12, 2011
Stating the Religious in Egypt and Elsewhere — Benjamin Schonthal
The current political jostling in Egypt between the Muslim Brotherhood and various individuals and organizations grouped under the title "Salafis" should give pause to those who view the "Arab autumn" primarily as a contest between Islamists and secu...