The Immanent Frame » here & there

Religion as cure for PTSD

Nathan Schneider — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:04:07 +0000

In the Boston Review, Tara McKelvey reports on the hope of Veterans Affairs administrators that religious faith could be a replacement for costly psychiatric care for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Do theologians advance knowledge?

Nathan Schneider — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:33:00 +0000

K.L. Noll begins his recent essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education with a relatively uncontroversial clarification of what the academic study of religion represents. He then, however, goes on to insist that theology, while potentially academic, does not actually advance knowledge.

A call for humanist chaplains

Nathan Schneider — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:29:42 +0000

Inside Higher Ed reports on a new phenomenon that is beginning to gain attention and grow: humanist chaplains on college campuses.

Faith on campus video contest

Nathan Schneider — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:11:46 +0000

Patheos, a site devoted to "global dialogue about religion and spirituality," which launched last year, is now partnering with On Faith for a contest that asks college students to make and submit videos about their religious faith and practice.

Religious non-violence, during and after conflict

Nathan Schneider — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:35:54 +0000

At Religion Dispatches, Richard Ricketts interviews Sharon Nepstad, a sociologist of religion whose new book, Religion and War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement, explores the nearly 30-year history of the Catholic anti-war group.

Tonight: Harvey Cox and E.J. Dionne on faith and progressive politics

Charles Gelman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:51:21 +0000

Harvey Cox and E.J. Dionne, two luminaries of American progressive Christianity, will be discussing Cox's The Future of Faith tonight at WNYC's Greene Space in lower Manhattan.

In need of a philosophy of journalism

Nathan Schneider — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:31:33 +0000

At the Chronicle of Higher Education, Carlin Romano argues that training for journalists needs to be more deeply grounded in philosophical reflection.

Penitents Compete and the future of Turkish secularism

Nicole Greenfield — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:45:34 +0000

Over the summer, a Turkish television station announced its plan for a new game show in which leaders from four world religions vie to convert atheists. Roughly translated as Penitents Compete, the show awards successful converts an all-expense-paid pilgrimage to a holy site of their new faith. At Sightings, Joseph Laycock considers what it might mean for the conversation about religion in Turkey.

Cornel West: “What to Die For”

Charles Gelman — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:42:42 +0000

At Big Think, an interview with Cornel West on renewing a sense of value over above the merely chrematistic.

The curious economic effects of religion

Nathan Schneider — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:10:18 +0000

In the Boston Globe "Ideas" section, Michael Fitzgerald reports on a new Harvard study about how religious belief appear to affect economic behavior.