NEWS: Secular Spaces: Can Evangelicals Remain Neutral?

Greg Boyd, recognized theologian, preacher, author, and founder of the evangelical mega-church Woodland Hills, in St. Paul, Minnesota, was asked to deliver a speech at the inauguration of David M. Dooley as the 11th president of the University of Rhode Island. Boyd’s lecture was titled “Creating the Future: The Role of the University in Transforming … Continue reading →

NEWS: From Atheism to Belief

In an interview with Religion Dispatches, Jacob Needleman, author of the recently published book What is God? (Tarcher/Penguin), describes his journey from atheism to religious belief. The conversion in Needleman’s thought occurred while teaching a course in religious studies at San Francisco State University. Previous to the course, Needleman described himself as someone enthralled by science but “allergic” … Continue reading →

Virtual Conference Report: Day One (19 Oct, 2009)

by Paula Bowles Welcome to the first day of the 2009 Compass Interdisciplinary Virtual Conference. Regenia Gagnier (University of Exeter) opened the conference by asking: ‘Why Interdisciplinarity?’ As part of her introductory remarks, Professor Gagnier discusses the definitions of Interdisciplinarity, as well as outlining some of the benefits of interdisciplinary research and praxis. Roger Griffin’s … Continue reading →

Religion Compass July Issue – now available

The July issue of Religion Compass is now available here! This month, we’ve published our largest issue to date: 18 high-quality articles surveying the most recent literature in the field of religious studies! We are also delighted to announce the publication of our first video article: Changing Status in India’s Marginal Music Communities Zoe Sherinian … Continue reading →

NEWS: International Conference on Islamic Feminism

Barcelona is hosting the third International Congress on Islamic Feminism, where a group of prominent Muslim scholars have gathered to discuss some pressing issues facing Muslim women. Making a distinction between the particular socio-cultural contexts within which Islam was born and the universal principles of the religion, Muslim feminists seek to articulate new interpretations that … Continue reading →

NEWS: U.N. Secretary-General Condemns Iran’s Persecution of Baha’is

Earlier this week, Ban Ki-moon expressed his dissatisfaction with Iran’s human rights record, including the continuous persecution of the followers of the Baha’i Faith. Founded by the Persian nobleman Baha’u’llah in the mid-19th century, the religion is now second only to Christianity in terms of geographical spread, with some 5.5 million adherents around the globe. … Continue reading →

BOOKS: The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology

By Alister E. McGrath Alister McGrath is Professor of Theology, Ministry and Education at King’s College, London, and head of its Centre for Theology, Religion and Ethics. Before this, he was Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University. His recent books include The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology, as well as a … Continue reading →

BOOKS: Stolen Bibles

By Roland Boer Roland Boer is a research fellow at Monash University, and the author of ‘Rescuing the Bible‘. Apart from writing books, he loves to travel by ship when he can and cycle as far and as long as possible. I would like to paint a landscape – the contemporary religious landscape. What does … Continue reading →