This week it has been announced that ‘[d]ruidry is to become the first pagan practice to be given official recognition as a religion’ in Britain. Recognition by the Charity Commission relates in the main to financial regulations, and indeed this rationale lay behind the Druid Network’s application. However, an additional benefit of this acknowledgement means … Continue reading
Tagged with God …
Is God a Delusion? A Reply to Religion’s Cultured Despisers
Eric Reitan’s latest book, Is God a Delusion? A Reply to Religion’s Cultured Despisers was named an Outstanding Academic Title of 2009. Here he tells us how he was motivated to write the book partly in response to the misrepresentations of religious thought he discovered in Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, but also by a … Continue reading
In the Name of God: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Ethics and Violence
John Teehan is the author of In the Name of God: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Ethics and Violence, and has published and lectured widely on the impact of evolutionary theories on moral philosophy. In this comprehensive interview, John talks in depth about some of the themes in his book: how our moral minds may … Continue reading
NEWS: Faith and Football
The Right Reverend Nick Baines and the Reverend Peter Moger have joined forces to create three prayers in advance of the World Cup, due to take place in South Africa this June. Working from Church House, Westminster, as part of the “rapid response prayer unit”, three prayers have been created to cater for all. Entitled … Continue reading
NEWS: The Texas Education Massacre?
Chris McGreat of The Guardian has recently reported some worrying news that the Texas school board is believed to changing their state education curriculum to one based on religious indoctrination and revisionist versions of American history. At the centre of this story is Cynthia Dunbar, a ‘conservative Texas lawyer’ who has’ likened sending children to … Continue reading
BOOKS: Meaning and Mystery: What it Means to Believe in God
We recently caught up with David Holley, author of Meaning and Mystery: What it Means to Believe in God. David talks about his motivations for writing, and something unusual about his writing style… Why did you decide to write Meaning and Mystery: What it Means to Believe in God? David Holley: The beginnings of the … Continue reading
NEWS: Rolling Stone, Tom Wolfe, and Religion
The editors of Rolling Stone have interviewed various personalities who, in their estimation, have shaped our time. Among those interviewed was author Tom Wolfe. While Wolfe has been revered as one who brought the counterculture to the mainstream via works such as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, his acclaim has often been tempered with an … Continue reading
NEWS: A Brief History of Heaven
A recent article by Johann Hari for Slade, looks at the evolution of understanding and thinking about heaven. Despite what may appear to be an increasing onslaught of secularism within Britain, Hari points out that this is not reflected in the United States of America. Instead, he states that:‘ 81 percent [of Americans] say they believe … Continue reading
NEWS: (Un) Holy Matrimony?
The House of Lords has recently voted in favour of allowing same-sex couples to be married. Although British Law has recognised civil partnerships since 2004, the proposed amendment to the Equality bill would go further and enable same-sex couples to be married in religious premises. Despite any discomfort some religious groups may feel, it should … Continue reading
NEWS: Angels or God?
It seems the “feel-good angelmania” of the mid-nineties is wearing off—or at least the optimism surrounding angelic hope as connected to God. The movie Legion depicts a God who “is simply sick of us and he’s going to show his displeasure not by water or the fire next time, but instead by angels—lots and lots … Continue reading
NEWS: Radical Lesbian Feminist Dies
In case you have not yet heard, self-described “radical lesbian feminist” Mary Daly passed away in Massachusetts earlier this month at the age of 81. A professor at Boston College for over thirty years, Daly was both controversial and widely influential. Her work, as in The Church and the Second Sex and Beyond God the … Continue reading
NEWS: Religion in Review
As 2009 comes to an end media outlets review the highlights of the past year and decade. USA Today concluded that “God, politics, and pop culture intertwined in ’09.” Contributor Cathy Lynn Grossman included the renewed vigor of Catholic lobbyists, the death of Oral Roberts, the increasing popularity of Rick Warren and President Barack Obama’s … Continue reading
NEWS: Non-Muslims Permitted to Use ‘Allah’
After a publication of the Catholic Church in Malaysia filed a lawsuit, the Malaysian High Court ruled that non-Muslims are allowed to use the Arabic word Allah when referring to God. Some Muslims suspect that Christians want access to the word Allah to convert non-Muslims to Christianity, which is currently a crime in Malaysia. The … Continue reading
NEWS: Oral Roberts (1918-2009)
Oral Roberts, the charismatic Pentecostal, controversial faith healer, and groundbreaking televangelist, died Tuesday (Dec. 15) from pneumonia complications at the age of 91. Roberts, who began his ministry in the 1940s and first broadcast his revivals in 1955, is perhaps best known for his notorious on-air plea in 1987. In a tearful performance, Roberts told … Continue reading
NEWS: “Sex, Satanism and Sacrifice…”
A recent story in the Australian publication The Register touches on the highly emotive issues of sex, sacrifice, witchcraft and exorcism. It appears that this report is based on the anecdotal evidence – supplied by ‘radical Minister’ Danny Nalliah – of a Pastor supervising a school trip. During this excursion to Mount Ainslie, near Canberra, … Continue reading
Religion Compass 