Barak Obama

For Obama to steer us back to the softer side of Empire, withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan (and negotiating with Iran), he’ll have to overrule his key officials, Hillary Clinton and Dennis Ross, risk alienating Israel for its own good, and stand up to bracing public attacks. And he’ll need a hand from a strong, anti-imperial religious and secular peace movement.

In a recent speech on the the economy, Obama could have stressed biblical justice; instead he opted for a “post-partisan” emphasis on firm foundations and solidarity in common cause.

During a profoundly symbolic trip to Turkey the president assured the Muslim nation that America is not a Christian nation, sparking right wing cries that he’s “thrown Christianity under the bus.” The real problem here is the absence of religious literacy among the critics currently speaking in alleged defense of the Christian faith.

Plus: Let the Judicial Wars begin; Falwell Jr. warns of The Rapture; Out gays will create ‘turmoil’ in the military, says anti-gay leader, and more.

All nations contribute to the management and definition of religion so it’s neither necessary, nor possible, to identify any state as definitively “religious” or “secular.” To choose is largely political.

Has the Nation of Islam, a tradition hinged on separatism, evolved into supporters of the President of the United States? If so, how does that affect the Nation’s ground-up community networks and sociopolitical analysis of American society?

Obama’s civil religion, like JFK’s and Bush’s before him, emphasizes the connection between God and American ideals. But Obama spoke not of “endowed rights” but of “God-given promise.” Rights are inherent in the creature while promises are to be fulfilled.

Bishop Harry Jackson, the African American head of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, has raised his profile by joining with top-shelf Religious Right groups in opposing gay rights and the inclusion of gays in hate crimes legislation.

The Democratic leadership caved in to conservative Republicans on family planning this week. The opposition for the religious right goes back to the historic rupture between sex and reproduction in the 20th century.

Beneath the violence and inability to find peace in Israel/Palestine lie a series of narratives and myths American and Israeli Jews employ to understand the situation. One such narrative has shifted toward hope recently, but does it go deep enough?