popular culture

College Democrats at Pat Robertson’s Regent U., Notre Dame’s refusal to rescind an invitation to the pro-choice president—younger evangelicals and Catholics are in rebellion and it doesn’t bode well for the once-commanding presence of the religious right.

A recent New Republic book review argued that science and religion cannot be reconciled. In response, biologist Arri Eisen suggests that we acknowledge the ‘pink elephant’—the thorny questions that arise when religion and science meet—and use it as an opportunity to teach and learn about the conflicting perspectives.

Is this still Christianity? Bruce Wilson offers a primer on what has been called “Third Wave Christianity,” a global movement now almost 300 million-strong whose adherents believe they can abolish evil from the world by hunting witches, chasing demons from city limits, and getting Sarah Palin elected.

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.

The President tried to be funny on Jay Leno, and the joke fell flat. But it might be that this says more about us, his audience, than anything else.

Analyzing the data from a number of recent religion surveys reveals neither the downfall of religion nor the rise of atheism, as many have concluded.

Religion surveys have become a battleground for the American religious marketplace—and a magnet for big money.

A play about gay teens steps outside the box, sparks a loud clamor in religious media, and rankles an archbishop.

Refusing to cede religion to the right, the Born Again American campaign offers patriotism and religion in service of a liberal agenda. But is this sort of religious nationalism the answer?

Kathryn Lofton’s recent feature asked: How should one look at the old wedding photos after utter collapse? So what about Madoff? How should one see these pictures from a prison cell?