https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to religious conversion en https://religiondispatches.org/2016/05/26/plea-jewish-leaders-help-us-reject-all-institutional-efforts-convert-muslims-and-other I’m currently trying to finish a book manuscript on the malevolent effects of what I identify as “triumphalism” in Christian-Muslim relations. I define “triumphalism” as a mode of relating to religious others in which the religious self attempts to assert… Thu, 26 May 2016 09:48:38 EDT Scott C. Alexander 9e2a2da5-7bc4-4128-90f6-fdde23bda26d https://religiondispatches.org/2014/05/23/bobby-jindal-hypes-his-christian-cred-liberty-u Over the past few months, Louisiana Governor Piyush “Bobby” Jindal has been making aggressive moves to prepare himself for a 2016 presidential bid. In addition to rejecting a Medicaid expansion (and in the process denying healthcare to hundreds of thousands… Fri, 23 May 2014 03:46:59 EDT Murali Balaji b2762063-5f59-484a-87c5-61a1a8ae2907 https://religiondispatches.org/2013/06/11/suspicion-modern-age-pope-regresses Called to the carpet for the decision to reinstall controversial bishops, the Vatican has taken to doing what it does best: issuing public statements, coupled with obfuscation and outright denial. Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:14:17 EDT Louis A. Ruprecht 2a81e355-81ba-426b-8c86-aca7c0abf187 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/12/13/was-blind-now-i-see-debut-new-anti-abortion-strategy The anti-abortion movement takes conversion narratives to the next stage. Thu, 13 Dec 2012 03:58:06 EST Kellee Terrell 69c5f059-a876-4557-adbb-681b713cd685 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/09/06/parent-prophet-con-man-spy-who-was-rev-moon A few years ago during a college break, when my floor was deserted and peaceful, a middle-aged couple stopped by my office door looking for someone who taught religion. “We’re from the Unification Church,” the man said. I gasped. The Moonies! was my immediate, rather graceless thought. With great excitement, and flashbacks to news reports of mass weddings dancing through my head, I composed myself and invited them in to chat. They seemed pleasantly surprised that I knew what the Unification Church was and, perhaps most of all, that I hadn’t shut the door in their faces. Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:37:51 EDT Kate Blanchard c5150615-315a-4fbe-9d65-fff8116121c9 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/05/17/evangelicals-struggle-role-churches-society Some people think that evangelicals only do charity out of a selfish desire to convert non-believers. Others insist that evangelical faith-based organizations are secretly installing a Christian theocracy. Both assumptions are misguided in my view because they are too narrow. Moral Ambition seeks to broaden (and refine) our sense of what everyday evangelicals believe they are doing, or would like to be doing, when they engage the public sphere. Thu, 17 May 2012 06:37:35 EDT Omri Elisha a186323f-cf7e-4e7e-a684-599e42f667f6 https://religiondispatches.org/2011/04/10/anti-gay-tour-organizer-comes-out-gay-marriage-renounces-hate Louis Marinelli goes from big-time anti-gay activist to supporter of freedom to marry. Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:00:55 EDT Candace Chellew-Hodge 0f79741e-7798-4def-abc1-b49777bcee4f https://religiondispatches.org/2010/07/28/evangelicals-crossing-tiber-catholicism In the fall of 1999, I was a freshman at Gordon College, an evangelical liberal arts school in Massachusetts. There, fifteen years earlier, a professor named Thomas Howard resigned from the English department when he felt his beliefs were no longer in line with the college’s statement of… Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:40:54 EDT Jonathan D. Fitzgerald d0f7cd35-db07-42ec-9599-96a8afb7cd78 https://religiondispatches.org/2010/05/25/how-mormonism-built-glenn-beck Some are familiar with Glenn Beck’s teary Mormon conversion story, but what many are not aware of is the extent to which Mormonism has given Beck key elements of his on-air personality and messaging—and how it may shape the future of American conservatism. Tue, 25 May 2010 09:56:08 EDT Joanna Brooks 6f7107ac-79ec-4408-8f62-fb4a58078cb7 https://religiondispatches.org/2009/07/03/religion-vs-science-americas-perilous-fight A Pulitzer Prize-winning author tangles with one of the most fraught questions of the day: “The danger for science is that, if forced to choose between God or evolution, most Americans will choose God.” Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:33:12 EDT Edward J. Larson 2f52ae58-4dc7-482b-a5ce-bb0c09f35590 https://religiondispatches.org/2009/07/03/mccain-endorser-destroy-islam Megachurch Pastor Rod Parsley calls for America to “fulfill its divine purpose” by destroying “this false religion.” Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:31:40 EDT Martin E. Marty 77ea2653-dc8e-4e84-8051-f2510c634b7c https://religiondispatches.org/2009/06/22/karma-chameleon-zen-practitioner-episcopal-bishop Under fire from Conservatives, an Episcopalian Zen practitioner’s shot at becoming a Bishop is in jeopardy. A stroll through Christian history puts Forrester’s practices in perspective. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:26:31 EDT Nick Street 104cde49-6e6b-41bd-a01e-3fcb90beefc7 https://religiondispatches.org/2009/06/15/doubting-obama-response-harpers-and-simon-critchley Is authentic religious commitment incompatible with critical thinking, reason, or compromise, as philosopher Simon Critchley seems to imply in a recent essay on Obama? Or is our challenge to refuse the false oppositions between total transformation and conflict, or politics and piety? Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:47:23 EDT Linell Cady cb5c000b-60be-4f11-a3a5-dda5627e7f4b https://religiondispatches.org/2009/04/16/rambo-christian-fellow-travelers Missionaries should be careful about whose wagon they hitch themselves to… Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:27:57 EDT Gabriel Mckee da07d400-a622-4d14-b6e7-29b77f26e930