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Over fifty years ago Bellah rocked the field of religious studies with a pioneering study on Japanese religion. When he died suddenly this past week he was working on a book that was set to land him as a pioneer yet again.

Even with depleted social policy and outreach organizations, liberal Protestant denominations continue to address issues pertaining to war, intervention, and foreign policy; debt relief, foreign aid, and economic development; white supremacism, racial justice, and affirmative action; women’s rights, gay and lesbian issues, reproductive rights, and child welfare; acid rain, ozone depletion, bio-diversity, and eco-justice; and much more.

Since the Rachel Held Evans post that launched a thousand responses everyone is talking about “millennials” leaving the church, but these conversations always seem to be missing an important question: Instead of asking why some people leave, can we ask why some stay?

When no news is not good news.

“I understand the temperature on Mars is going up, and we don’t have any SUVs there.”

Secular holidays, actually constituting a quasi-sacred calendar, span the entire year: From New Year’s Day, the King Holiday, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, and now, at long last, Thanksgiving Day.

As budget cuts are hotly debated in the House, Godonomics comes along to tell us “what the Almighty says about the almighty dollar.” Finally.

Anatomy of a cross-cultural study.

Don’t worry, it’s mostly aesthetic.

The doctor dances with settlers.