Call to Action
The university’s attempt at religious pluralism brought out the worst in people who equate the peaceful Muslims on campus with the barbarians of ISIS.
Michael Schulson is a freelance writer based in Durham, North Carolina. He holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Yale.
Wishful Thinking
America’s simplistic adoption of the COEXIST bumper sticker signals a dangerous inability to understand the roots of religious conflict.
Reckoning.com
Faith leaders are starting to air previously hard-to-find “truths” as religious seekers are researching central tenants of their faiths’ histories online.
HAT TRICK
Selecting legislators by lottery was good enough for the ancient Athenians. Why not good enough for Congress?
Believing to Death
Long regarded as a ‘narco-saint,’ Lady Death has deep roots in Latin America’s Catholic tradition as well as its acceptance that all people must die.
BAD SCIENCE
Cute labels saying products haven't been genetically modified are designed to profit off of fear, not protect you with science.
WILD & FREE
The Wilderness Act—enacted to, essentially, protect our national forests and parks from modernity—turns 50 today. So go wander in celebration (but leave your phone at home).
SAFE OR SORRY
The United States has one of the best public water systems in the world, yet its citizens are still shelling out big bucks on water filters. Is it worth the dough or just a waste?
The Force Is With Us
A wild new paper draws on ‘Star Wars’ to speculate about whether microbes might cause religious behavior—the latest in a long history of scientific attempts to pathologize belief.
Anti-Science
Before anti-vaxxers, there were anti-fluoriders: a group who spread fear about the anti-tooth decay agent added to drinking water. They still won’t go away.