“Religious Literacy and the Challenge of Interfaith Dialogue (Part 1)” by Shlomo C. Pill

Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago, United States, 1893 (Wikimedia) This is the first part of a three-part series exploring some of the methods, possibilities, and skills needed to effectively engage in interfaith dialogue and activity. History of Interfaith Engagement Interfaith engagement is hardly a new phenomenon. The most basic kind of interfaith activity—what is

“Arbitration and Church Governance in the UMC’s Navigation of LGBTQ Conflict” by Amin Sadri

(Abbey, Church, Interiors image) (Pixabay) Many members of the United Methodist Church (UMC) woke up to unexpected news earlier this month when it was announced some leaders of the UMC had met in private and negotiated through mediation the terms for a division of the denomination. The UMC, one of the largest Christian denominations in

“Equality or Need: A Theological Look at the 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Tax Plans (Part 3)” by Allen Calhoun

—Part III—  Parts I and II of this article surveyed the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates’ tax proposals, particularly those (like the wealth tax proposals) that seek to reduce economic inequality, and located those proposals in the history of tax philosophy. This Part III places that largely post-Enlightenment philosophy of taxation in dialogue with the longer

“Equality or Need: A Theological Look at the 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Tax Plans (Part 2)” by Allen Calhoun

Image from Pixabay —Part II—  Part I of this article surveyed the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates’ tax plans and situated proposals for raising revenue and reducing the wealth gap in broader tax policy concerns. The proposals are revisiting two questions dormant since the early 1980s: (1) how should tax policy balance the dual concerns of

“Equality or Need: A Theological Look at the 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Tax Plans (Part 1)” by Allen Calhoun

Image from Pixabay —Part I— Many Christian theologians of  the past two thousand years would likely have supported a wealth tax, but not for the reasons given by the current Democratic presidential candidates. Using the tax system to redistribute resources from the wealthy to the poor has been a matter of controversy in American history,

“Standing Rock: Law, Religion, and Morality in Contested Spaces” by Kamil Jamil

“Sacred Stone Camp” by Tony Webster / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 The Standing Rock demonstrations, which began in early 2016 and lasted almost a year, have been aptly characterized as the largest Native American activist movement in modern history. More than 300 tribes and scores of water protectors gathered to protest against the construction

“Should Courts Care if a Juror Thinks She Might Burn in Hell?” by Nathaniel Romano

“Arms-Fold” by Dorset Photographic is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0  On September 12, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted habeas corpus relief to William Barnes, who had been previously sentenced to death in North Carolina. The basis for the court’s ruling was the fact that during deliberations at trial, a juror relied on

“Selling Salvation: Catholic Hospitals in the Healthcare Marketplace” by Allison Roberts

Daughters of Charity holy card. 1896. University of Dayton Libraries / Wikimedia Commons. My mother spent 25 years working for a Catholic hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.  When she was hired in 1984, Catholic faith was a requirement for management, and nuns roamed the halls.  For every five years of service, she received a new metal

“Should Assisted Suicide Be Legalized? A Jewish Perspective ” by Aryeh Klapper

Red and black abstract photo/ Tobias Aeppli / Pexels Autonomy and dignity are standard grounds for arguments supporting the legalization of assisted suicide.  The prima facie case is excellent: forbidding suicide limits human autonomy, and compelling people to live against their will diminishes their self-determination and therefore their dignity. Counter-arguments often rest on assertions about