“Don’t Write off Sharia’s Forgiveness Option Just Because of the Khashoggi Case” Matthew P. Cavedon Jamal Khashoggi was a prominent international journalist and Saudi dissident. He was tortured to death and dismembered in 2018 at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul. On September 7, eight Saudis were sentenced for their participation in what their government characterized…
“Character Formation, Ethical Education, and the Communication of Values in Late Modern Pluralistic Societies” by Michael Welker and John Witte, Jr. Five hundred years ago, Protestant reformer Martin Luther argued that “three estates” (drei Stände) lie at the foundation of a just and orderly society — marital families, religious communities, and political authorities. Parents in…
This article is part of our “Law, Religion, and the Constitutionalism” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is…
The May 25, 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, despite his multiple cries of, “I can’t breathe,” has compelled me to turn to Black theologian James H. Cone for a personal lesson in rebellion. Having spent over a decade working in the civil rights field, and three times as many teaching theology, I…
Photo by Chris Hardy / Unsplash This article is part of our “Law, Religion, and the Constitutionalism” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. September 17 is designated as Constitution Day to commemorate the signing of the Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. This…
“So Help Him God?:The Case of the Prayerful Juror” Matthew P. Cavedon Mother Teresa said that “listening is the beginning of prayer.” One Florida juror listened in prayer and heard the Holy Spirit telling him to vote not guilty. So he did. Did he violate his oath to decide the case based only on the…
Om Hreem Shree Gurubhyo Namah Introduction Swami Vivekananda’s famous speech at the Parliament of World Religions in 1893 introduced Hinduism to the West. As an ambassador of one of the most ancient traditions of the world, he conveyed the essence of the Vedas, the universal acceptance of all traditions: “as the different streams having their sources…
This article is part of our “Law, Religion, and the Constitutionalism” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Each year the United States Supreme Court produces a new batch of cases construing the religion clauses of the first amendment. There is something stylized about the debates these cases inevitably…