I’m not trying to perpetuate a conspiracy theory, but it does seem clear that atheist and related “freethought” groups around the country are borrowing from each other’s playbooks. The local chapter of Atheists of Florida had a forum last night, titled “Meet the Patriots,” that was intended to promote their position that atheists are just as loyal as other Americans.
Read the rest here:
Atheist Billboards Strikingly Similar in N.C. and Here
Paul Harvey Matt Hedstrom of the University of Virginia send along this information about a conference on William James. For fuller information on this conference, click here . In the Footsteps of William James A Symposium on the Legacy – and the On-Going Uses – of James’s Work Organized by the William James Society and co-sponsored by the Chocorua Community Association and the Houghton Library at Harvard University August 13-15, 2010: Chocorua, NH August 16, 2010: Cambridge, MA Schedule Friday, August 13: Chocorua, NH • 4:00 – 6:00 pm: Registration at Chocorua Public Library • 5:30 – 7:00 pm: Welcoming reception at Runnells Hall • 7:00 – 8:30 pm: Speaker Saturday, August 14: Chocorua, NH • 7:30 – 9:00 am: Breakfast and registration at Chocorua Public Library • 10:00 – 11:30 am: Speakers • 11:30 am – 1:00pm: Lunch (not provided) and seminar conversations • 1:00 – 2:50 pm: Speakers • 3:00 – 5:00 pm: Shuttle Bus from Runnells Hall to a guided tour of James-Peters Home • 5:00 – 8:00 pm: Dinner (not provided) • 8:00 – 10:00 pm: Concert at Chocorua Community Church, 40 Deer Hill Road (a few doors from Runnells Hall): “A Night To Remember… William James” featuring New Hampshire storytellers, folk musicians, and period music played by the Chocorua Cornet Band Sunday, August 15: Chocorua, NH • 8:00 – 9:00 am: Breakfast at Whittier House • 9:00 – 10:00 am: Speaker • 10:30 am – 12:20 pm: Speakers • 12:30 – 2:00 pm: Lunch (not provided) and seminar conversations • 2:00 pm – evening: Free time Afternoon activities available: Self-guided tours of Tamworth and Chocorua, hiking on Mt
Originally posted here:
In The Footsteps of William James: Conference Announcement
Paul Harvey Apparently this is religion in early/colonial America week here at the blog! Recently I had occasion to re-survey some of the literature about the California missions, especially one of my favorite recent works of scholarship, Steven Hackel’s Children of Coyote, Missionaries of Saint Francis: Indian-Spanish Relations in Colonial California, 1769-1850 , for my money the most thorough scholarly study of the subject, full of painstakingly constructed data sets from mission records — the book is reviewed at length, and quite thoughtfully, here. Religious studies scholar Quincy Newell’s new book on native life and religious practice at a California mission is now out, and it came to my attention via the Choice review reprinted below. Her work brings ethnographic and religious studies methods to bear on the subject, and zeroes in on one mission in particular.
Go here to read the rest:
Constructing Lives at Mission San Francisco
The New York City community board endorsed the Cordoba House, a community center and mosque planned for construction near Ground Zero. Significant opposition has emerged against the project. Sarah Palin even weighed in this weekend, tweeting, “Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts.
View original here:
A mosque near ground zero?
Editor’s Note: A previous reference and post on the Pilgrims provoked a flurry of emails from scholars and others quite passionate on the subject.
See original here:
Strangers and Pilgrims, Travellers and Sojourners
OK, so this comes from the Rev. Dusty Ray, pastor of Heartland Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where he is one of the leaders of a movement opposing the construction of a new 52,000-square-foot, “megachurch”-style Islamic center, including a mosque. (Who knew Murfreesboro, Tenn., had such a thriving Muslim community?)
Originally posted here:
Unintended Ironic Quote of the Year
Editor’s note from Paul: After reading this, also check out the companion piece reflecting further on this post, over at Tenured Radical . Janine Giordano Drake It all started this past May with an email composed by an undergraduate student in “Introduction to Catholicism and Modern Catholic Thought,” a course offered in the Religious Studies department at the University of Illinois. The student forwarded to the department chair an email about utilitarianism and Natural Law that his instructor, Catholic theologian Kenneth Howell, sent to the class during the term
Go here to see the original:
Teaching Sexuality and Religion
We welcome the following guest post from Samira Mehta, a graduate student in American Religious Cultures at Emory University who is writing a dissertation on Christian/Jewish interfaith families in the U.S.
Original post:
Nikki Haley and the Construction of South Asian Identity
In its 2010 National Security Strategy, the Obama administration sought to sever the relationship between Islam and terrorism, rejecting the use of terms like ‘Islamic terrorist’ and ‘jihad’ to describe acts of terror. The linguistic change was a policy shift from the Bush administration and part of Obama’s overall strategy to reinvent America’s relationship with the Muslim world
More here:
What to call terrorists?
Today’s guest post comes to us from our Senior Norwegian correspondent Hilde Løvdal, who posted here last year on ” The Adventures of a Norwegian in Colorado Springs .” Today she sends her exploration of the influence of contemporary Christian music in her homeland. People often ask me why I am so fascinated by American evangelicalism
View original post here:
The Oslo Soul Children and the Cowboy Twins