As tolerance spreads, gay life is becoming more suburban, contented and even dull according to The Economist. The reason? Rapidly changing attitudes.
Intelligent Design is back in the news with the arrival of a new book by Michael Behe. Dr. Jerry Coyne of the University of Chicago has written a careful review that concludes that Behe’s book is about theology, not science.
Much has been written about the success of recent books by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens. David C. Steinmetz, the Amos Ragan Kearns Professor of the History of Christianity at the Duke University Divinity School, offers a useful guide to two of the most prominent “New Atheists.”
Virtually every major religious group in the United States has renounced the use of torture. Surprisingly, however, a recent Pew Research survey found that the American public shows strong support for the use of torture as a tactic in fighting terror. Perhaps even more surprisingly, one’s religious beliefs has only a modest effect on views about torture.
To discuss the religion of the founding fathers means to discuss religion in the United States of their time. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe were born and baptized in what Virginians of the time called “the Church,” “the Church of England,” “the Established Church,” or “the Church of Virginia.”