Featured Articles

ReligionWriter is On Vacation Until July 8

Until then, enjoy this photo of internally displaced Sudanese schoolgirls.

27Jun2008 | Andrea Useem | 1 comment | Continued

God and Forgiveness on the Bathroom Floor: Immaculee Ilibagiza and the Rwandan Genocide

Some books are so powerful, so disturbing, I almost hesitates to recommend them or pass along a copy to a friend. Left to Tell, a spiritual autobiography written by a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, is one such book. A friend who read it at her church lent it to me, and the book spent […]

17Jun2008 | Andrea Useem | 3 comments | Continued

When Orthodoxy Is Good for You: Making Sense of the “Hajj Effect”

Headlines about Islam usually write themselves: A Muslim blowing up innocent people is dog-bites-man. A Muslim acting thoughtful or funny or anything besides angry is man-bites-dog. The obvious headline from a recent academic study, “Estimating the Impact of the Hajj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering,” fell into the latter category: Three economists […]

10Jun2008 | Andrea Useem | 6 comments | Continued

Is Obama’s Real “Faith Asset” His Ability to Speak the Language of American Civil Religion?

Last June, at the Wharton Leadership Conference, Richard Greene, a well-known public speaking coach, offered his prediction that Barack Obama would win the Democratic nomination on the basis of his amazing strengths as an orator. Glossing over the fact that Greene said Romney would win the Republican nomination for the same reason (great speaking skills), […]

4Jun2008 | Andrea Useem | 3 comments | Continued

Neuroscience is Not Just for Buddhists: Reflections on the Physiology of Belief

Mega-pundit David Brooks has been talking a lot about neuroscience and religion lately. His column, “The Neural Buddhists,” was on the New York Times‘ “Most Emailed” list, and at this month’s Faith Angle conference in Key West — where the Pew Forum on Religion & Public LIfe invites the nation’s elite journalists to talk religion […]

29May2008 | Andrea Useem | 3 comments | Continued

Emergent Islam? Surfing toward an Ultra-modern American Faith Life

Sometimes while doing research for a writing project, I will end up spending several hours or an entire afternoon or evening clicking from one website to the next, engrossed in the world of online content. My writing project these days is about how religious congregations use Web 2.0 technologies — research that will culminate this […]

22May2008 | Andrea Useem | 10 comments | Continued

Does Polygamy Have a Legal Future in the U.S.?

Having written previously about polyamory (maintaining multiple romantic relationships) and polygamy (well, really, polygyny — having more than one wife at at time,) I have been intensely interested in the on-going case in Texas, in which more than 400 children of polygamists were put into temporary state custody following allegations of physical and sexual abuse […]

11May2008 | Andrea Useem | 6 comments | Continued

Mormon American Idol, Church on Second Life and Barack Obama in Indiana

It’s been a big night, yet another Tuesday evening of clicking back and forth between American Idol and Democratic primary results. So first things first: It looks like America is going to have its first-ever Mormon American Idol in 17-year-old David Archuleta. The three judges, Randy, Paula and Simon, go crazy for Archuleta’s earnest crooning, […]

6May2008 | Andrea Useem | 4 comments | Continued

The Optimistic Muslim: David Liepert and the “Faith of Life” Network

Over the last several months, I’ve corresponded with David Liepert, a Calgary anesthesiologist and father of four. His new book, Me and You: Beyond Belief, Toether: A Path to Peace All Our Faiths Can Share, tells the story of his conversion from Christianity to Islam, and all the insight he gained along the way. He […]

2May2008 | Andrea Useem | 5 comments | Continued

Faith, Hope and Poverty: A Story from Kenya

Life is frustrating, right? I’m not famous, my two-year-old won’t go to sleep at bedtime, and my least favorite contestant might actually win American Idol. Most of these problems are solvable or irrelevant or not really problems in the first place. But here’s one problem that has bothered me since 1996: How do I help […]

28Apr2008 | Andrea Useem | 1 comment | Continued