Sep

25

Why Religion May Not Matter Much in 2008

September 25, 2007 | 4 Comments

This presidential election cycle is supposed to be all about religion, right? The pundit mop-up of George Bush’s 2004 victory was all about “values voters,” and while the “God gap” apparently narrowed in the 2006 mid-term elections, we’ve still had any number of articles about how the Democrats are getting religion. (We are awaiting a […]

Sep

20

“Change or Die:” American Buddhism When Baby-Boomer Converts Are Gone

September 20, 2007 | 9 Comments

In the current issue of the quarterly American Buddhist magazine Tricycle, contributing editor and former Zen monk Clark Strand makes a provocative claim: that American Buddhism must “change or die.”
American converts to Buddhism have focused on spiritual practice to the exclusion of concerns like creating rituals and passing along the tradition to the next generation. […]

Sep

17

“To Make an Enemy of 500 Million People is Ludicrous”

September 17, 2007 | 3 Comments

In the last post, ReligionWriter was speaking with video and text blogger Amar Bakshi about the religious ideas he found while traveling in Britain.
In this segment, Bakshi shares the insights he gained as a roving blogger in Pakistan to explain why Osama bin Laden is so popular there, and how differing perceptions of his own […]

Sep

14

British Divided Over Religion’s Role in Public Life: Q+A with Amar Bakshi

September 14, 2007 | 1 Comment

Amar Bakshi has what for many people would be a dream job: the 23-year-old recent college graduate travels the world, capturing the thoughts of ordinary and not-so-ordinary people in word and image. Bakshi’s text and video blog, “How The World Sees America,” appears on Washington.Post.Newsweek.Interactive’s foreign affairs blog, Post Global. This summer, Bakshi traveled to […]

Sep

11

Hey, Journalists: How Not to Cover Ramadan

September 11, 2007 | 5 Comments

With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starting at sunset tomorrow night, religion reporters around the country are already scratching their heads, trying to think up a fresh angle on a holiday that, like most, happens pretty much the same way every year. (Photo: Teens at a Ramadan fast-breaking, or iftar)
We are sure to […]

Sep

6

The Surprisingly Unreligious Lives of American Muslim Teens

September 6, 2007 | 2 Comments

If you encounter American Muslim teens only through the media, you couldn’t be blamed for imagining that most are praying, fasting, pious youth. In the PBS documentary “The Muslim Americans,” for example, Judy Woodruff interviews two Muslim teens who describe how they decided to wear hijab and why they won’t date before they marry. Geneive […]

Sep

4

Your Grandmother’s Islam: Can Religion Be Separated from Culture?

September 4, 2007 | 1 Comment

Quick, identify this scene: At dusk, believers flock to a shrine, following the pounding of drums. They come to hear the rhythmic chanting of a living saint. A leafy stimulant is passed around, and the men and women chew it until they reach a transcendent state, rocking and dancing and chanting along with their leader […]

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