Christmas Explained
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Carole Cusack, professor of religious studies at the University of Sydney. To those who celebrate it, Christmas is as important as the history of Christianity itself. The religious and cultural celebration connects millions of people...
JPMorgan reveals a new phase in the history of the religion of finance. Wall Street has always had its own vocabulary. It gets better every day. In the video of an interview by Business Insider with David Kelly, chief global strategist of JPMorgan Asset Management, we learn that “stock market...
Demonization, a key tactic in religion, is precisely the reductionism and making wicked of any political enemy. Of all the burning issues confronting the world today, nothing causes greater concern — and greater perplexity — than the force of religion in pursuing political aims. I make this...
An open letter to Serena Williams about Jehovah's Witnesses' treatment of women. Dear Serena, I want to start by applauding everything you said in your open letter that was reproduced on The Guardian website last week. As a woman, I too have experienced firsthand the inequity and unfair...
Scholars hoping to get an insider and yet critical appraisal of Islamic activism in Europe should take this book as their starting point. No religious minority in the world today has received so much global attention as the Muslims in Europe. From the burkini and burqa ban in France to the...
Human beings have been killing each other since the beginning of time, so today’s carnage is nothing new. As “terrorism” creeps closer to America’s shores once again, those ever-popular thoughts and prayers now go out to the dead and dying in some other place that looks a lot like...
A post-secular society is marked by recognition that religion is once again important. According to a widely disseminated 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, the US is drifting away from religion. Taking the cue, Daniel Dennett, one of the four horsemen of atheism, wrote that religion has...
Khadija was one of history’s most remarkable women. I often get into debates with people about women in Islam. How we dress. How we don’t dress. What we think or don’t think or should be thinking. I also get into debates about feminism. What it is and what it isn’t. I think I’ve...
How do you reconcile modern “hookup culture” and religious faith? In today’s culture, almost every film or novel has a romantic interest, with a happily ever after, hot-and-heavy or at least casual kisses. Physical intimacy is portrayed as the way to achieve connection and depth of...
Those who join the Buddhist monastic order submit to an ethical code that aims to drive out lust, ill will and infatuation. According to the Vinaya Pitaka, the Buddha laid down the first rule for his monastic followers in response to the behavior of a monk named Sudinna, who gave in to his...
