A Female Future Dalai Lama? What Are the Real Prospects?
As a Buddhist clergy, 25-year student of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (HHDL), and female feminist, I always welcome statements from HH highlighting the social position of women, such as those reported this week by The Huffington Post. One thing that the international audience should bear in mind, which was not addressed in the [...]
Why Monty Python Makes for Good Religion: Reflections on Religion and Film, Part 1/3
Humor; humor is difficult. Religion; religion is difficult. They can both be reassuring, and discomfiting. They can affix labels, or they can liberate. They can be subversive, or they can uplift the dominant paradigm. Both can be thrilling and boring. They can be unifying, or alienating. Religion and humor both aspire to help us live [...]
The Megaphone of Money in American Politics
While the sums are larger and the stakes are higher in recent times, the fear that money corrupts those in power is an age-old issue. As far back as the Hebrew Bible those concerned with justice warned against the powerful and dangerous effects of money in politics.
What’s the Big Deal About Interfaith Marriage?
I attended the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia. I was amazed by the preponderance of sacred fashion statements (the hats!), the number of New Age practitioners from the North American West Coast, and the ubiquity of the phrase “interfaith dialogue.” As former chair of the Union Theological Seminary Interfaith Caucus, a [...]
How Paul Tillich Helped Me Matter
I recently received an email from the fine editorial staff at State of Formation informing me that I am officially a lapsed contributor and my posting account might be deleted. This is very true. I have lapsed in my public reflections about all things religious. When I ask myself why I lapsed, my answers are [...]
After Newtown, a Divine Name for Right Now
The tragic events of last week occurred while Jews were reading a section of the story of Joseph and his brothers which is bursting with bereavement. As I read it through the lens of midrash, this ancient story not only echoes our pain, but may also offer us some hope and guidance. The part of [...]
Malala Fever and the Challenge of Sustaining Belief
When 14-year-old Malala Yousufsai was tragically shot in the head earlier this month by the Taliban, it seemed that the entire world came down with “Malala fever.” The wounded Pakistani girl was instantly thrust onto the international stage and one writer even declared her an American hero. Even Pakistani institutions that are often critiqued for their substandard leadership [...]
The little-known eleventh commandment: Get over yourself
The thing about diversity is that, if people are being intellectually honest, tensions will arise from time to time. The brochures that talk of rich learning opportunities don’t tell you that the photos of a carefully selected group that fills many available demographics don’t suggest it; the list of event supporters includes names that cover [...]
Multiple Belonging: Thoughts on Belonging to More Than One Religion
I am in the process of articulating how I can be both Christian and Jewish without being a “Jew for Jesus.” Many people hail from a smattering of religious influences and heritages. The current model of religious identification has us choose one or none. But there has to be an intellectually credible, spiritually legitimate way [...]
A Failed Interfaith Encounter at Starbucks
Here is a story about why deep thinking about religious pluralism doesn’t get you out of tight spots with actual people. The scene: I am at a Starbucks in San Diego sipping my giant American coffee and dutifully researching the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. I mention this detail perhaps too loudly on my cell [...]
Contributing Scholars
Rachel A. HeathRachel Heath is currently completing her graduate studies at Yale Divinity School. While living in New Haven, she has been both a community organizer for public housing residents and an interfaith chaplain at a local hospital. In between cups of hazelnut coffee she works as an intern for the Yale Chaplain's Office and focuses on the positive convergence of interfaith dialogue and community service.
John KlawiterJohn is currently serving as Pastoral Intern at Como Park Lutheran Church, member of the ELCA, in St. Paul, MN. He will graduate from Luther Seminary in May, 2012 with a M. Div.
Dn. MartyI am attending St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, with the hope of becoming an Orthodox Christian Priest. I am interested in how to maintain the integrity of belief while keeping the fellowship of and dialogue with other faith backgrounds.