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Essay
Concerning “Goodbye Christ”: Langston Hughes, Political Poetry, and African American Religion
“Politics can be the graveyard of the poet. And only poetry can be his resurrection.” Langston Hughes (1964) On the afternoon of November 15, 1940, Langston …
By Wallace BestReport
Why Faith Groups Are Rallying Behind Immigration Reform
As Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block marched toward the U.S. Capitol Building on a cloudy afternoon this October, he said he felt “a little nervousness.” Walking arm-in-arm with …
By Jack JenkinsReport
With New Pope, a More Open Catholic Church?
Alison Donohue teaches college writing in Hawaii, but her preference is to be back in a Catholic school, an environment where she spent more than …
By Michael O’LoughlinEssay
Who Counts as a Jew?
On October 1, the Pew Research Center released “A Portrait of Jewish Americans,” its much-anticipated sociological study. Among other results, the survey found high rates …
By Rachel GrossEssay
TOMS Shoes and the Spiritual Politics of Neoliberalism
Here they are, smiling and crying, the words catching in their throats as they place tiny shoes to the feet of tiny children. Seven strangers, …
By Lucia HulsetherEssay
Spike Lee’s “4 Little Girls” and the Aftershocks of the Birmingham Church Bombing
I was watching Spike Lee’s documentary 4 Little Girls when the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case was handed down. An alert flashed on my …
By Briallen HopperReport
How a Nun Turned a Monastery Garage into a Global Catholic News Network
In March of 1978, a 55-year-old cloistered nun named Mother Angelica went to Chicago. She was there to give workshops to supporters who would distribute …
By Renée K. GadouaEditor’s Note
More than Faith: For Trayvon Martin, a Promise to Act
The sorrowful story of Trayvon Martin’s deadly encounter with the excitable George Zimmerman has mesmerized the nation anew with Zimmerman’s recent acquittal. Those who see …
By Marie GriffithEssay
The Critic Within: On Father Andrew Greeley (1928-2013)
Father Andrew Greeley, who died in May at the age of 85, used to joke that he would be remembered as the Catholic priest who …
By Robert A. OrsiEssay
The Economic Vision of Pope Francis, a Pontiff for the Poor
When Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement, most evaluations of his pontificate prominently featured the adjective “conservative.” Yet, this same pope, as well as his …
By Michael Sean Winters