May the Force…

Alright, all you Star Wars fans: Jediism is a religion, with temples, communities, and terminology. And thanks, Leftover, for the link.

More in the good news/bad news realm of thinking

The new Congress is pretty much the same as the old Congress when it comes to religion, and when it comes to gender. According to that last link at Vox: The 115th Congress, which was officially sworn in on Tuesday, will be the most racially diverse Congress in history. Gender diversity, though, is another story. While 14 non-incumbent women …

Is American religion really worth $1.16 trillion?

A new study published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion says that’s the case, but this Relevant article says no. From the Relevant article: Their $1.16 trillion estimate is a staggering amount of money—something like 7% of the United States’ GDP. It’s also, on reflection, a somewhat silly figure. How do you possibly estimate …

Before you speak about religion…

And thanks, Cynical, for this.

As a reminder:

This includes some candidates long departed from the campaign, but here’s a reminder of who belongs to what faith (or not).

How do we feel about immigrants?

Leftover sends this incredible study from the Public Religion Research Institute. The study includes: More than two-thirds (68%) of young adults (age 18 to 29) say that immigrants coming to the U.S. strengthen the country, while fewer than one in five (19%) say that immigrants threaten traditional American customs and values. In contrast, only 36% …

Women are deeper than men

Made you look! But check out this Pew Research Center report (and thanks, Leftover, for the link). There’s a lot of interesting stuff in there, but I was drawn to this: …this study finds that, globally, women are more devout than men by several standard measures of religious commitment. But the study also reveals a …

A personal abortion story

Jac sent this, an essay by someone who had an abortion. The essay is published anonymously. It includes this: It doesn’t matter to me what your religion is or what your personal values are. If you do not believe in abortion, don’t get one. Make sure your sex life reflects your values, too. But your …

In which Justice Scalia says confusing things

Leftover sends this, a report (from American Conservative, so take a lemon to suck) that says in a Louisiana speech a few days ago, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said the Constitution, well, let’s AC’s Rod Dreher describe it: Scalia said that of all the religion clause (the Establishment clause, and the Free Exercise clause) …

On being grateful…

I farted around on the Twitters too much yesterday, a state of goofing off that was a result of  my feeling giddy as the semester winds down, and my feeling arrogantly that I had something to add. The universe does not reward arrogance — at least, it doesn’t in my neighborhood. I tweeted a link to the post …