Rembrandt at 350: Light and Shadow in the Modern World
Louis A. Ruprecht Jr. Perhaps there was a sting of jealous amazement at work here, as Rembrandt notoriously bankrupted in the 1650s and thus worked in grinding poverty for his final decade. The winning and losing of fortune: this is the topsy-turvy, boom-and-bust world of global capital.
From the Madness of Reefer to the Ecstatic Bliss of Marijuana: The Rise of Cannabis Churches
Morgan Shipley However, at the heart of THC Ministry is not a commitment to Christ, but to a foundational and sacred right to use cannabis as a means to raise consciousness, to commune with nature, and, maybe most significantly, “live with modesty, good manners, and humbleness.”
Modern Shamanism in Turkey
Murat Sahir The Republic of Turkey was a unique project of modernity. As a secular western state, the Turkish Republic embodied many contradictions, but over time Islam became the inescapable unifying factor of the multi-ethnic nation-state. Today, a clear majority of the Turkish population finds a sense of identity and community in the religion of […]
Lale to Me: Tulip to You
Alizeh Ahmad Irony abounds in that the tulip, so wrapped up in Dutch identity, belongs to a people and a set of beliefs that the Dutch seem to find repulsive in today’s political climate.
Muslim Women Resist: How Mona Haydar Counters Difference through Rap
Lamiae Aidi Through the lens of media as a form of pedagogy that shapes people’s identities and personas, the music video is a response to stereotypes of a subcategory of Muslim women that is represented as a problematic difference. It reminds women to voice their choice, it reiterates the same message as World Hijab Day.
The Devil’s in the Details: The Krampus Conundrum
Madison Tarleton Accusations of blood libels and ritual murders only heightened suspicions that Jews were demonically possessed and were most evidently non-Christian beings, perhaps even sub-human.
Thanksgiving Rites and Wrongs: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the American Imagination
D. F. Sebastian The contrast between the practices of modern and archaic thanksgiving rites gives us insight into the broader imagination behind how our society is constructed.
The Body of Fried Chicken and the Blood of Bud Light: Religion Around the Tailgate Table
Madison Tarleton The relationship that the tailgating participants have not only with one another but with the event itself allows them to create a countered “sacred space” to the mundane routines of work and daily life.
Disney’s Christopher Robin and the Idolatry of Work
Daniel Anderson Tragically, Christopher Robin’s life seemingly proves Adorno’s adage that a “wrong life cannot be lived rightly.”
The Ghost of Roy Orbison Goes on Tour
Peter Lehman He seemed to be defined by an absence, which then materialized as a dark, quiet persona who always kept his eyes covered in public, inviting people to project their thoughts, fears and melancholy onto him.