So, does the cultural left have a leader who might play the role that the Rev. Pat Robertson plays for the mainstream press when it is covering life on the religious right? I mean, is there a person on the religious or anti-religious left whose views are so predictable and, often, so predictably extreme that one can always count on him for that symbolic action or quote that you need to stereotype all of the other people on that side of the cultural aisle?
Is the 'New Atheism' any different from old atheism?
Are there any substantive differences between traditional atheism vs. what is called âNew Atheismâ? Or is the term used just to describe a bunch of popular books (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, etc.) coming out at once? Who coined the term âNew Atheismâ and can it be described as a new philosophical movement (or reframing of an old one)?
Hey atheists, 'Thank God you're wrong'
As a reporter, I’m always amazed by how much I learn when I actually pick up the phone and talk to somebody.
Der Spiegel and the cutting question of circumcision
 The issue of circumcision has returned to Germany’s newspapers — and the manner in which the controversy is being discussed suggests that while the press is aware of the issues of personal autonomy generated by state intervention into the private sphere, the religious liberty (or perhaps the religious sensibility) issue is missing from the story.
The warning in the atheist pastor story
The New York Times today has a piece headlined “Minister Admits Overstating Her Credentials,” an update of sorts to the previous week’s fluffy profile of a mainline pastor (“After a Crisis of Faith, a Former Minister Finds a New, Secular Mission”) that began:
Pope not Catholic, reports The Independent
The Independent is reporting that Pope Francis is a heretic. More precisely The Independent has insinuated that Francis has adopted a Pelagian view of salvation.
Dawkins talks 2.0, and Anglicans just can't catch a break
At the moment, the Rt. anti-Rev. Richard Dawkins is — logically enough — in full-tilt, set-on-stun PR mode for his new book, “An Appetite for Wonder: the Making of a Scientist.” The goal is to make headlines and move volumes and, as the old saying goes, a headline is a headline.
And now, a newsworthy word from the Rt. anti-Rev. Dawkins
Concerning theological Swiss Army knives (think chaplains)
In the world of church-state studies, few puzzles are as tough to crack as those that surround the work of military chaplains.