Dis/appearing
Instead of a theodicy of progress, we need to enact a “hauntodicy of blackness” by staying with the dead and not moving on. By Biko Mandela Gray
Category: Violence/Conflict
Paying Homage to the Wounds
After serving in Afghanistan, a veteran struggles with trauma and wrestles with his faith, but volunteering at the Kalighat Home for the Dying connects him to a deeper truth. By Marcus Seymour
‘My Dreams Will Never Be the Same’
Neris Gonzalez’s love of her community and faith in a just God enable her to keep pushing for the Salvadoran generals responsible for her imprisonment and torture to be held accountable. By Julia Lieblich
Carrying Guns to Synagogue?
Increasing anti-Semitic attacks against synagogues and Jewish centers have led some rabbis to advocate for stronger security measures. By Robert Israel
Creating a World Beyond Lethal Force
Reducing our reliance on the military and police to keep us safe starts with having revolutionary conversations. By Sarah Nahar
The Decapitated Priest and the Cook Turned Peacebuilder
In an excerpt from “Gods, Guns, and Girls: Gender, Agency and Spirituality in a Congolese Rebel Movement,” the author questions assumptions about Mai-Mai indigenous practices. By Georgette Mulunda Ledgister
Investing in a World That Is Not Yet
Abolishing the police requires tapping into the Black radical imagination. By Marc Lamont Hill
Police Brutality and the #EndSARS Movement in Nigeria
A Nigerian protest movement offers hope for the future of transnational activism. By Oluwole Ojewale
Policing: War Institution or Public Service?
A Kenyan policy analyst traces the causes and consequences of the global militarization of police. By Douglas Lucas Kivoi
With Her Head Held High
Even after her imprisonment and torture, a Sikh woman relentlessly pursues justice for her father’s murder during the state-sanctioned 1984 violence. By Kalpana Jain
A View From the Minaret
A day trip to Caesarea spurs memories of a childhood visit and reflections on how a disastrous past can go unseen even when it is in full view. By Linda Dittmar
The Study of Religion on the Other Side of Disgust
Disgust directs us toward the painful truth of religion in human life beyond the bourgeois pieties of “religion” as it is defined and policed in the modern era. By Robert A. Orsi
The Interreligious Resilience of Varanasi
Telling and passing down narratives of interreligious amity in cities like Varanasi can demonstrate the countervailing power of peace. By Kalpana Jain
Poets on Hymns: “Jesus Is All the World to Me”
Seven poets discuss their favorite hymns: “Jesus Is All the World to Me” by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley.
Can the Women Do Something?
An inspiring call to action from the Nobel laureate who brought women together across religious, ethnic, and political differences to restore peace in Liberia. By Leymah Gbowee
‘Peace, Peace to Him Who is Far Off, and to Him Who is Near’
Conversations with a World War II conscientious objector and a soldier who served in Iraq deepen the author’s understanding of pacifism. By Sarah Sentilles
What Contributes to Moral Progress?
Michael Shermer’s The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Reason and Karen Armstrong’s Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. By Bradley Shingleton
What Does Work Mean to Widows in Afghanistan?
In the context of serial wars, liberal agendas of care are problematic. By Anila Daulatzai
Unsealed Memories
Any work toward racial reconciliation and healing must start with facing up to the evils of our past. By Melissa Bartholomew
Egypt: Notes from the Ground
What led to the dramatic changes in Egypt in 2013, and how should these events be characterized? By Ahmed Ragab
