Category Archives: Rituals

Gentlemen! Synchronize your watches!

No. This isn’t a Photoshop mashup. Three world leaders, representing two of the three Abrahamic religions, are checking to see if it’s sunset yet. From HuffPo: Prior to the start of their working dinner with President Barack Obama, President Mahmoud … Continue reading

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Minding your manners

When I taught World Religions and had a component that encouraged students to visit other places of worship outside of their own tradition, I made it a point to remind students to read up on the religious etiquette. This takes … Continue reading

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Ash Wednesday Foot in Mouth

You may have read my essay about anti-intellectualism. Well, here is the flip side: religious ignorance. Or rather, ignorance about religious traditions. UK broadcasters pondering over that nasty looking smudge on Joe Biden’s head. Hello! It’s called Ash Wednesday! Hello! … Continue reading

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Oprah gets schooled

I awoke this afternoon just in time to see the Oprah show on Tues. Geishas and Dominican nuns. The list of what Oprah claimed she didn’t know makes me wonder, no, makes me worried about the general religious knowledge Americans … Continue reading

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Jewish roots remain in Los Angeles neighborhood

This story from the LA Times is calling out for a sociologist or anthropologist to study. The old man with the Santa Claus beard pulled a black yarmulke from the trunk of his Cadillac and limped across the street. Hundreds … Continue reading

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Religion and the impulse for ritual

This article from ABC News, discusses the findings of Oxford anthropoligist Harvey Whitehouse’s study of religion. He was drawn to a puzzle when comparing different religious rituals. On the one hand there are the extreme cases such as sacred fire … Continue reading

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