Trump and Project Blitz: Beware False Attempts to Promote Religious Literacy

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In previous posts (Religious Literacy Guidelines for College Students and HarvardX: Online Course on Religious Literacy), we have discussed the necessity among Americans (including journalists) to become more literate about religion, including the Bible (upon which, like it or not, Western civilization is largely dependent). President Donald Trump has announced that his “Department of Education […]

The House Financial Services Committee: A Report Card for 2019

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After Democrats won the House of Representatives in decisive fashion in the 2018 election, committee chairs shifted radically. Rep. Maxine Waters of California became the first woman and first black lawmaker to serve as chair of the important House Financial Services Committee. Waters, at 81 years young, took a strong hold of the Committee in […]

Questioning Christian Orthodoxy in the Christmas Season

| Future,Past,Present

It will strike some readers as “heresy” for members of one of the mainstream Christian denominations (in this case, the Episcopal Church) to question several tenets of a major document of the church – especially when the questioning comes during the major season of Christmas. For other readers, though – perhaps those searching in a […]

Giving Thanks for Our Native American Neighbors

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In this season of Thanksgiving, and as we head into the holiday season, two recent developments from the little state of Vermont are noteworthy. Earlier this year, the Vermont Legislature passed a law designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, replacing the traditional designation of Columbus Day. Republican Governor Phil Scott signed […]

Religious Literacy Guidelines for College Students – and the Rest of Us

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Religion is frequently in the news, whether we are hearing about shootings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Mother Emmanuel Church in Charleston, SC, or Sutherland Springs, Texas; differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East; objections to abortion by leaders in the Roman Catholic Church and conservative politicians, including Vice […]

Index to the Fourth Year

| Future,Past,Present

Thank you as always for checking in with WisdomWordsPPF!  Below is a guide to the past year of blog posts. Here are the other indices: First year (October 2015-October 2016); Second year (October 2016-October 2017); Third year (October 2017-October 2018). US Politics, Trump Administration, 2018 and 2020 Elections Buyer’s Remorse and Self-Forgiveness: Humble Suggestions for […]

A Virtual Pilgrimage to Civil Rights Sites in Alabama I: Preparation, Birmingham and Selma

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Making a pilgrimage to a sacred or special location is an age-old practice; practitioners of most religious traditions and many others have undertaken spiritual journeys to seek meaning, look “for their heart’s desire,” to heal, and to “find a more authentic home” (Kujawa-Holbrook 8). How, though, can someone with limited funds, mobility issues or other […]