Nuance in Black Churches’ Approaches (New York Times’ “Room for Debate”)</h1> <article> <h1>Nuance in Black Churches’ Approaches (New York Times’ “Room for Debate”)</h1> <p>JSorett — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:41:59 +0000</p> Black churches and black people, in general, continue to be portrayed as especially anti-gay, but we should remember that these organizations and individuals are not static. First, in the realm of activism, there is the stubborn idea that race and sexuality are competing or mutually exclusive. And it is certainly true that lobbyists against gay [...] </article> <article> <h1>New Summer Institute: Religious Worlds of New York</h1> <p>JSorett — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:54:19 +0000</p> I am excited to be on the faculty of a wonderful new Institute funded by National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which will be held on the campus of Union Theological Seminary in New York City for the first time this coming Summer (July 16-August 3, 2012). Please spread the word to educators you think [...] </article> <article> <h1>Black Churches and a New Generation of Protest (New York Times, “Room for Debate”)</h1> <p>JSorett — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:18:40 +0000</p> Many argue that activism within black churches has declined (if not disappeared) since the days of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But last month, on his birthday, a group of African American faith leaders called for Americans to “Occupy the Dream” with protests at Federal Reserve banks. If black churches are renewing their [...] </article> <article> <h1>The Spirit of “The Harlem Renaissance” (Frequencies)</h1> <p>JSorett — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:01:16 +0000</p> When discussing religion, today it is quite common (perhaps cliché) to hear people say, “Well, I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual.” Even in churches it is not uncommon to hear something along the lines of, “I don’t believe in religion, but I believe in a relationship with God.” A favorite at the church of my [...] </article> <article> <h1>The Religious Right, the Religious Left (New York Times, “Room for Debate”</h1> <p>JSorett — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:44:29 +0000</p> In recent history, the right has dominated public use of religious language, and mostly applied it to social issues, so that only hot-button topics like abortion or same-sex marriage tend to be viewed as clearly decided by religious beliefs. On such issues, Christianity and “conservative” positions often end up conflated. But neither the “pro-life” position [...] </article> <article> <h1>Webcast of “Is the Black Church Dead? A Roundtable on the Future of Black Churches”</h1> <p>JSorett — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:02:39 +0000</p> Many of you have requested the link to the webcast of the panel I moderated last October here at Columbia, which explored the role of black churches in contemporary society. Albeit a bit delayed, it is now up and featured on the recently re-vamped website of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. I’ve embedded [...] </article> <article> <h1>Black Churches Talk Sexuality On-Line</h1> <p>JSorett — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:15:17 +0000</p> According to popular reports, sexuality is a taboo topic in African American churches. The black church has been described as simultaneously one of the most homophobic and homo-accepting institutions. In recent years there have been numerous media stories that have centered around the intersections of black churches and sexuality, in general, and homosexuality, in particular. [...] </article> <article> <h1>The Scandal Is About More Than Bishop Eddie Long (The Root)</h1> <p>JSorett — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:20:17 +0000</p> The Scandal Is About More Than Bishop Eddie Long Shifting sexual mores, racial anxieties and unresolved issues of gender and power are what really drive our fascination with the Georgia mega-church crisis, says a professor of religion. Roughly 20 years ago, Cornel West — in his best-selling book Race Matters — argued that “it is [...] </article> <article> <h1>Black Church: A Mix of Faith, Entertainment (CNN Opinion)</h1> <p>JSorett — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:08:56 +0000</p> I’m lucky enough to have a job that requires me to think, read, write, teach and speak about the intersections of religion, entertainment and popular culture in American society. However, long before I began work as a college professor, I attended a church that placed as much emphasis on entertainment as instilling faith. There was [...] </article> <article> <h1>Visions of Liberation (ABC News’ Spirituality Page)</h1> <p>JSorett — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:59:04 +0000</p> As of late liberation talk seems to have entered into the lofty ranks of a “top ten list” of public enemies in American politics and popular culture. This development began roughly two years ago, during the most recent presidential election. It was then that Sen. Barack Obama publicly severed ties with the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah [...] </article> </main></body></html>