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LATEST ARTICLES ( 560 )

• Vegetable Gods

  

  Over at Aeon, Rhys Southan wonders what would happen if powerful vegan aliens invaded earth. It’s a thought experiment in the grand tradition of Immanuel Kant... Read more

  Posted on 25 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Marx’s Critique of Religion

  

  As regular readers know, I’ve been revisiting early naturalist theories of religion and looking at these through an anthropological lens. The first post was on... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Hybrid Jewish Identity

  

  Over at the LA Review of Books, Jacob Silverman smartly interrogates the thorny issue of Jewish identity. The occasion is Jews and Words by Amos Oz and Fania... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Clear as Mud: Scientology

  

  When you are asked to do a piece for the New York Times Sunday Book Review, I can only assume it’s an honor that pays. So when Michael Kinsley was asked to... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Feuerbach’s “Essence of Religion”

  

  In 1846, the German philosopher and anthropologist Ludwig Feuerbach published The Essence of Religion. It is a deceptively simple book about which much has... Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Neuroscientists Discover Shamanic Healing

  

  Better late than never is a good thing, even if the delay is measured in many thousands of years. Western medical science is just now discovering that the mind... Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Class-Based Bible Reading

  

  As Americans affixed to Downton Abbey are learning, everything in English life is suffused with class. The staff at Downton is, by most appearances, literate. Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Hume’s “Natural History of Religion”

  

  In 1757, David Hume published The Natural History of Religion. It was a radical and innovative book that constitutes the first systematic effort to explain... Read more

  Posted on 09 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION

• St. Francis of Assisi-Anthropology

  

  It seems odd that some 800 years after his death, people are still writing books about St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). It appears, however, that thousands... Read more

  Posted on 08 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• WEIRD Reifying Resolution

  

  Though I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions, if I had to choose one for 2013 it would be this: do not make the mistake of believing that our conceptual... Read more

  Posted on 05 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Meditating Buddhism

  

  Over at the Atlantic, Evolution of God author Robert Wright wonders why he feels “happy” after a one-week Buddhist meditation retreat. Read more

  Posted on 03 January 2013 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Scalpindipity

  

  While perusing Spiegel’s superb collection of the best news photos from this past year, this moment of terror arrested my attention:AP/The Sunday IndianThis ful... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Reviewing the Anthropology of Religion

  

  Although I’m not a fan of the ubiquitous lists that always appear at this time of year, I recently received this request:Hello, I really enjoy reading your blog... Read more

  Posted on 28 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Evolution of Neolithic Hells

  

  It is hard to know what our correspondents at the Economist were thinking when they published this coal lump journey through all kinds of Hells on December 22. Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Stocking Stuffers

  

  In the midst of the holiday season which I hope that everyone is enjoying (while I’m alternately experiencing elation and despair brought on by good and bad... Read more

  Posted on 23 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• China’s Religion Memo

  

  China’s ruling Central Committee does not often issue written “notices” or directives. When it does, people pay attention. Because such notices emanate from on... Read more

  Posted on 20 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Animist Hunters & Soul Eating

  

  When musings on animist ontology appear in Berfrois, the stars are surely aligned — though not for the Mayan Apocalypse. This ontology has been much on my mind... Read more

  Posted on 17 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Brain Basis of “Religious” OBE/NDE

  

  Over at the Atlantic, Oliver Sacks expertly discusses the neurology of out of body experiences (OBE) and near death experiences (NDE). Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Animism as Weltanschauung

  

  While rummaging around the anthropology antique closet, I came across a 1915 article by Alexander Goldenweiser. As one of Franz Boas’ students, he shouldn’t hav... Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Contra Scientism

  

  Few things are more tedious than the shrill and narrow-minded insistence that science is the Arbiter with the Answers. When I read scientists who grossly... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY