Religion and Faith

What do baseball great Lou Gehrig and the biblical history of the modern-day Middle East have in common? Well, admittedly, not much, except that two nationally renowned authors who wrote books on those subjects were in town Sunday to talk about their books.
Rabbi Harold Kushner talks about why a conservative approach to religion is gaining popularity.
Rabbi Harold Kushner says that when he was in rabbinical school 50 years ago, everybody thought that fundamentalist, orthodox religion was going out of style. It hasn't gone out of style at all. Kushner, who spoke recently in Wayzata and considers himself a liberal, says that liberal churches and synagogues have foresworn the mystical, irrational elements of religion to their own detriment.
Is there such a thing as the Muslim world? Is the "veil" a sign of submission or courage? And is our Western concern about women in Islam really a concern for the well-being of women? A new program from American Public Media's "Speaking of Faith" series examines these questions and more.
Since the 2004 election, people have debated the influence of religion on public life. Polls seemed to show that those describing themselves as religious seemed to favor George W. Bush. The reaction to those polls suggests the real picture may be more complicated.
Best-selling religion writer Karen Armstrong says that the rise of modernity and the rise of religious fundamentalism are linked. In a speech Saturday at St. Mark's Cathedral in Minneapolis, the former nun said that fundamentalist religious movements were both enabled by modernity and arose as a backlash against modernity.
Middle East expert Shibley Telhami says there's no doubt that anti-Americanism is on the rise in the Arab World. But Telhami says that people who blame Arab media outlets like Al Jazeera have missed the mark. Telhami has done extensive polling and found almost no connection between media consumption and public opinion in the Arab world.
The theory of intelligent design is getting its day in court after a Pennsylvania parent sued to stop the school district from teaching this alternative to evolution.
Best-selling author and Rabbi Harold Kushner says that when he was in rabbinical school 50 years ago, everybody thought that fundamentalist, orthodox religion was going out of style. It hasn't. Kushner, who spoke Monday night in Wayzata and considers himself a liberal, says that liberal churches and synagogues have foresworn the mystical, irrational elements of religion to their own detriment.
Hurricane Katrina has inspired a nationwide outpouring of sympathy, grief and outrage. We watched the institutions of society crumble before our eyes on television, bringing out the best in some and the worst in others. What did the storm teach us about the human condition?