A recent Newsweek article calls Utah “the new economic Zion”, because it has been largely insulated from the bad economy. Part of that is Utah’s low corporate taxes, making it a hospitable environment for business. And Newsweek attributes the rest to the Mormon work ethic.
The Truant (satirical) headline: “Pearl of Great Price” not worth that much after all”.
Some recently declassified FBI files shed light on conservative firebrand and Mormon leader Ezra Taft Benson’s relationships with the Eisenhower and the John Birch Society.
The Catholic blog “First Things” explains why the phrase “I’m spiritual, but not religious” is vacuous. “The word “spiritual” has no useful meaning if it does not refer to a relation to a real spirit … It’s not a useful word if it means a general inclination or shape of mind or emotional pattern or set of attitudes or collection of values. There is no reason to call any of these spiritual.”
The Center for Inquiry’s resident philosopher John Shook provides a detailed overview of the various naturalisms.
The LDS Church takes another stand on a hot-button political issue, and this time I agree with them. The church came out in support of comprehensive immigration reform.
A major study by renown sociologist Robert Putnam finds that Mormons are among the most devout religious groups, among the most likely to keep their faith as an adult, are unusually charitable, and have relatively positive and pluralistic views of other religions.
In his new book, the Pope condones condom use in exceptional cases. Well, kind of.
A father in Indiana is denied custody rights of his children because he is an agnostic. Absurd.
This YouTuber advocates a boycott of the Salvation Army this holiday season, because of its religious opposition to gay marriage and anti-discrimination ordinances.
Mormon apologist and Islam expert Daniel C. Peterson, in an online discussion board, writes, “I’m not sure whether Muhammad was a prophet or not. I’m reasonably confident that he received inspiration from God.”
A new study finds that Utah lags behind all other states in attainment of college degrees by women.
Philosopher Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola of Tufts University release a landmark study on atheist clergy—priests and pastors who secretly disbelieve, yet continue to preach the Christian gospel. Dennett claims that this is a fairly common phenomenon. I’d argue, though, that the LDS Church doesn’t have this problem, as its leadership consists of lay members who, unlike most Christian clergy, don’t undergo religious/theological education.
Evolutionary biologist and philosopher Massimo Pigliucci worries that science vs. philosophy will be the next big culture war.
Andrew S. of Irresistible (Dis)Grace asks whether most Mormons even care about the truth.
France is starting to teach philosophy in school to kids as young as four. Let’s just hope they’re not reading Nietzsche quite yet. Then in the UK, you have Islamic schools that are teaching children how to cut of thieves’ hands and that there is a Jewish plot for world domination.
The New Scientist has compiled their best articles on the science of morality into one special report.
Lastly, something to think about this Thanksgiving: The weird evolutionary story of cranberries.
I think I agree with the Catholic blog re: spiritual but not religious…I mean, I can understand the sentiment that people get frustrated with every organized religion and just want to disassociate from them all…but a lot of the times, people want to call spiritual things that can be decidedly secular. I’m sorry, “a sense of wonder about the world” isn’t spiritual in any sense. “Growth in self-understanding” isn’t spirituality.
I’m surprised about your position for nonbelieving Mormon clergy. I think they still exist, but perhaps for different reasons. The different reason is that Mormons have a pressure to stay in the church pretending to believe even if they don’t…to keep up appearances, keep the family together, avoid losing friends. This happens to all Mormons, so of course, any one with that problem who is called to a leadership position would be a nonbelieving clergyman.
About the LDS Church declaring its support for the Utah Compact on Immigration Reform:
While supporting the humane treatment of immigrants should only be expected from a religious institution and not be recognized as an effort, I detect a possible ulterior mode. The article points out that “Latinos make up the largest proportion of converts to the LDS Church”. Immigrant Latinos are more likely to welcome the teachings of the church because religion is deeply rooted in their culture. Given the increasing number of falling Mormons, this might as well be a way of capitalizing on an ethical matter to recruit new members by shifting the target to a part of the population that is more impressionable and less likely to leave the church.
The acceptance of a ethnically heterogeneous population within the church might be “good news for twenty-first century Mormonism,” as the article states. To me it just sounds like another clever political agenda.
I don’t disagree with you, Rob. I’m sure that the large Latino membership in the church fuels the support for immigration reform. But that doesn’t bother me, really. Possible ulterior motives aside, I think the church’s endorsement of reform is important (and probably a prerequisite for immigration reform in Utah).