AltWeeklies Wire
Sarah Vowell Pops a Ladyboner for Puritans in Her New Booknew

In The Wordy Shipmates, she makes the case that the Puritans were not a congregation of book burning, sexually uptight, overly moral goody-goodies. Working out some schoolgirl crush on folks with buckled shoes, she gushes over the Puritans as a literary bunch who relentlessly penned letters, sermons, books, even kept day-to-to diaries.
New York Press |
Brian Pennington |
10-09-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Palin's Church History Brings Attention to the Third Wave Movementnew
MorningStar Ministries, a church linked to a movement that emphasizes miraculous healing, divine revelation, prophesy and "spiritual warfare" (including the expelling of demons from cities), has recently been thrust into the spotlight for its links to churches attended by the vice presidential candidate.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
Karen Shugart |
10-08-2008 |
Politics
Smart Guy Bill Maher Makes a Dumb Movie About Religionnew
Maher's first film project, Religulous, is a major disappointment because here, unlike on Real Time, he aims for laughs instead of insight -- and aims low.
Chicago Reader |
J.R. Jones |
10-06-2008 |
Reviews
The Untold Tale Behind Mercy Ministries' Prescription for Recoverynew
Some young women claim Mercy turned them from merely damaged to suicidal. Entrusting their recovery to untrained counselors barely out of Bible college, the Mercy girls said that exorcisms and speaking in tongues took the place of treatment, that expulsion was the punishment for peeing without permission, and that DVDs featuring the testimony of former gays were peddled as a cure for lesbianism.
Nashville Scene |
Caleb Hannan |
10-03-2008 |
Religion
Bill Maher Zaps Faith in 'Religulous'new
Maher takes stands against religion and against the very notion of faith (as the word is generally used these days) some of the time; and against the intermingling of religion and public policy all of the time.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Andy Klein |
10-03-2008 |
Reviews
Muslims Speak Out on the Election and Obamanew

For nearly 20 months, U.S. Muslims have watched Barack Obama fumble as he tries to debunk rumors that he's a closet Muslim. He'd best be careful. An estimated 2 million Muslims are expected to vote in November, making them a potential swing demographic.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Damon Hodge |
10-03-2008 |
Politics
That's Bill Maher in the Spotlight, Losing His Religion.new
The catechism running through the movie is the question of who is more annoying: God or Bill Maher?
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-01-2008 |
Reviews
'Borat' Director Debunks Religion with Bill Maher in 'Religulous'
Bill Maher takes a shooting-fish-in-a-barrel approach to questioning the validity of all religious beliefs and comes up with a cinematic breath of fresh air.
Nothing's Sacred for Bill Maher and Larry Charlesnew

Maher and Charles discuss fundamentalism, the apocalypse, and their new faith-challenging
doc, Religulous.
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
09-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
A Brutal Murder Exposes an Ethnic Community's Struggle with Modern Lifenew

The real scandal behind the murder of Homaira Rahman: She had been dating.
Washington City Paper |
Angela Valdez |
09-18-2008 |
Crime & Justice
New Orleans Archdiocese is Closing Parishes, and Some Parishioners Wonder Whynew
The mass is ended, but some parishioners are not going in peace. They suspect the decision to close some Catholic parishes was more about real estate values than a priest shortage.
Sarah Palin's Scary Recordnew
I've become genuinely horrified by the prospect of a Palin vice presidency. Behind her LensCrafters-model looks, I detect a backward-thinking, theocratic extremist with a serious oil addiction.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
John Grooms |
09-17-2008 |
Commentary
Religions Battle it Out in 'Wag the Dog' Author Larry Beinhart's New Thrillernew
From the outset, Salvation Boulevard was meant to be much more than a garden-variety murder mystery. "I woke up one morning in the 21st century and thought I was having a bad acid flashback of the 12th," Beinhart muses now.
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
09-17-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Rev. Richard Cizik: Thou Shalt Go Greennew
Religion and social issues aside, Cizik, 57, has become well-known the past few years for pushing a theme not usually associated with the evangelical movement: taking care of the Earth.
Colorado Springs Independent |
John Weiss |
09-16-2008 |
Religion
Florida Dodges the School Voucher Bulletnew
On Sept. 3, the Florida Supreme Court struck Amendment 7 (and two other amendments) from the ballot on the grounds that Amendment 7's language was misleading to voters, and that the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission overstepped its authority in placing this amendment on the November ballot.
Orlando Weekly |
Deanna Morey |
09-12-2008 |
Politics