Today, I want to honor the stories of women who left religion (the Christian faith, in particular), and these are four thoughtful, poetic meditations.
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. * * * 1. ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape Rukmini Callimachi | New York Times | Aug. 13, 2015 | 16 minutes (4,011 words) Twenty-one […]
The Reporter at the Ayahuasca Tea Ceremony
In a piece for the Financial Times John Paul Rathbone wrote about the murder of Glauco Villas Boas, one of Brazil’s best-known cartoonists. Glauco was a leader of the CĂ©u de Maria church, one of the many churches in Brazil that treat hallucinogenic ayahuasca tea as a sacrament. The young man charged with murdering Glauco had partaken in the religious rituals […]
Aldous Huxley’s Influence on the Esalen Institute
Although Murphy and Price [Michael Murphy and Dick Price, Esalen’s founders] actually met Aldous Huxley only once, in January of 1962 when the author visited them briefly in Big Sur shortly before his death on November 22, 1963 (the same day, it turns out, that JFK was assassinated), his intellectual and personal influence on the […]
Inside the Universal Life Church, the Internet’s One True Religion
Most people know the Universal Life Church as a quick and easy place to get ordained without leaving your couch. But the history of the church, which emerged in the late ’60s, is far more complicated—and fascinating.
The Day My Brother Took a Life and Changed Mine Forever
I grew up idolizing my brother. Then he killed a man.
How Rival Gardens of Eden in Iraq Survived ISIS, Dwindling Tourists, And Each Other
Against all odds, Iraq’s religious tourism infrastructure has endured.
The Icy Elegance of Arthur Ashe … And the Passion of Muhammad Ali
The sportsmen’s lives read as a conversation on what it means to be American.
Same-Sex Marriage, America, and You: A Reading List
In the following list, I share different perspectives about same-sex marriage (all written by members of the LGBTQ+ community), as well as Pride, religious opinions, family and stereotypes.
Losing My Religion: A Reading List
In the two years since my graduation from my conservative Christian college, approximately half of my friends have reaffirmed their faith: they’ve joined churches, volunteered in youth groups, and read the Bible in its entirety. Other friends have left their faith for something different: agnosticism or atheism. I find myself between the two camps, mostly intrigued by the latter. This is explored in the following four pieces.

