All that Was Innocent and Violent: Girlhood in Post-Revolution Iran By Naz Riahi Feature Naz Riahi recalls her vibrant childhood in a suburb of Tehran, and considers how the harsh realities imposed by the still new Islamic Republic seeped into her family’s life.
The Price of Dominionist Theology By Eve Ettinger Feature After leaving fundamentalism, Eve Ettinger grapples with the loaded theological heritage of evangelical personal finance teachings.
‘I Was Being Used in Slivers and Slices’: On Feminism at Odds With Evangelical Faith By Jane Ratcliffe Feature “I wasn’t unified in my being. I wasn’t able to bring my whole self to the table,” says Cameron Dezen Hammon about her life as a worship leader for an evangelical megachurch.
The (Loud) Soundtrack to My Struggle with Faith By Anna Gazmarian Feature After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Anna Gazmarian grapples with her evangelical upbringing, and finds solace in screamo music.
The Girl I Didn’t Save By Longreads Feature Cameron Dezen Hammon reflects on her frustrations as a Christian music minister for the terminally ill, unable to heal a cancer patient she cared for, and struggling to be compassionate at her belligerent Jewish father’s bedside.
In the Age of the Psychonauts By Longreads Feature Three psycho-spiritual “events” of the 1970s — involving Philip K. Dick, Robert Anton Wilson, and Terence and Dennis McKenna — had a strange synchronicity.
Losing My Religion at Christian Camp By Katy Hershberger Feature Katy Hershberger recalls the way her decade at Christian summer camp both shaped and condemned her views of faith and girlhood.
An Ocean Away From the Sanctuary of Manhattan, Signs of Peaceful Coexistence By Longreads Feature As a Jewish New Yorker, Candy Schulman is surprised to find a small town in Andalusia celebrating the coexistence of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures, despite the area’s dark racist history.
When to Throw a Goodbye Party By Joy Notoma Feature Joy Notoma grapples with saying goodbye to friends before a move, the complicated grief of shunning, and the way one parting can be a painful reminder of so many others.
Bundyville: The Remnant, Chapter Four: The Preacher and the Politician By Leah Sottile Feature If America collapses, some see that as an opportunity to reboot society. They say they have God on their side.
First Contact By Longreads Feature Sarah Watts details how science fiction shaped her family, her religion, and her own self-image.
This Month In Books: ‘Look at the World, and Not at the Mirror.’ By Dana Snitzky Commentary This month’s books newsletter is about seeing the big picture.
‘If Any of My Old Friends Are Reading This, It Is Okay Out Here.’ By Jacqueline Alnes Feature Amber Scorah talks about committing the one unforgiveable sin: believing, then not believing.
Confessions of a Lapsed Catholic Dancer By Kate Branca Feature Kate Branca considers the body as an instrument of faith.
‘We All Live in the Great Database in the Sky’: On Silicon Valley and UFO Culture By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight “The idea seems to be that we all live in the great database in the sky, occasionally summoning aliens with our minds.” Emily Harnett explores Silicon Valley’s appropriation of UFO culture.
‘It’s a Perfect Profession for a Con Artist’ By Michelle Weber Highlight Personal assistant? Start-up founder? Professional long-lost sister? No, Southern Baptist pastor.
Power to the People By Michelle Weber Highlight With Warren Jeffs in jail, Hildale, Utah has an opportunity to become a real town that serves and protects all its residents, no matter their faiths.
Land Not Theirs By Madison Davis Feature Reckoning with a religious upbringing means confronting religion’s role in oppressing women and people of color.
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: A Reading List About Witches By Sara Benincasa Reading List Witchcraft: it’s spirituality, it’s a philosophy, it’s a lot more than flowy black dresses and cursing your exes.
Positivity Is Relative, Depending on Which Side of the Fighting You’re On By Michelle Weber Highlight “I was not a fallen creature in a broken world reliant on grace, but a Marine in a successful army that had all the answers.”
Father of Disorder By Jessica Wilbanks Feature One woman finds insight into her father’s rage in the scientific concept of entropy.
The Post on Anti-Semitism I Never Thought I’d Write By Sari Botton Highlight Like many non-religious Jews of my generation, I naively assumed Nazism could never rise — and hurt us — again.
Ancestor Work In Street Basketball By Onaje X. O. Woodbine Feature The basketball court is a place where young black men feel comfortable mourning death, but are there crucial elements missing from their grieving practices?
‘I Loved God, I Loved Believing’: An Interview with R.O. Kwon By Victoria Namkung Feature Not only will I never get my faith back, but I’m going to keep missing it. I’ll always have that longing — but there’s no going back into the garden.
To Reflect, To Love, and To Protest: A Pride Month Reading List By Em Perper Reading List A roundup of longreads to celebrate Pride Month.
A Woman’s Search for Salvation, Love, and Family By Danielle Jackson Highlight A woman searches for love and belonging inside and outside of the Christian church.
Meet the New Mormons By Sarah Scoles Feature Is it possible to be queer, lefty, and a Latter-Day Saint? After leaving the church, Sarah Scoles sets out to understand liberal Mormons.
The Hole in My Soul By Sara Eckel Feature Sara Eckel surprised her agnostic parents by becoming a born-again Christian at age 10. It was the first of many attempts to believe.
‘I Feel Closer to My Faith Than I Did Before’: Holding On to Ramadan By Danielle Jackson Highlight Poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib reflects on why he still fasts during Ramadan.
