Word: secularization
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...make this a resounding but - it would be irresponsible not to point out that the general feel, if not all the specifics, of Brown's cultural history is entirely correct. He loves showing us places where our carefully tended cultural boundaries - between Christian and pagan, sacred and secular, ancient and modern - are actually extraordinarily messy. Langdon points out, for example, that the U.S. Capitol "was designed as a tribute to one of Rome's most venerated mystical shrines," the Temple of Vesta, and that it prominently features a painting of George Washington in the guise of Zeus. ("That hardly fits...
...graze. Cox retired this past June after 44 years at the Harvard Divinity School, where his position was the oldest endowed chair in the country, and where he established a reputation as one of the foremost theologians of his time. His first major book, “The Secular City,” sold over a million copies, and his undergraduate course, “Jesus and the Moral Life,” regularly attracted an average enrollment of 800 students in a year, according to Donald R. Cutler, Cox’s agent...
It’s all done for good reason. Fasting has great spiritual importance in Islam; a blindingly vast corpus of religious tradition, scholarship, and run-of-the-mill ritual accompanies the month of Ramadan. Leaving all of that aside, however, fasting also offers important secular lessons. Whether or not one is religiously inclined, it offers considerable personal benefits. Few other methods are so effective in teaching discipline and humility coupled with an awe and respect for the human spirit. Islamic virtues, yes—but hardly exclusively...
...France. A first in its own right, the ad is already a remarkable sight on French TV. But even more surprising is the reaction it's gotten - or, rather, hasn't gotten. In a country that's usually quick to burst into outrage over the spread of Islam into secular society, these halal-food ads have been playing without a peep from the public...
...Secular justice, nevertheless, can still have apocalyptic repercussions - in this case, for Olmert's party. Kadima leaders were torn between their loyalty to Olmert, who founded the party with Sharon in 2005, and their desire not to be tainted by the criminal prosecution. "On this difficult day, we must not forget Olmert's rich contributions," said Kadima legislator Yoel Hasson. But Kadima's right wing could take advantage of the crisis to split the party and cross over to the Likud, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to woo them for months. Such a move would bolster Netanyahu...