Religion

Redemption Politics

Ron Tang — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:35:00 -0400

We all know that politics makes strange bedfellows, but how odd it must have been to have sat in on the recent meeting between Barack Obama and evangelical leaders, including Franklin Graham, the conservative minister who once called Islam “a very evil and wicked religion.” Yet there they were, Obama and the evangelicals in Chicago on June 10, searching for -- and apparently finding -- considerable common ground. In the last few weeks, Obama has announced several outreach projects (including one named after Joshua, who, unlike Moses, was able to lead his people to the promised land). For their part,… more

New America Foundation in Newsweek, WashingtonPost.com | 'The Emerging Interfaith Youth Movement'

Communications — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:55:00 -0400

New America in the News:

One of the remarkable things about the gathering at USIP [United States Institute of Peace] was the diversity of stakeholders represented. Here’s a snapshot:

Think tanks - including the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the New America Foundation and the Center for American Progress.

Policy makers from the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

Representatives from faith-based organizations, including the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Islamic Society of North American and the Muslim Public Affairs Council...LINK

The Man For a New Sudan

Ron Tang — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:46:00 -0400

When Roger Winter’s single-engine Cessna Caravan touched down near the Sudanese town of Abyei on Easter morning, a crowd of desperate men swamped the plane. Some came running over the rough red airstrip. Others crammed into a microbus that barreled toward the 65-year-old Winter as he climbed down the plane’s silver ladder. Some Sudanese call Winter “uncle”; others call him “commander.” On this day, angry and anxious, the people of Abyei wanted Winter’s help in averting a return to civil war between the predominantly Arab north and the black south -- a decades-long conflict, claiming more than two million dead,… more

Workplace Flexibility and Religion

Communications — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/06/2008 - 10:00am

Current research reveals something that our personal experiences confirm - that there is a conflict between the structure of the workplace and the needs and priorities of American families.

The ability to practice one's faith often runs into the way that work is organized. The desire of religious people to volunteer, be with family, and observe holy days is driving a conversation about how workplace flexibility, including flexible work arrangements and time off, could make space for spiritual and life balance.

An experienced group of panelists from the research community and from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths discussed the tensions between work and religion as well as the value of Sabbath, service and space to developing the whole person.

Sponsored by Representatives Mark Souder (R-IN) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO).

Stop Looking for 'Moderate' Shiites and Address Interests

Ron Tang — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:55:00 -0400

Even those in America who call for a more humble American foreign policy and recognize the need to listen to foreign populations and global public opinion persist in deploying at every possible moment the most patronizing of monikers in describing their preferred allies: "moderate."

Over the past eight years, the condescending label of moderate has been applied to a variety of potential interlocutors in regional conflicts -- with never a positive result. Negotiations with so-called "moderate Taliban" proved a failure; Taliban interests and unity certainly outweighed any incentives the U.S.-backed Karzai regime could muster. The much lauded effort in Iraq's Anbar… more

God's Country

Ron Tang — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

It was an ordinary soccer pitch: sparse tufts of grass and reddish soil surrounded by cinder-block homes. The two candidates stood on opposite sides of the field as the people of Yelwa, a town of 30,000 in central Nigeria, lined up behind them one May morning in 2002 to vote. Whoever had more supporters would lead the town’s council. And whoever led the council would control the certificates of indigeneship: the papers certifying that Yelwa was their home, and that they had a right there to land, jobs, and scholarships. Between the iron goalposts milled ethnic Jarawa, principally Muslim merchants… more

America Still Works

Ron Tang — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Anyone who reads the serious press about the condition of the US might be excused for believing that the country is headed towards a series of deep crises. This impression is exacerbated by economic slowdown and by the presidential primaries, in which candidates announce bold plans to rescue the country from disaster. But even in more normal times there are three ubiquitous myths about America that make the country seem weaker and more chaotic than it really is. The first myth, which is mainly a conservative one, is that racial and ethnic rivalries are tearing America apart. The second myth,… more

Who's In and Who's Out

adminn — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:45:00 -0500

What do the Hillary Clinton campaign and comedian Michael Richards have in common? When feeling insecure, both appeal to social prejudices to delegitimize their adversaries.

Three weeks ago, two Clinton campaign volunteer county coordinators in Iowa forwarded an e-mail that accused Illinois Sen. Barack Obama of being a stealth Muslim intent on bringing jihad to the United States. Last week, former Nebraska senator and Clinton supporter Bob Kerrey borrowed a page from Rush Limbaugh when he made a point of highlighting Obama's middle name -- Hussein (quick, what's Mike Huckabee's middle name?) -- and Muslim heritage on… more

Huckabee's Long Focus: 'Broken Humanity'

adminn — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:11:00 -0500

Is Mike Huckabee too Christian to be president? Is Mitt Romney Christian enough? We'll find out soon.

The former governor of Arkansas is on the cover of Newsweek, and though the headline, "Holy Huckabee: The Unlikely Rise of a Preacher Politician," might suggest a mainstream media hatchet job -- in which yet another Southern Baptist gets the full Elmer Gantry-Pat Robertson treatment -- the article itself comes as a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps Newsweek, too, was surprised to discover that Huckabee's political views are well within the mainstream of American politics. Elected four times statewide in Arkansas, by the same voters who had… more

Christianity and the Social Crisis in the 21st Century

Communications — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:30:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/28/2007 - 12:30pm

First published in 1907, Walter Rauschenbusch’s Christianity and the Social Crisis became one of the most influential religious documents of the 20th century, in inspiring leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Reinhold Niebuhr and Desmond Tutu towards promoting social justice. On the 100th anniversary of the publication of this seminal work, Rauschenbusch’s great-grandson has released an updated version that includes new commentary by leading social justice thinkers of our time.

Rev. Paul Rauschenbusch, a pastor and social justice advocate, has been touring the country and has an important perspective on the state of inequality in America and the role of faith in the 2008 Presidential campaign. Please join the New America Foundation for an intriguing look at the role of faith in politics and social justice.