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I just returned from the Pagan Studies Conference in southern CA. It was pretty interesting. One thing that came up over and over again was the question of how we can define Paganism? How do you define the boundaries of a religion? Why do you do it? If scholars can't even determine a...

Last night I celebrated the Solstice with my Druid grove (yep, a day early- we meet on weekends for the convenience factor). The ceremony turned out to be really lovely (not to mention darling, since some of the members' little ones blessed us with fire and water and presented us with...

Yesterday, I received teaching with some 12000 other people from His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Long Beach Arena. It's been an interesting year, as this is the third big event I've attended. I first went to see Amma when she was in Seattle and then attended the first national Druid Gorsedd...

Hi, All- I just wanted to give a heads-up that I am stepping down from moderator-ship here. It's been a wonderful journey and I've learned a lot, but I have a lot on my plate and I don't expect that to ease up. At this point, I just can't spend as much time posting and reading as I have as a...

I was reading Wiki on Eastern Orthodoxy today and was surprised to find that many of my doctrinal beliefs, such as they are at the moment, are aligned with Orthodoxy. I found that somewhat fascinating as I know virtually nothing about the Orthodox Church. I consider myself...

I've read some interesting articles about modesty from a variety of sources in the Jewish-Christian-Muslim arena. Some of the most spirited debates I've personally read are in the realm of the Quakers, who are trying to figure out what modesty and simplicity mean for Western folks. For...

An increasing number of folks in the US, and I would imagine in some other places too, are saying they have no religion but are spiritual. What do you think it means to be "spiritual but not religious" and why? Do you belong to any religious institution (church, synagogue, coven, whatever)...

I was reading "The Year of Living Biblically" and began to wonder how much a person could learn about another religion in a single year if they acted as an average devout member. I've long been interested in comparative religion and have taken lots of college courses on various religions, done a...

I've been reflecting a lot on that question of "what am I?" religiously. Personally, I don't think it matters (in terms of salvation or what have you), but as an anthropologist that looks at issues of identity and community a lot, I can't help but engage in self-reflection. I've been thinking...

I'm trying to pull up all the posts I have made, which are around 1800-1900 at this point. The problem is, the search for "all" posts only gives me the last 500. Is there any way to actually get the entire lot of them? Thanks anyone who knows the answer!

I wrote this after viewing video footage on youtube of Sarah Palin agreeing with a pastor that prayed for her rise to office, rather than God's will. As FYI, this is a very rare occurrence for me to send anything like this through email. So you can understand that this misuse of Christianity and...

I was reading the stats from the recent PEW foundation report on religion in the United States, and it really struck me how different common views of religious Americans are from the reality. I have ideas about why this is- mostly centered on corporate-owned media driving conflict and...

Hi, All- So we’re at that time again, another installment of anthropology and religion. J This week, I thought I’d delve into a discussion of culture- as briefly as I can describe how anthropologists define culture and some basic information about it. Religion is, of course, seen by...

Hi, All- Here's a list of some good readings on anthropology and religion. The ones with * I'd especially recommend- not necessarily for the completeness of them (in fact, most are rather specific ethnographies) but rather because I just thought they were stellar reading and (dare I say)...

OK, so I figured I'd start a little series about the study of religion from the science of anthropology, which is the study of humans. I'm a cultural anthropologist, and particularly interested in cognition, environmental issues, and religion. I figured this might be a fun way for people to...

I've been reading "Living Buddha, Living Christ" by Thich Nhat Hanh and came across an excellent passage on interfaith dialogue that piqued some questions and I thought might be relevant for discussion here at CR. From the book, p. 8-10 I found this all very interesting and was curious what...

Recently, in a PM discussion, I was asked "why Paganism?" It is not the first time I've been asked this question. Some people feel that Paganism is an "old" way of thinking about religion and spirituality (and I mean old as in, out-moded). So why is there a minority of us- a very rapidly...

Wow! I leave for a little while, and I come back to a new Christianity board and ever too many new posts to read!I will endeavor to be around more often now. Things got a little hectic for a while (well, they are still hectic, but not as bad), but all is good. I'm a grant writer now and we're...

OK, so what I see lately are lots of debates about general topics and non-Biblical works. I don't think that is necessarily problematic, but obviously it is causing conflict and, no offense, I think degenerating into a non-productive and sometimes not-so-nice discussion. Here's my idea... if...

Hi, all- I bought a new horse today! :) Here is the newest addition... She's my second Arabian and my first mare- I have vague hopes of having at least one foal out of her one day. I just found her irresistable, and she and my Arab gelding love each other... so she had to join the...