dispatch

From the frontlines

"'He says you must pray,' the young monk said. 'Pray for what?' I asked..." (photo by jduemer/flickr)

The Temple Door

By Danielle Trussoni | November 11, 2006

The daughter of a damaged Vietnam veteran returns to the scene of the crime.

Benedict XVI visits a mosque.

Let’s Pretend

By Peter Manseau | October 20, 2006

A clash of civilizations, or a failure of the imagination?

Night falls on a Testing Center.

The Choice is Yours

By J. C. Hallman | October 6, 2006

How would William James rate on a Scientology E-meter? An excerpt from the new book, The Devil is a Gentleman.

"I found no Sufis, just confusion."

Searching for Sufis

By Jill Hamburg Coplan | August 5, 2006

When you look for mystics in a war-torn land, you might find them hiding right in front of you.

"The images dissolve into each other..."

For God and Country

By Elizabeth Rich | July 16, 2006

When an outsider goes to church on the Fourth of July, fireworks follow.

"In Islam, it is not the content of an image that is blasphemous, but the very act of depiction."

The Right to Blaspheme

By Christopher Orlet | February 3, 2006

“God is not mocked,” and other proposed editorial guidelines.

"Pop religion sells."

Brand Name Buddhism

By Melissa Benner | January 26, 2006

For Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, it’s alright to get a little dirty, so long as you know which detergent will get your karma clean.

Flooded highways in Louisiana

Into the Flood

By Philipp Meyer | September 2, 2005

An EMT drives from Texas to Louisiana to do what he can.

"'Show some respect,' I told myself. After all, Mary is a Jewish mother."

The Only Jew for Miles

By Gordon Haber | August 17, 2005

An unlikely pilgrim to Poland sees more, and less, than he’d hoped.

A mosque in Lahore.

The Moderate

By Abbas Zaidi | June 27, 2005

A tale of Westernization, lubricated by beer.

photo by Gordon Parks, circa 1940

The Singing, Not the Song

By Rob Walker | June 19, 2005

In which a godless music fan comes dangerously close to having a religious experience.

Baba

Baba, Baba, Everywhere!

By Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet | December 11, 2004

God is a Dickhead — conclusive proof from Killing the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible.

Just Wait

Prime Time in Kampala

By Blake Lambert | September 14, 2004

American-trained evangelicals can be seen preaching everywhere in Africa, even poolside.

The 1954 Milan Indians: “the real Hoosiers”

Waiting for Chitwood

By Scott Korb | September 4, 2004

In Brooklyn, Jesus takes it to the hoop.

"Whether it was Ahab's or Jonah's it was too soon to say..."

The Buddha Whale

By Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet | May 24, 2004

Hunted to the brink of extinction, the authors look for a place to hide.

"The Angel of the Revelation," William Blake

Hermaphrodite Terrorist Angel

By Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet | February 22, 2004

How many holy rollers does it take to pray the devil out of a hermaphrodite terrorist angel?

The Consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson

Souls on Ice

By Peter Manseau | November 8, 2003

In a New Hampshire hockey rink, a gay bishop skates into Episcopal history.

The Abayudaya's Moses Synagogue, on Nabugoye Hill outside of Mbale, Uganda. Photo by Jay Sand, (c) 2003 <em>Scattered Among the Nations</em>

Lugandan Psalms

By Blake Lambert | October 24, 2003

The Jews of Uganda get an ‘A’ for effort when it comes to atonement. But is that enough?