Several years ago when I visited the shrine and retreat house of the Valley Missionary Program in Coachella Valley Calif I knew that something exceedingly unusual had happened Out in the Mojave Desert economically disadvantaged Mexican immigrants had built a stunningly beautiful spirituality c

Timing is everything Many of the elements of a sophisticated theology of the laity and recommendations for church reform featured in Paul Lakeland rsquo s new book originated earlier and elsewhere But never before have they been put together in such a compelling way and more to the point at such

In the winter of 1951-52 Caroline Gordon had a vision of the triumph of Catholic writing in the United States Flannery O rsquo Connor rsquo s novel Wise Blood which Gordon had recently read in proof was about to be published A manuscript novel sent to her by a Louisiana convert seemed even more

The title of this collection of 11 essays offers the hope that some consensus has developed on the way religion should coordinate with government Alas the question is too complex There is not even consensus on the meaning of the ldquo public square rdquo But these essays written by experts of

There are Ph D dissertations yet to be written on religion according to Bill Moyers and the liberal intellectuals of Public Television When they are Professor Elaine Pagels of Princeton University will figure prominently as one of their well-known talking heads Her earlier books The Gnostic Gos

More and more regional and intrastate conflicts throughout the world have led to huge increases in the numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons Their pressing needs have in turn resulted in a corresponding growth in nongovernmental organizations that attempt to provide them with basic e