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Tawfik Hamid on the Jamaa Islamiya and the Arab Spring

December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

Last year’s Egyptian revolution and ouster of Hosni Mubarak has created new political opportunities for previously marginalized groups. Among these is the radical Islamist Jamaa Islamiya (literally “Islamic Group”), which has been accused of ties to Al-Qaeda and is treated as a terrorist group by American and European governments. As Egypt moves forward, a power struggle between secular and religious factions, including hardline Salafis, is becoming increasingly significant. In this Faith Complex, Dr. Tawfik Hamid discusses his history with the [...]

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Chaim Levin on Jewish Orthodoxy and Homosexuality

December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

Last year, Crown Heights native Chaim Levin participated in making an It Gets Better video for gay Orthodox Jews. He was subsequently pilloried for perceived “self-indulgence.” In response, Levin authored his own piece detailing his struggles with reconciling his religious upbringing and homosexuality. Chaim Levin kindly agreed to travel down to Washington, DC in order to participate in Faith Complex. In this episode with Jacques Berlinerblau, he discusses the challenges facing LGBTQ youth in the Orthodox community, the controversial JONAH [...]

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Matthew Bowman on the Mormon Moment We’re in

December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

In 2001, Newsweek magazine first coined the term “Mormon moment” to refer to the LDS Church’s sudden thrust into the spotlight. The Mormons have flitted in and out of the national consciousness since the community’s founding in the 19th century, according to Matthew Bowman, Professor of Religion at Hampden-Sydney College, but Mitt Romney’s campaign for the presidency may be the biggest Mormon moment yet. Professor Bowman is the author of the recently released The Mormon People: The Making of an [...]

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Michael Eric Dyson on Hip-Hop Theology

October 28, 2011 / Faith Complex

We here at the PJC are all about Judaism reflected and refracted. What better way to celebrate the multiplicity and complexity of religious views than this interview with Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson about “God on the streets”? In this exciting installation of Faith Complex, Professor Dyson discusses his book Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur and the dynamics of spiritual belief in contemporary hip-hop with PJC Director Jacques Berlinerblau. Dr. Dyson is currently a professor [...]

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Michael Eric Dyson Dissects Obama’s Theology

October 28, 2011 / Faith Complex

Barack Obama’s inauguration on January 22, 2009 marked a historical milestone for the African American and black communities. But what has Obama’s election done for perceptions of race in the United States? What is his responsibility with regard to race relations? How has the dialogue changed? And should we care about the Jeremiah Wright controversy? Professor Michael Eric Dyson answers these questions in this Faith Complex. Dr. Dyson is currently a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, where he teaches [...]

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Rabba Sara Hurwitz on Women and Orthodox Judaism

April 28, 2011 / Faith Complex

Sara Hurwitz’s appointment to the position of Rabba by Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in 2010 touched off a storm of controversy in the Orthodox Jewish community. Rabba Hurwitz is the first such female spiritual leader to hold the newly-created title, though she argues that women have occupied comparable roles throughout Jewish history. As Rabba, she is able to fulfill many of the functions of a traditional rabbi, including speaking from the pulpit and hearing questions [...]

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Ross Douthat on Religion in the Public Sphere

April 2, 2011 / Faith Complex

“Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide,” counseled Cicero in the first century BCE. “There’s a mean, there’s a happy medium to be struck,” echoes New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat with regard to the separation of church and state. Douthat, the youngest regular op-ed writer in the Gray Lady’s history, argues that American secularism has ample room for public religious displays and discourse. In this installment of Faith Complex, watch Douthat explain to Professor Jacques [...]

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Gary Rosenblatt on Orthodoxy, Abuse, and Ethics

December 12, 2010 / Faith Complex

In the summer of 2000, The Jewish Week, with Gary Rosenblatt at its helm, ran an exposé on the sexual abuse of a number of Orthodox teenagers over several decades by Rabbi Baruch Lanner, who, as regional director of the Orthodox Union’s National Conference of Synagogue Youth, was a charismatic leader and prominent community member. The day after the publication of Rosenblatt’s investigation, which alleged that Lanner’s superiors knew of his proclivities but took no action to curtail them, Lanner [...]

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Edgar Bronfman, Sr. on Cultural Judaism

October 4, 2010 / Faith Complex

Philanthropist Edgar M. Bronfman speaks about Jewish intermarriage, cultural Judaism, and the advice he would give Prime Minister Netanyahu. Read more about Edgar Bronfman, Sr. The Samuel Bronfman Foundation Watch Next Rabba Hurwitz on Women and Orthodox Judaism

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