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Culture and Review

  • November 8, 2012

    The Public Religion Research Institute, which looks at religion, values and public life, will be releasing a new report in the aftermath of the US presidential election.

  • August 26, 2012

    The final Festival of Spirituality conversation and Civic Cafe, The Power of Youth and Football to heal a Divided City, proved extremely rewarding, writes Katie MacFadyen. The issue of dealing with sectarianism and bigotry is something that should involve all of us.

  • August 8, 2012

    The recent performance at the Festival of Spirituality and Peace of 'An Evening with Dementia', a one-man play written and performed by Trevor T. Smith, was followed by a fascinating discussion led by Professor June Andrews from the University of Stirling, says Katie MacFadyen.

  • September 5, 2011

    Dr Kamal Salibi, a renowned academic and historian, died suddenly in Beirut this week. Harry Hagopian reflects on his significance not just for his home country, but for the Arab world as a whole and for all concerned for the social, intellectual, religious and political culture of the Middle East.

  • July 13, 2011

    The Festival of Spirituality and Peace, which runs this year in Edinburgh from 6 - 29 August 2011, seeks to reawaken the heart of the Edinburgh festival for people who, ten years after 9/11, want to work together for a peaceful future. The director, Donald Reid, introduces its main theme.

  • June 22, 2011

    Ethnohistorical and other studies show the great influence and power the historic Spanish mission had over the native population?s lives and souls in the Andean region, says Sabine Dedenbach-Salazar. At the same time as they document the missionaries' daily struggle to impose European ways of life onto other cultures, they also indicate that indigenous people were not only victims, but also agents in re-shaping their living conditions and their cultural identities.

  • May 25, 2011

    A workshop has been used in Cuba and other countries to get children involved in active peacemaking, reports Sarah Kim. Working in tandem with the United Nations, the Global Network of Religions for Children uses a curriculum that focuses on four ethical values: respect, empathy, reconciliation and responsibility.

  • May 20, 2011

    Both Whole Life Sports and Women’s Centre are efforts to bring peace to the family and community and to collaborate with churches in healing social and societal wounds in Jamaica. Mark Beach reports from the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in the capital, Kingston.

  • May 8, 2011

    Explaining to children the irrationality of adult behaviour is always challenging, says Sande Ramage. But in the case of the killing of Osama Bun Laden it is almost an impossibility.

  • May 3, 2011

    The ornate rituals in Westminster Abbey, and Donald Trump’s investigation of President Obama’s birth certificate have something in common, says Heather McRobie: a very pre-modern fixation on blood as a marker of belonging, and heritage as a prerequisite for legitimacy to rule.

  • April 1, 2011

    Elizabeth Kassab is a scholar of philosophy, and taught for many years at the American University in Beirut and Balamand University in Lebanon. Here she is interviewed about the “Arab malaise” from a political, rather than cultural perspective, and in a post-colonial, rather than exceptionally Arab, context.

  • March 12, 2011

    We are likely to understand situations like the recent cairo protests more readily by examining the social and political pressures involved for both the protesters and the security forces, says Michael Marten - rather than seeking to make broad statements equating Christian and Muslim beliefs and practices.

  • February 24, 2011

    Religious state and non-state authorities have entered into a discussion about the legitimacy of political resistance, says Malika Zeghal. Al-Azhar, through the presence of some of its members in Tahrir Square, has shown its relevance to the recent political mobilization and has asserted its role in shaping a narrative of hope against tyranny.

  • February 21, 2011

    Dalit theology in South Asia is now forging links with wider struggles for justice and freedom, according to a newly-published book.

  • February 1, 2011

    The Anabaptist Network in South Africa (ANiSA) is celebrating the anniversary of its Alternative News service, which focuses on justice, peace, and hope.