Catholicism 
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3/17/2022
The Trappings of Catholic Tradition Around St. Patrick's Day are out of Step with Modern Ireland
by Donald Beaudette and Laura Weinstein
Americans claiming a connection to Irish heritage and tradition today should consider the Republic of Ireland's ongoing transition toward a more secular, liberal, and multicultural democracy.
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3/17/2022
The Trappings of Tradition Around Irish-American St. Patrick's Day are out of Step with Modern Ireland
by Donald Beaudette and Laura Weinstein
Americans claiming a connection to Irish heritage and tradition today should consider the Republic of Ireland's ongoing transition toward a more secular, liberal, and multicultural democracy.
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1/30/2022
The Catholic Catechism, Abortion, and the Supreme Court
by Roger Chapman
Conservative Catholics on the Supreme Court will decide whether abortion remains constitutionally protected. The Catholic Catechism today portrays the Church as opposed to abortion from its beginnings, but most doctrinal commentary dates to the 1980s, when the pro-life and conservative legal movements became a political force.
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SOURCE: New York Review of Books
1/26/2022
Don't Make Dorothy Day a Saint
by Garry Wills
As an admirer of the left-wing activist Dorothy Day, Garry Wills argues that the process of canonization would "miniaturize" her work and associations to fit within the narrow confines of sainthood, making her an object of prayer instead of a model for action.
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1/30/2022
Abortion and the Catholic Catechism
by Roger Chapman
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SOURCE: Religion Dispatches
12/1/2021
Is the Anti-Pope Francis Rad-Trad Catholic Movement Headed to QAnon Territory?
by Joshua P. Hevert and Thomas Lecaque
"While the Middle Ages may feel very distant, the amping up of apocalyptic rhetoric in a struggle over the papacy and the direction of the church is very current."
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SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
8/26/2021
Britney Spears is Part of a Long History of Celebrity Religious Conversion (and Fan Skepticism)
by Rebecca L. Davis
The skepticism that has often accompanied public conversions by celebrities, from Sammy Davis, Jr. to Britney Spears, reflects prevalent assumptions about what religious experiences are authentic.
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SOURCE: Religion Dispatches
8/10/2021
Douthat's Criticism of Papal Restriction on Latin Mass: Fascinating, but Familiar and Ahistorical
by Massimo Faggioli
Recent criticisms of Pope Francis's Church reforms have drawn from a rhetorical script established by conservative Catholics since Vatican II, but repeat their historical misunderstandings.
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SOURCE: New York Times
6/27/2021
The Bishops Are Wrong About Biden — and Abortion
by Garry Wills
The historian of Catholicism argues that the US Bishops' demand to deny communion to Joe Biden over his abortion policies rests on a shoddy understanding of the Church's own history with the issue.
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SOURCE: The New Republic
4/15/2021
Whither the Religious Left?
by Matthew Sitman
Has the considerable effort spent for decades to court a "religious left" as a Democratic constituency been a waste of time? Why haven't faith-based social justice movements been more signiicant in the party's base?
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SOURCE: LA Progressive
3/30/2021
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Progressive Catholicism
by Walter G. Moss
Although her religious upbringing is not the most prominent part of her public persona, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez follows a tradition of Catholic advocates for justice.
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2/14/2021
Opportunities for a Catholic President, Then and Now
by Patrick Lacroix
Polling of religious voters might encourage Democrats to give up on reaching them. John F. Kennedy's experience shows that Joe Biden, as the second Catholic President, could succeed in narrowing the gap.
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10/25/2020
Reading Pope Francis's "Fratelli Tutti" through Carl Sandburg
by Walter G. Moss
The latest encyclical by Pope Francis, calling for recognition of the unity of humanity, echoes the egalitarian humanism of the poet and writer Carl Sandburg.
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SOURCE: The Conversation
10/19/2020
Religious Identity And Supreme Court Justices – A Brief History
by Nomi Stolzenberg
In recent decades, religious influence on the Court has been shaped by conservatives of different faiths, construed as part of a mythical Judeo-Christian tradition, coalescing around a common agenda defined less by affiliation with a religious denomination than with opposition to liberalism and secularism.
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10/18/2020
Does the "Divided Loyalty" Question Still Dog Catholic Politicians?
by D.G. Hart
Joe Biden will likely do what JFK and Al Smith did, namely, fit his faith into the norms of American politics.
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SOURCE: Mother Jones
9/24/2020
It’s Not Anti-Catholic to Ask Amy Coney Barrett About Her Religious Group “People of Praise”
People of Praise evolved in response to the reforms of Vatican II and the spiritual energy of evangelical Protestantism; former adherents say that the control the group exerts over members makes questions about Amy Comey Barrett's membership legitimate.
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SOURCE: The Way of Improvement Leads Home
9/22/2020
Amy Coney Barrett and the “Kingdom of God”
by John Fea
Liberal critics have seized on a quote from the potential Supreme Court Nominee's graduation speech to Notre Dame law students as evidence of a theocratic mindset. A historian of American religion warns the metaphor of the "kingdom of god" is widely used in political rhetoric.
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SOURCE: SFist
6/22/2020
Who Was Junipero Serra, and Why Do Activists Want His Name Stripped From Institutions and His Statues Toppled?
The architect of the Spanish Mission system in California has some defenders among historians, but Native American activists associate his legacy with genocide.
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SOURCE: Contingent
4/25/2020
Queen of Heaven, Empress of Hell
by Vanessa R. Corcoran
Contemporary depictions of Mary tend to be gentle in their holiness, but Christians centuries ago envisioned her as a powerful agent who fought for their salvation.
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6/16/19
The Vatican's Latest Official Document Is An Insult to the LGBTQ Community and History
by Ed Simon
Our understandings of romance, family, sexuality, and gender have been in flux in the past – within the Church no less – and no amount of thundering about “How the Vatican views it now is how it has always been” can change that.
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