Cover Story:
Preaching the Word in Littleton
After several decades of polite religious pluralism in public mourning rituals, the Littleton tragedy shows Americans are embracing a much more aggressive evangelical Protestant vocabulary to express their grief and give meaning to their losses.
by Andrew Walsh

From the Editor: A Different Spiritual Politics
Religion in American politics, always episodic, is taking on a new role.
by Mark Silk

On the Beat: In Lagos, Religion's Above the Fold
In Nigeria's yeasty newspaper market, religion coverage plays a key role in explaining a vast and diverse nation to itself.
by Matthews A. Ojo

Something Wiccan This Way Comes
Pagan covens in our armed forces? Some conservatives rise to the bait following reports of officially-sanctioned Wiccan worship at Fort Hood.
by Mark Silk

Kosovo: A Confusion of Tongues
America's religious leadership hasn't recovered the common perspective on the use of force in U.S. foreign policy lost during the Vietnam era. The result: a tangle of passionate statements and perspectives.
by Anthony Burke Smith

The Diallo Killing: Sharpton Ecumenistes
Out of the furor surrounding the police shooting of Amadou Diallo, Al Sharpton remade himself as an ecumenical maestro and created a new profile for Islam in New York.
by William K. Piotrowski

Methodism's Time of Trials
The United Methodist Church reluctantly launches ecclesiastical trials against dissident clergy determined to undermine the church's recently strengthened restrictions on ministry to homosexuals, most notably an outright ban on the blessing of gay unions.
by Keith Hartman

Spiritual Politicking and the IRS
The IRS cracks down on the Christian Coalition, potentially changing the rules of religious participation in politics.
by G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Correspondence: Was the Church Fires Story Legit?
Two views on whether the black church arson story of the mid-1990s was media manipulation or a revelation of real troubles in American society.

Contributors

The opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pew Charitable Trusts.