The Anthropology of Islamic Law
Education, Ethics, and Legal Interpretation at Egypt's Al-Azhar
“The Anthropology of Islamic Law” shows how hermeneutic theory and practice theory can be brought together to analyze cultural, legal, and religious traditions. These ideas are developed through an analysis of the Islamic legal tradition, which examines both Islamic legal doctrine and religious education. The book combines anthropology and Islamist history, using ethnography and in-depth […]
Stakes could not be higher in Supreme Court abortion case
Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, argues that it is time to put away uncompromising and extreme rhetoric and truly listen to one another to find solutions that honor both the sanctity of life and a woman’s right to choose.
A lethal hatred spreads, and the fight to end it never stops
Once more, we grieve; once more, we resolve to do what we can—all that we can—to quell the fires of racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Muslim bigotry that burn ferociously today.
A clear voice on millennia-old mysteries
For nearly three decades, the Weltin Lecture Fund has enabled the Religious Studies Program and Assembly Series to bring renowned scholars of religion to the university. In spring 2018, Elaine Pagels delivered the lecture, sharing her riveting discoveries on art and politics in the Book of Revelation.
The Danforth Center’s director goes into moral combat
R. Marie Griffith’s new book analyzes how, and why, “sex divided American Christians and fractured American politics.”
The challenges of religious diversity in a university context
One day, a law professor and a visiting scholar took a walk in St. Louis’ historic Forest Park. A friendship, partnership and a unique class called “Religion, Politics, and the University” followed, which takes a deep dive into how a diverse democracy can develop and be successful in a pluralistic society.
WashU Expert: Billy Graham leaves controversial legacy for the #MeToo generation
Half-century-old advice from Billy Graham, who died Feb. 21, was in line with cultural and sexual norms of the 1950s and later decades, when many of Graham’s contemporary evangelical preachers fell from grace after widely publicized extramarital affairs, says R. Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.
Series to focus on ‘Religion and Politics in an Age of Fracture’
Bridging divisions in religion and politics will be the topic of a series of interdisciplinary panels, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 6, sponsored by Washington University in St. Louis’ John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics.
New book by Griffith tackles timely subject
In her new book, “Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics” (Basic Books, 2017), Washington University’s R. Marie Griffith offers a compelling history of the religious debates over sex and sexuality that came to dominate American public life.
WashU Expert: Don’t mistake DeVos’ religion for her politics
Betsy DeVos is arguably the most controversial figure ever nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Education. Yet in covering her nomination, many journalists have conflated valid concerns about experience, temperament and political beliefs with questionable assumptions about her religious background, argues Abram Van Engen, associate professor of English.
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