What I have heard after visiting 18 cities in six weeks is that people around the country believe that nothing can happen in Washington, D.C. They are basically right. So I am very grateful today to report the ...

Danny Duncan Collum Trethewey focuses her keen verbal gifts on the most sensitive nerve in American life. WHE ...

As Americans, we live in a culture that is hyper-individuated, fragmented, and dehumanizing as it pushes a mantra of success based on material accumulation and power. Being in community with others is the coun ...

As they review Obama's budget proposal, only time will tell if Republicans are willing to engage the president in a serious way to find common ground on deficit reduction instead of letting dysfunction co ...

A resolution to allow North Carolina to defy the Constitution and establish a state-sanctioned religion may be dead in the state capitol, but minority faiths say there’s more than enough reason to remain nervo ...

I invite you to watch this short video, and to engage in the discussion as we move forward, toward our common good. Years ago, I tutored inner-city kids from my Washington, D.C., ...

March 28, 2013 Sojo in the News Jim Wallis ...

In the midst of an exasperating and polarized political debate around the U.S. budget, our national and political leaders can learn valuable lessons from Holy Week. This week   ...

On God's Side is about moving beyond the political ideologies that have both polarized and paralyzed us, by regaining a moral compass for both our public and personal lives — by reclaiming an ancient yet ...

Fighting poverty must not be a partisan issue. When we look at both the causes and the solutions, this battle should bring both liberals and conservatives together. Overcoming poverty, by creating opportunity, ...

Those who try to simplify American culture and demand that it fit their uniform standards fail to see the beauty of diversity, and they miss the half-truth – charming, but always partial – of the mythologies w ...

It is an odd juxtaposition, December 21, 2012 and January 21, 2013. The former date representing the “so-called” Mayan apocalypse where the usual suspects prepared for the end of the world – many of whom were ...

It wasn’t until I started getting into politics that I really began examining just how strange some of the more vocal positions of the conservative right might look to a person who has never sat in a pew. ...

At a time when the ideals of compromise and collegiality seem like a distant dream in the nation’s capital, an unusually diverse coalition of religious leaders is asking Americans to pray for civility. ...

Here are my selections for the ten most defining phrases that will stay with us from the past year. Generally, we only know how history will be remembered once it is in the rearvi ...

From the nuns to the “nones,” religion dominated the headlines throughout 2012. Faith was a persistent theme in the presidential race, and moral and ethical questions surrounded budget debates, mass killings, ...

All that we have is given to us — life, love, compassion, our very existence. None of it is earned. Each breath is a freely given gift, each heartbeat a moment of divine grace, each day another opportunity tha ...

November 22, 2012 Sojo in the News Ian Masters ...

As political leaders engage in negotiations to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” we need them to preserve programs that reduce poverty and keep our families healthy. Unfortunately, House Speaker John Boehner ...

A number of polls suggest the economy is actually a top priority for most young voters. As it happens, though, young people seem to have very different ideas on how best to handle economic instability than the ...

Those leading the charge for secession are framing it, observers say, in terms that suggest a deep-seated religious impulse for purity-through-separation is flaring up once again. ...

No politician wants to look weak – even before a god. According to Jeremiah, the leaders of Judah have prioritized – not the building of an ethical community – but their own comfort and position. ...

Nick Penniman Big Money's corrupting influence on the elections is way out of hand. Here's how to fix it. ...

With conservative opinion on immigration shifting, a unique opportunity exists to fix our nation’s broken immigration system. As President Barack Obama prepares for a second term, ...

This week, the Circle of Protection, released an open letter to the president and Congress with a simple message: during the holidays, please “advance policies that protect the poor — not ones that make them p ...

When the storms of life hit, some call themselves “makers” and dismiss the “takers” as lazy. NEW YORK — It's a short walk from Ground Zero to the Staten Island Ferry terminal ...

In the mid-60s, songs like “Taxman” and “Think for Yourself” show Harrison as a fierce individualist. But by the end of the Beatles in 1969 George had undergone a spiritual transformation that made him perhaps ...

Three Buddhists, a Hindu, and a “none” will walk into the 113th Congress, and it’s no joke. Rather, it’s a series of “firsts” that reflect the growing religious diversity of the country. ...

In an attempt to make sense of the 2012 election and the unfolding David Petraeus sex scandal, I consulted the Bible and the Sayings of the Fathers, a collection of sage rabbinic teachings written between 200 ...

It’s not that the religious right didn’t show up in the 2012 election. They did. But their irrelevance was proven time and time again, both in the primary and in the general election cycle. ...

President Obama won last week with a voter coalition that was far more racially and religiously diverse than Mitt Romney’s – a phenomenon both predicted in the days before the election and confirmed in the day ...

Tell our political leaders to move quickly and seek common ground on immigration reform. The election is finally over, and both parties understand the key role Latino vote ...

After sweeping setbacks to the hierarchy’s agenda on Election Day, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Monday told U.S. Catholic bishops that they must now examine their own failings, confess their sins and ref ...

The results of the presidential election showed how dramatically a very diverse America is changing; people are longing for a vision of the common good that includes everyone. As one commentator put it “the de ...

Mitt Romney failed in his bid to win the White House back for Republicans, but the biggest losers in Tuesday’s voting may be Christian conservatives who put everything they had into denying President Barack Ob ...

Political parties are organized around “big ideas” but they get their power – and they get elected – because of “little ideas” – those rumors, speculations and paranoid fantasies that drive voters into panic a ...

Tuesday's election a defeat for the Religious Right. The results of yesterday’s election appear to show a “ dramatic rejection ” of the Religious Right, writes Dan Gilgoff ...

What would America look like if Jesus were in charge? It was way back in 2004 that the spark for the Jesus for President campaign was born — by a bunch of post-evangelical Christi ...

So who am I going to vote for? I am not sure. But fortunately I have a few more hours to figure it out. My early voting ballot is almost complete. I have done my reading, finished ...

I’m all for being a part of the democratic process, but it seems a bit odd to me that so many of these bloggers are coming from a position of power and privilege they themselves have always had. ...

Jesus didn’t vote today Not tomorrow Not yesterday Jesus didn’t vote today Not tomorrow Not yesterday Jesus didn’t need the bullet or the ballot box or The bomb or bayonet o ...

All those stories educated millions of observant Americans about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Still, some “understandings” remain misunderstandings — and many views of the religion are stil ...

Our reserve is nearly 26,000 square miles with about 300,000 enrolled tribal members, and I cannot recall in my lifetime a presidential candidate visiting our reservation and campaigning directly to our people ...

The apostle Paul calls the church in Corinth a body — and that’s political language: “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be … As it is, there are many parts, ...

The deep waters of injustice are rising high and threatening to spill over on Nov. 6. Voters will have to wade through muck and mire to cast faith-filled ballots this year. So, listen up, study up, and get you ...

Let’s be clear: On Nov. 6, neither a Republican nor Democratic victory will bring in the Kingdom of God. Most people in America, whether they are religious or not, prefer consist ...

Play along with me. If you had $1 million to spend to help stimulate the economy, what would you do? What would I do? Play along with me. If you had $1 million to spend to help st ...

Almost 50 years after Kennedy was assassinated, we’re still giving legal benefits to some couples but denying them to others, not to mention that we fill our prisons with brown-skinned people, too many women a ...

Poverty. Guns. . Drones. Climate change. Bring up any of those issues and watch the candidates make a quick nod of concern and then scamper away from any specifics As the winds an ...

No single party or candidate has a monopoly on loving God and neighbor. It seems so easy, doesn’t it? Love God. Love your neighbor. The two greatest commandments encapsulate the ...