In his editor’s letter, Brett Krutzsch reflects on the pervasiveness of religion across different geographies, cultures, and platforms. “Religion is everywhere,” he writes, “which can be wonderful and horrifying.” We hope this summer issue’s articles and podcast episode can help you think of this religious prevalence in new ways.
The issue starts with Kelsey Osgood’s “How They Met Their Mother,” where she investigates how Mormon women are turning to Instagram and podcasts to start conversations about Heavenly Mother, a little-discussed divine female figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints.
Then, in “Putting Buddhism Back in Buddhist Meditation,” Shira Telushkin explores how meditation centers, often thought of by secular Americans as places to relax and recharge, are now presenting Buddhist meditation as a way to overcome attachments and escape the cycle of rebirth, not as places to relieve one’s anxiety.
Next, in “Fashion and Religion,” Jeanine Viau and Otto Von Busch turn our attention to clothing and have a conversation about why fashion matters if we hope to understand religion’s place in society.
Then, in “Treating Pornography as an Addiction that Requires Faith,” an excerpt from The Pornography Wars, Kelsey Burke examines an evangelical church program that treats pornography viewership as an addiction that necessitates religious intervention.
From there we take a different view of religion, sex, and mental health and turn to graphic novels in “The Mystic Torment of Binky Brown,” where Andrew Lenoir looks into a trailblazing publication that shaped generations of comic artists.
And finally, in our exploration of religion in less-than-expected places, in “Establishing Reagan’s Religious Outlook for the U.S.,” an excerpt from Righting the American Dream, Diane Winston illustrates how mainstream news media normalized Ronald Reagan’s religious views and transformed the country in the process.
Our Summer issue also includes two episodes of the Revealer podcast. In the first, “Reagan’s Religious Vision for America and the Impact Today,” Diane Winston joins us to discuss Reagan’s religious views, how they shaped his politics, and how they transformed America in ways that are still felt today. In the second episode, “Muslims Using Female Pronouns for God,” we have a conversation with Hafsa Lodi about Muslim women who refer to Allah as “She,” what they believe doing that can achieve, and what conversations about pronouns and God can reveal about broader issues of gender within Islam today. You can listen to both episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.