a review of religion and media
“The Patient Body” is a monthly column by Ann Neumann about issues at the intersection of religion and medicine. This month: Healthcare’s religious objectors and exemptions. Continue Reading →
A monthly column by Ann Neumann about issues at the intersection of religion and medicine. Continue Reading →
“The Patient Body” is a monthly column by Ann Neumann about issues at the intersection of religion and medicine. Continue Reading →
Rowan Moore Gerety travels to northern Mozambique to visit the granite caves of Mulide that served as both church and refuge during the country’s civil war. Continue Reading →
2013 marks not just 40 years of Roe v. Wade but 40 years of The Exorcist, the classic horror movie about piety and possession in a little girl’s upstairs bedroom. Continue Reading →
Nathan Schradle They might be downers but they’re good downers. Continue Reading →
Nathan Schradle They might be downers but they’re good downers. Continue Reading →
Mary Valle: Someone at UCSSB HQ has finally clicked on the links to anti-Girl Scout material on the web (for instance, here and here). Continue Reading →
From Gary Wills’ new article at New York Review of Books:
The early church had no specific rite for marriage. This was left up to the secular authorities of the Roman Empire, since marriage is a legal concern for the legitimacy of heirs. When the Empire became Christian under Constantine, Christian emperors continued the imperial control of marriage, as the Code of Justinian makes clear. When the Empire faltered in the West, church courts took up the role of legal adjudicator of valid marriages. But there was still no special religious meaning to the institution. As the best scholar of sacramental history, Joseph Martos, puts it: “Before the eleventh century there was no such thing as a Christian wedding ceremony in the Latin church, and throughout the Middle Ages there was no single church ritual for solemnizing marriage between Christians.”
From Gary Wills’ new article at New York Review of Books:
The early church had no specific rite for marriage. This was left up to the secular authorities of the Roman Empire, since marriage is a legal concern for the legitimacy of heirs. When the Empire became Christian under Constantine, Christian emperors continued the imperial control of marriage, as the Code of Justinian makes clear. When the Empire faltered in the West, church courts took up the role of legal adjudicator of valid marriages. But there was still no special religious meaning to the institution. As the best scholar of sacramental history, Joseph Martos, puts it: “Before the eleventh century there was no such thing as a Christian wedding ceremony in the Latin church, and throughout the Middle Ages there was no single church ritual for solemnizing marriage between Christians.”