Category: Society & Culture
Urban Youth Use Myths and Drums to Become Men
Drawing power from mythological stories and self-disclosure, this award-winning mentoring program transforms teens into community leaders.
Funerals Are Vital Spaces for Emotional Learning
We dishonor a person's memory and do ourselves a disservice when we don't also acknowledge the dead person’s flaws, faults, or missteps — in other words, embrace their whole humanity. Whether we want it or not, funerals are spaces for emotional learning, not just grieving or reinforcing cultural norms.
As Atheists and Believers, We Need Deeper Reverence for Mystery
Throughout most contemporary discourse about God and practiced religion, God is conceptualized as a literal being, leading believers to harm, vilify, and limit the potential of other people. While atheists ridicule the religious for believing in such a temperamental God, they have also limited their own potentials.
Unconditional Cash Transfers Can Fix Foreign Aid and Promote Freedom
Foreign aid in the form of conditional cash transfers between governments tends to be abused by corrupt regimes, and rarely makes it into the hands of those in need. UCTs are a way to bypass that, and reinforce personal freedom.
A Divided World Needs to Make God a Useful Idea, Again
In his newest book, God: A Human History, Reza Aslan seeks to provide an explanation for this rise of what he refers to as “the humanized God.” He proposes a more pragmatic idea of god, instead.
Building a Faith Community Without Belief in God
Tranquil chaos surrounded me, but I fervently believed that the humanities could offer answers to the big questions. Could a commonwealth of non-believers offer the same benefits of a faith community?
Why Do We Think The Working Class is Less Intelligent?
Traditional methods of measuring IQ suggest that a correlation exists between intelligence and social class. This outdated view of intelligence, among other social and environmental factors, perpetuates a stigma and enlarges a widening intelligence gap.
The 3 Faces of Political Incorrectness
There are three distinct types of anti-PC rebels. Two of them serve a valuable social function. The third is a menace and should be treated as such.
How Sports Bridge Our Cultural Divisions
The collective joys and sorrows of sports offer a healthy outlet for our tribal natures, and give us a safer space in which we can bridge gaps pertaining to more divisive societal arenas.
Elvish Has Been Spoken for Centuries In This Small Swedish Community
Experts estimate that one language goes extinct every 14 days. When a language dies, we lose history, culture, and a unique way of viewing the world.
How to Keep Jews Jewish by Being More Like the Amish
A Jewish version of Rumspringa offers a proactive and holistic approach for developing religious identity in youth, while respecting individual autonomy.