Liminality refers to a state of in-betweenness, of standing on a threshold, of transition. I encounter it repeatedly in my study of ritual. The liminal stage of rites of passage, crisis or initiation is the undefined, transitory phase that one passes through on the way from one well-defined state to another. You […]

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As resident Irish(wo)man, I thought I’d give us all a quick bite of the day.
St. Patrick was born in Roman England about 80 years after the Emperor Constantine declared that being Christian would now be tolerated in the empire. His parents were openly Christian, but, like many people his age, he didn’t really feel it […]

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I’ve recently been running into arguments for and (a few, although very few) against “women-only space”. This means just what it sounds like: only women are allowed in. This demands the question what defines “a woman”. The most recent definition is someone who was born female, raised as a girl, and is currently living as […]

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Started this morning by getting angry at PZ Meyers again.¬† Maybe you can experience the same by reading his: “Spirituality”? Another word for lies and empty noise.¬† The comments redeem the post.¬† I think the problem is that I use the term “spiritual” as a way of stripping certain concepts from their religiosity, but people […]

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I had an eventful day today: I was interviewed by a reporter for Bust magazine, received the book Godless for God’s Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism, and went to a potluck with my Mormon friends and laughed until my smile muscles hurt.
I found out that Elaine Pagels is speaking at nearby Chapman University a week […]

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Any journey, even that of an exodus (from religion), is personal. We can make similar stops, walk together for a time, and show each other signposts, but we cannot make the same journey. That said, I’m stealing John’s category.
John’s pilgrimage is explicitly OC. Mine is not yet limited to any area, although there is a […]

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My posts have been a little sparse and fluffy for the past week or two (I feel like I’m describing someone’s hair loss). This is a break in my consistent posting for the past few months, and I feel that I owe you all an explanation. First of all, life is crazy; one […]

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*ding!*
Confession: I get TIME delivered. Don’t ask why, or get me started on how many times I’ve tried to cancel it. Suffice it to say, I don’t pay for it and I rarely read it. I do when a headline jumps out at me (mostly ones that involve God, although I really don’t know why […]

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My mother is a very accomplished sewer. When I was a kid, she frequently made clothes for us kids. But I was embarassed to wear them and if it ever got out that my mom made an article, it was cause for much teasing.
Now that I’m getting in touch with my inner sewer, I’m still […]

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This is inspired by John White’s brief synopsis.¬† Take one:
300 Spartans valiantly defend the narrow pass of Thermopylae against a million Persians in this gorgeously-filmed action-packed bloodfest.
In retrospect, this summary isn’t quite accurate. I hope you’ll bear with me as I ponder some of misgivings, and come up with a new review.
I wonder if […]

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