Read “Concern about Islamists masks wide differences among them,” a Feb. 4, 2011, report by Reuters reporter Tom Heneghan.

A 2010 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project found that a majority of Egyptian Muslims said that democracy was preferable to any other kind of government. An overwhelming majority also viewed Islam’s influence in politics as positive.

When is it appropriate to use the words “fundamentalist” and “cult?” What are other terms with which I must be careful? By Don Lattin The San Francisco Chronicle* CULT is a word that should be used with care. Some of its dictionary definitions are value neutral, with such meanings as “formal religious veneration,” such as […]

Ralph W. Hood Jr. is a psychology professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He writes and teaches on the psychology of religious fundamentalism.

One challenge in writing about the Eastern Orthodox is the debate over numbers. A figure often cited is 3 million adherents in the U.S., with about 2 million in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 1 million in the Orthodox Church in America, and some tens of thousands in the other 20 major Eastern Orthodox churches. In a […]

When do you reveal your religion to sources? By Julia Lieblich Chicago Tribune* Several years ago, I spent time with a Jehovah’s Witness family in Tennessee, hanging out with a mother and her children during home schooling, church services and door-to-door proselytizing. I didn’t tell the family about my faith, and I was relieved the […]

Sept. 14, 2011, First Things column by Joe Carter where he dismisses the idea of an oppressive American theocracy ever materializing

August 28, 2011, The New York Times op-ed by Ross Douthat where he provides journalists pointers on how to approach writing about religion and politics.

Written by Michelle Goldberg (W.W. Norton, 2006). Goldberg investigates the increasing religious radicalism that led to the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004.