Analysis
Religious Freedom and The Testament of Ann Lee
"The Testament of Ann Lee" is a new film starring Amanda Seyfried as the founder of the Shakers religious movement. I wrote about what the film teaches us about religious liberty for Word&Way. Here's an excerpt:
As America prepares to celebrate 250 years, this film feels like a necessary interruption to the triumphal narrative. It invites us to remember that the promise of religious liberty was forged not only by revolutionaries with muskets, but also by mystics who refused to pick up arms. Ann Lee’s legacy is not merely that she founded a religious movement. It is that she embodied a form of freedom that refuses to be conscripted. In a time when faith is once again being asked to prove its patriotism, that is a testament worth hearing.
Transcript
Pluralism is Democracy in Action
On July 4, America will mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That day in 1776, the nation’s founders put forward a bold vision for a new democratic experiment, one rooted in shared values, with power derived from the people rather than imposed by a monarch or religious authority:
The Latest Attacks in the New York Mayoral Race, and How Islamophobia and Antisemitism Reinforce Each Other
As Islamophobic attacks escalate in New York’s mayoral race, faith leaders across traditions are standing together to reject hate. The response reveals how Islamophobia and antisemitism reinforce one another, and how solidarity can protect democracy.