A few months ago, a random idea popped in my head: What if pastors interviewed atheists as part of their Sunday service? Having been a youth pastor at one point, and now an atheist, it was as if I was trying to connect two different stages of my life. More importantly, I thought about some of the benefits this might generate amongst atheists, pastors, and congregants alike.
New Journal on Religion and Contemporary Life
"Religion" is one of the most difficult words to define. People use the word all of the time but have a hard time flushing out its precise meaning. Having spent time on issues surrounding defining "religion," I felt it would be a good idea to start a new journal where "religion" can be analyzed, interpreted, and compared with other phenomena. I figured it would be an accessible, academic, online forum for people to publish on issues surrounding "religion." Much like State of Formation, Claremont Journal of Religion is meant to facilitate academic dialogue and encourage the enactment of deep pluralism.