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Archive: Jason Pitzl-Waters
The appeal to fear
There's a proper way to tackle the issue of self-radicalization, and that is to work with American Muslims at the grassroots, to build bridges and trust, not hold hearings.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | March 8, 2011; 09:46 AM ET | Comments (1)
Which faith gets to decide our morality?
As Pagans, whether we personally agree with abortion or not, we do agree that no singular moral teaching should control us all.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | March 3, 2011; 06:03 PM ET | Comments (2)
Pluralism as a political value
Once you understand that evangelical Christianity currently sets the tone of social and religious debate for important political contests, it doesn't seem hard to assume that the ongoing conspiratorial "discomfort" over Islam will dominate the rhetoric, particularly from the Republican Party.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | February 24, 2011; 05:29 PM ET | Comments (5)
A minority view of religious majorities
Whenever I hear a country's name branded with a faith, whether in aspiration or fact, I wonder about the safety, rights, and security of all those who don't fit under that label.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | February 1, 2011; 02:37 PM ET | Comments (3)
Beyond the dominion of dollars
Our economy is so dependent on continued good relations with China, that I doubt any president, from any party, will rock the boat any time soon in the name of the Dalai Lama, dissident Christian groups, or any other faith that displeases that nation's government. If America is the world's policeman, it's a cop on the make willing to look the other way in the name of profit.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | January 19, 2011; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (4)
The fruits of exclusionary monotheisms
Secular government, one that establishes "a wall of separation between Church & State," and ensures the rights of each individual, is the only way to ensure the violence of Egypt, Nigeria, Iraq, or Pakistan can end.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | January 4, 2011; 02:01 PM ET | Comments (10)
Dig deeper to find the real news
I encourage everyone reading this to dig deeper behind these religion stories, and wonder what questions we aren't asking these public figures who've become so important and influential in our lives.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | December 28, 2010; 01:29 PM ET | Comments (2)
The Winter holidays are for everyone
Much of what we now culturally consider "Christmassy" came from non-Christian/Pagan sources.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | December 20, 2010; 03:17 PM ET | Comments (11)
Marriage must innovate, not stagnate
So long as this discussion stays centered on issues of tradition and boundaries we will continue to see marriage become an obsolete relic of a previous age, replaced by new forms of social networks unimagined now by the mainstream
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | December 8, 2010; 04:01 PM ET | Comments (12)
When theology leads to tragedy
Our modern world is still so afraid of our sexual selves, still so wrapped in taboos and superstitions, that it is willing to turn this ongoing tragedy into a statistic, a talking point, a moral lesson, instead of seeing the industry of ignorance, suffering, and death in which it is engaged.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | November 22, 2010; 10:35 PM ET | Comments (1)
The problem is obvious
Terms like "unit cohesion" or "combat effectiveness" are thrown around by those who are now afraid to give voice to their true feelings, that homosexuality is "objectively disordered."
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | November 16, 2010; 01:32 PM ET | Comments (7)
President's advisors are right
No matter what one's stance is on the religion of Islam, we have to stop using it as a political football in order to engage and divide voters.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | November 9, 2010; 01:57 PM ET | Comments (3)
The holy act of voting
I live in fear for the day when members of various dominant faith groups start voting lock-step with the pronouncements of their spiritual leaders, because true democracy would soon wither and die in such an environment.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | November 1, 2010; 02:40 PM ET | Comments (12)
To restore sanity, restore diversity
When we take a step back and realize that the "conflict" is an imaginary dualism, powered as much by mainstream media and cynical politicians as it is by extremists on either side, we can then expend our energy on more useful dialectics
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | October 25, 2010; 07:10 PM ET | Comments (10)
Deeply held beliefs go to the root of our identities
Religious belief, even when it seems trivial, can have a dramatic effect on policy.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | October 18, 2010; 03:56 PM ET | Comments (5)
Culture of self-hate must end
The culture of violence and oppression towards an imagined other has to end. Those who oppose the dismantling of these anti-gay theologies, of these understandings, can't be allowed to enable the bullying, the ostracization, or the enshrining of prejudice into law.
By Jason Pitzl-Waters | October 12, 2010; 05:39 PM ET | Comments (8)
