Religion

LGBTQ Awareness & Education

Rounding out LGBTQ Pride Month, our final week is dedicated to LGBTQ Awareness & Education. We’ve unlocked a curated selection of research articles, which covers a wide array of topics such as intersectionality, gender identity, institutional inclusion, etc.

Rounding out LGBTQ Pride Month, our final week is dedicated to LGBTQ Awareness & Education. We’ve unlocked a curated selection of research articles, which covers a wide array of topics such as intersectionality, gender identity, and institutional inclusion.

Enjoy this research freely through July 31, and don’t forget to comment and share below. Thanks for joining us as we continue the necessary conversation on LGBTQ rights, awareness, and support.

The importance of feeling sexually attractive: Can it predict an individual’s experience of their sexuality and sexual relationships across gender and sexual orientation? International Journal of Psychology | Early View

Complicating Counterspaces: Intersectionality and the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. American Journal of Community Psychology | May 2016

Helping Gay and Lesbian Students Integrate Sexual and Religious Identities Journal of College Counseling | April 2016

Queering women, peace and security International Affairs | March 2016

Thriving and Adapting: Resilience, Sense of Community, and Syndemics among Young Black Gay and Bisexual Men American Journal of Community Psychology | March 2016

Educators’ Reports on Incidence of Harassment and Advocacy Toward LGBTQ Students Psychology in the Schools | February 2016

LGBT Populations in Studies of Urban Neighborhoods: Making the Invisible Visible City & Community | September 2015

Inclusive Classrooms for LGBTQ Students Using Linked Text Sets to Challenge the Hegemonic “Single Story” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy| July/August 2015

Social Support Networks for LGBT Young Adults: Low Cost Strategies for Positive Adjustment Family Relations | July 2015

Extending Training in Multicultural Competencies to Include Individuals Identifying as Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual: Key Choice Points for Clinical Psychology Training Programs Clinical Psychology Science and Practice | June 2015

Gender, Naming, and Fluidity Dialog | June 2015

Quality LGBT Health Education: A Review of Key Reports and Webinars Clinical Psychology Science and Practice | June 2015

Toward Defining, Measuring, and Evaluating LGBT Cultural Competence for Psychologists Clinical Psychology Science and Practice | June 2015

My Soul to Take: A Phenomenology of the Struggle for an Authentic Gay Spirituality Counseling and Values | April 2015

LGBTQ Activist Organizations as ‘Respectably Queer’ in India: Contesting a Western View Gender, Work & Organization | January 2015

Medicine and Making Sense of Queer Lives Hastings Center Report | September 2014

Health Disparities among LGBT Older Adults and the Role of Nonconscious Bias Hastings Center Report | September 2014

‘Discourses of Desire: Religion, Same-Sex Love and Secularisation in Britain, 1870-1930’ Gender & History | August 2014

Suicide Risk among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Military Personnel and Veterans: What Does the Literature Tell Us? Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior | April 2014

An Epistemology of Collusion: Hijras, Kothis and the Historical (Dis)continuity of Gender/Sexual Identities in Eastern India Gender & History | November 2012

Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Paganism Religion Compass | August 2012

Queer Systems: The Benefits of a More Systematic Approach to Queer Theology CrossCurrents | March 2011

Gay Asian Masculinities and Christian Theologies CrossCurrents | January 2011

Epistemic Modernity and the Emergence of Homosexuality in China Gender & History | November 2010

Is it a choice? Sexual orientation as interpretation Journal of Social Philosophy | February 2009

Just joining us for LGBTQ Pride Month? Catch up on the original content and curated collections that we’ve released so far!

Interview : Patient Practice for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth

Special Collection: Trans Issues

On Identity, Pride, and Coming Out- A Personal Essay

Special Collection: LGBTQ Family & Relationships

Special Collection: LGBTQ Rights

Trans Issues

This collection promotes awareness and exploration of gender identity and expression. Tackling complex issues that transgender and gender nonconforming people face, the collection covers topics such as cultural inclusion and representation, healthcare advocacy and treatment, institutional discrimination, violence, and many more.

For the third week of LGBTQ Pride Month, we’ve selected articles from our broad journals portfolio under the theme Trans Issues. This collection promotes awareness and exploration of gender identity and expression. Tackling complex issues that transgender and gender nonconforming people face, the collection covers topics such as cultural inclusion and representation, healthcare advocacy and treatment, institutional discrimination, violence, and many more. Enjoy this research freely through July 31, and don’t forget to comment and share below.

In addition to this research collection, the Wiley-Blackwell Team has selected some of their favorite resources and history fun-facts about the trans community.

And, don’t forget to come back each Monday as we post articles and think pieces from Wiley authors and LGBTQ advocates centered around a unique theme. Thanks for joining us as we continue the necessary conversation on LGBTQ rights, awareness, and support. Continue reading “Trans Issues”

LGBTQ Family & Relationships

For the second full week of LGBTQ Pride Month, we’ve selected articles from our broad journals portfolio under the theme LGBTQ Family & Relationships. This collection explores the complexities of social, ethical, psychological themes of LGBTQ families and relationships, covering topics such as family planning, marriage equality, child development, sexual health, and many more. Enjoy this research freely through July 31, and don’t forget to comment and share below!

And, don’t forget to come back each Monday as we post think pieces from Wiley authors and LGBTQ advocates centered around a new theme. You’ll also get unlocked access to journal articles and book excerpts that examine the ethical, social, and philosophical issues faced by the LGBTQ community. Thanks for joining us as we continue the necessary conversation on LGBTQ rights, awareness, and support.

Social and psychological creativity in gay male midlife identity management British Journal of Social Psychology | Early View

Performative family: homosexuality, marriage and intergenerational dynamics in China The British Journal of Sociology | Early View

Greedy Spouse, Needy Parent: The Marital Dynamics of Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Intergenerational Caregivers Journal of Marriage & Family | Early View

Development of the Gay and Lesbian Relationship Satisfaction Scale Journal of Marital and Family Therapy | Early View

Religion and Public Opinion Toward Same-Sex Relations, Marriage, and Adoption: Does the Type of Practice Matter? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | Early View

Religiousness and Support for Same-Sex Marriage: An Endogenous Treatment Approach Social Science Quarterly | Early View

Ambivalence in Gay and Lesbian Family Relationships Journal of Marriage & Family | June 2016

Identity Transformation During the Transition to Parenthood Among Same-Sex Couples: An Ecological, Stress-Strategy-Adaptation Perspective Journal of Family Theory & Review | March 2016

Queer Theory, Intersectionality, and LGBT-Parent Families: Transformative Critical Pedagogy in Family Theory Journal of Family Theory & Review | March 2016

Maybe “I Do,” Maybe I Don’t: Respectability Politics in the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy | December 2015

Meanings of Intimacy: A Comparison of Members of Heterosexual and Same-Sex Couples Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy | December 2015

Why Donor Insemination and Not Adoption? Narratives of Female-Partnered and Single Mothers Family Relations | December 2015

Queering the Martial Races: Masculinity, Sex and Circumcision in the Twentieth-Century British Indian Army Gender & History | August 2015

The Personal Politics of Same-Sex Marriage Politics & Policy | August 2015

LG(BT) Families and Counting Sociology Compass | July 2015

Getting “Bi” in the Family: Bisexual People’s Disclosure Experiences Journal of Marriage & Family | June 2015

Sexual Health Risk Behaviors Among Older Men Who Have Sex With Men: Implications for Interventions Adultspan Journal | April 2015

Reminders of Heteronormativity: Gay Adoptive Fathers Navigating Uninvited Social Interactions Family Relations | April 2015

“An individual of ill-defined type” (“Un individu d’un genre mal défini”): Hermaphroditism in Marriage Annulment Proceedings in Nineteenth-Century France’ Gender & History | April 2015

Intimacy and Emotion Work in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Relationships Journal of Marriage & Family | April 2015

Relationship Preferences Among Gay and Lesbian Online Daters: Individual and Contextual Influences Journal of Marriage & Family | April 2015

Making Sense in and of the Asexual Community: Navigating Relationships and Identities in a Context of Resistance Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology | March/April 2015

Relationship Education and Therapy for Same-Sex Couples Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy | December 2014

Reducing Health Disparities and Enhancing the Responsible Conduct of Research Involving LGBT Youth The Hastings Center Report | October 2014

Gay men and intimate partner violence: a gender analysis Sociology of Health & Illness | May 2014

Adoptive Gay Father Families: Parent–Child Relationships and Children’s Psychological Adjustment Child Development | March/April 2014

Reductio ad absurdum objections and the dis-integration argument against merely instrumental sex Journal of Social Philosophy | September 2013

Outing Heteronormativity in Interpersonal and Family Communication: Feminist Applications of Queer Theory “Beyond the Sexy Streets” Communication Theory | May 2013

The Cross-Pressures of Religion and Contact with Gays and Lesbians, and Their Impact on Same-Sex Marriage Opinion Politics & Policy | February 2012

The Friends and Family Plan: Contact with Gays and Support for Gay Rights Policy Studies Journal | May 2011

‘Dealing with sperm’: comparing lesbians’ clinical and non-clinical donor conception processes Sociology of Health & Illness | January 2011

Miss last week’s post on LGBTQ Rights? No worries! The research collection is free through July 31. Go here to read the latest on LGBTQ law, policies, activism, and more.

LGBTQ Rights

This collection explores the past, present, and future of LGBTQ law, politics, and activism which seeks to ensure effective change in social policy and legal protection.

To celebrate the first full week of LGBTQ Pride Month, the Philosopher’s Eye has curated a special collection under the theme LGBTQ Rights. This collection explores the past, present, and future of LGBTQ law, politics, and activism which seeks to ensure effective change in social policy and legal protection. Enjoy this research freely through July 31, and don’t forget to comment and share below!

nypl.digitalcollections.7c5cbbdb-e5a9-02a9-e040-e00a180668a2.001.r — Ancient Greek philosopher Plato is a celebrated figure in the LGBTQ community as it has long been thought that he was gay. Although Ancient Greeks forbid same-sex marriage, varying sexuality was commonly accepted.

“Comradeship” and “Friendship”: Masculinity and Militarisation in German’s Homosexual Emancipation Movement after the First World WarGender & History | March 2011

The Transnational Homophile Movement and the Development of Domesticity in Mexico City’s Homosexual Community, 1930-70 Gender & History | October 2014

‘The Ultimate Extension of Gay Community’: Communal Living and Gay Liberation in the 1970s’ Gender & History | October 2015

Same-sex relationship escalation with uncertain marriage legality: Theory and empirical implications Southern Economic Association | April 2015

Are Gay Men and Lesbians Discriminated against in the Hiring Process? Southern Economic Association | January 2013

When Faith Speech Turns to Gay Hate Speech Dialog | June 2010

Asé† and Amen, Sister! Journal of Religious Ethics | April 2015

Hegel, recognition, and same-sex marriage Journal of Social Philosophy | June 2015

Kant, political liberalism, and the ethics of same-sex relations Journal of Social Philosophy | Fall 2001

Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Relationships: New Possibilities for Research on the Role of Marriage Law in Household Labor Allocation Journal of Family Theory & Review | March 2016

Living a Calling, Life Satisfaction, and Workplace Climate Among a Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Population The Career Development Quarterly | December 2015

Does Believing Homosexuality Is Innate Increase Support for Gay Rights? Policy Studies Journal | November 2009

nypl.digitalcollections.510d47da-ed1d-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.001.r — American poet Walt Whitman was openly gay and is photographed here with his much younger partner Bill Duckett.

Are Debates about “Morality Policy” Really about Morality? Framing Opposition to Gay and Lesbian Rights Policy Studies Journal | May 2011

Relational Comparison and LGBTQ Activism in European Cities International Journal of Urban and Regional Research | May 2014

A hegemon fighting for equal rights: the dominant role of COC Nederland in the LGBT transnational advocacy network Global Networks | April 2016

Organising the Hombre Nuevo Gay: LGBT Politics and the Second Sandinista Revolution Bulletin of Latin American Research | July 2014

Brokering Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Chilean Lawyers and Public Interest Litigation Strategies Bulletin of Latin American Research | October 2015

The Impact of Anti-Gay Politics on the LGBTQ Movement Sociology Compass | June 2016

Sexuality in Child Custody Decisions Family Court Review | April 2012

Multilevel analysis of the effects of antidiscrimination policies on earnings by sexual orientation Journal of Policy Analysis and Management | Spring 2012

nypl.digitalcollections.510d47e3-b6bc-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.001.r — Noted activists Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny picket outside Independence Hall, Philadelphia in 1969.

The Effect of Requiring Private Employers to Extend Health Benefit Eligibility to Same-Sex Partners of Employees: Evidence from California Journal of Policy Analysis and Management | Spring 2013

Revisiting the Income Tax Effects of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriages Journal of Policy Analysis and Management | Spring 2014

Identity or Behavior: A Moral and Medical Basis for LGBTQ Rights Hastings Center Report | October 2014

Legal and Ethical Concerns about Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Hastings Center Report | October 2014

Trump and Moral Evil

Philosophy scholar and guest blogger, Thomas White, speaks to the Trump Phenomenon and the dangers of Moral Evil as the ‘Privatized Self.’

Donald_J__Trump_on_Twitter___Happy__CincoDeMayo__The_best_taco_bowls_are_made_in_Trump_Tower_Grill__I_love_Hispanics__https___t_co_ufoTeQd8yA_https___t_co_k01Mc6CuDI_ — This screenshot what taken from Donald Trump’s official Twitter account

I popped open my laptop after breakfast to catch up with the latest news. To no surprise, Donald Trump’s face was plastered all over Internet. This time Trump had posted a picture on social media, eating tacos from Trump Tower, wishing everyone a Happy Cinco de Mayo, and exclaiming that he loved “the Hispanics.” Seriously? How could someone so blatantly insensitive be a legitimate candidate for the office of the President of the United States?

Suppressing an overwhelming urge to post a nasty, personal comment on some website about this picture, I instead surfed over to a poetry site where I reread these profound lines from that most philosophical poet, T.S. Eliot, one of my favorites:

We are the hollow men/ We are the stuffed men/ Leaning together/ Headpiece filled with straw.

Alas! / Our dried voices, when/ We whisper together/ Are quiet and meaningless

Vowing to resist the mindless tide of angry Trump-related polemics, which has swamped any effort to restore even the most minimal rationality to the American political conversation, I decided to act appropriately (rationally), and begin this calm philosophical study of Donald Trump: What is his relationship to knowledge and language? What is the nature of his mind? What is his relationship to other persons qua moral agents?

Eliot’s verse certainly goes a long way to answering these questions: Trump is a Hollow Man, whose mind is filled with nothing but “meaningless”, dead clutter –no poetry, no wit, no knowledge, and no empathy for other persons. This taco stunt revealed not only his ignorance about Spanish culture—Spain and Latin America have a varied ,often European, non-Mexican cuisine—but a blatant willingness to crudely stereotype others that has become his trademark— a failure of empathy, or emotional intelligence. Trump helps us answer the fascinating philosophical riddle posed by Eliot’s opening lines: a mind can be “hollow” yet “stuffed”– that is filled with emptiness (lack of moral feelings, absence of knowledge etc.). Donald Trump is the abyss Nietzsche warned us against.

The one apparent trait described in Eliot’s profile of Hollow Men—they speak in “quiet” ”dried” voices like the elderly—that Trump does not seem to fit actually is appropriate. His trademark bellicose, bullying style masks his hollowness. George Orwell in 1984 captured the emptiness of this demagogic mind. The Orwellian dystopian state mixes political rallies filled with rage and bullying directed at crude political stereotypes, with a political language –Newspeak—that has been emptied of any references to “freedom” or “human rights.” (Significantly, Trump never refers to the language in the Declaration of Independence, or any other key historical document that defends freedom, though he has advocated torture, which is Big Brother’s standard operating procedure).

When I mull over of all of these traits, as well as that cringe-worthy, taco-related photo-op, I think immediately of another philosophical concept: Solipsism.

British philosopher, A.E. Taylor defined Solipsism as the doctrine in “which I have no certain knowledge of any existence except my own, everything else being a mere state or modification of myself.”

Though philosophers long ago refuted this theory—how can I communicate the theory of Solipsism to other minds if the latter are problematic?—“Solipsism” actually serves another important goal, namely as a conceptual framework useful to profile the emerging privatization of the self as a culturally, politically, and socially significant trend. What a privatized self/ solipsistic self is was described nicely in this blog about Donald Trump posted on Huffington Post—though the author does not use those terms:

[Donald Trump is an] “emptiness [filled] with a sound and fury meant to gratify his needs in the here and now,” … “others exist only as an extension of himself.”… [His] “behavior… “reflects the hollowness within… the humanity of others [being] of no concern.”

In this taco photo-op Trump is immersed only in his own consciousness; the independent humanity of his ‘Hispanic’ audience is problematic. In other words: a portrait of unsullied solipsism.

These are exactly the representative traits that I profile in my CrossCurrents essay as generally emblematic of the privatized Hollow Men, who lack empathy with the suffering of others, while dominating them for their own personal gratification and private ends. As I observe in this essay, such selves occupy every level of contemporary society. Donald Trump is not unique.

About the Author

Thomas White is an independent scholar, who has published essays, poetry and fiction , both in print and online journals, in Canada, United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. White is also the founder of the Takoma Park (MD) Socrates Cafe discussion group, facilitating from 2008 to 2013. He loves the Socratic adventure, and specializes in demonstrating the perennial relevance of philosophy to every aspect of the human condition.

Enjoy White’s CrossCurrents article, “The Hollow Men: Moral Evil as ‘Privatized Self’“ freely through June 30.

Special Note: We welcome you to engage in active dialogue in the comments section below. Please note that comments will be carefully moderated to ensure constructive, respectful conversation. Please allow for up to 24 hours for your comment to appear. Happy Commenting!

The Evolution of Christmas

Each year millions of people around the world celebrate Christmas in a myriad of ways. There’s no denying this holiday and its significance to so many people, and for us, this is one of many times a year where we make more of an effort to appreciate others and remember to be more open-hearted.

To celebrate the holidays this year, we’ve hand-picked special collection of stories and articles on Christmas from the Wiley Blackwell collection and elsewhere. Test your knowledge by taking our quiz, read about the history of the holiday, and explore how the phenomenon of Christmas has spread around the world in the most interesting ways.

Please enjoy, and whatever you may believe, happy holidays to you and yours!

Take Our Christmas Quiz!

Fun Facts about Christmas

History of Christmas – History.com

Ten Ages of Christmas – BBC

How Christmas Went Commercial: A Brief History – Fast Company

Enjoy our special collection freely through January 31.

Evolution of Christmas

Christmas: A Candid History – by Bruce David Forbes

The Historian | Richard Chapman

“Arguing that Christmas has ever been a blend of beliefs, practices, and purposes, Forbes likens it to a snowball that collected and discarded items pell-mell as it rolled along.”

A Child’s Christmas in America: Santa Claus as Deity, Consumption as Religion

The Journal of American Culture | Russell W. Belk

“Although various treatments have attempted to trace the Santa Claus myth to the 4th century Lycian Bishop of Myra, Saint Nicholas’, as well as to European mythical figures including the Dutch Sinterklaas, French Pere Noel, Swedish Santa Lucia and Jultomten, Russian Babushka, German Christkindlein and Knecht Ruprecht, Spanish Three Kings, Italian Befana, and the earlier Roman god Saturn, the modern American Santa Claus bears little resemblance to any of these older myths and legends.”

The Strange Birth of Santa Claus: From Artemis the Goddess and Nicholas the Saint

The Journal of American Culture | Bruce Curtis

“Long ago and far away, so say the legends, there lived a Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, a bearded Father of the Catholic Church named Nicholas. This Patriarch won his way into the hearts of the people, recently converted from idolatry to Christianity, by destroying the temple of Artemis, a many-breasted goddess of the sea and of grain, a pagan Earth Mother who had a long and distinguished career as a midwife and protector of women.”

Leisure and Recreation

History | Douglas Reid

“Despite some serious resistance and much non-compliance with the Puritan regime, it seemed to late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth-century writers that Christmas observance and festivities had received a damaging blow: the talk was of decline and decay.”

Philosophy

Female Spirituality and the Infant Jesus in Late Medieval Dominican Convents

Gender & History | Ulinka Rublack

“Dominican Christmas sermons, however, encouraged their audiences to become ‘mother of Christ’ and to let their souls give spiritual birth to Christ.”

What’s in a(n Empty) Name?

Pacific Philosophical Quaterly | Fred Adams & Laura A. Dietrich

“The names ‘Santa’ and ‘Father Xmas’ share similar causal histories. They both come out of the same Western cultural tradition. They are both associated with the same lore – the same set of descriptions.”

Existential Scrooge: A Kierkegaardian Reading of A Christmas Carol

Literature Compass | Shale Preston

“A Christmas Carol is indeed historically important, so much so that it may have influenced or even inspired Søren Kierkegaard’s The Concept of Anxiety (1844).”

Chapter 19: Common Claus

Christmas—Philosophy For Everyone | Cindy Scheopner

“In a state with no racial or ethnic majority, religious views also demonstrate a variety uncommon on the mainland US. at a time when they seem most acute.”

The Circumstantial Evidence of the Virgin Birth

The Muslim World | Albertus Pieters

“To my mind, so far from the Virgin Birth being a byproduct of Christian imagination, or a thing that while true, was unnecessary and uninfluential in the origin of the Christian religion, it underlies the entire development.”

Are Angels Just a Matter of Faith?

The New Blackfriars | Dominic White OP

“I argue that a philosophically viable Catholic angelology would not only help many people within and outside the Church to make sense of their religious experience, but would offer a much richer conception of creation and God’s saving work.”

The Star of Christ in the Light of Astronomy

Zygon | Aaron Adair

“Although there were centuries of astrological speculation, this overview shows that naturalistic theories of the Star are a late innovation that began with apologetic attempts in the nineteenth century and not long after left the mainstream of biblical scholarship, leaving mostly astronomers to give credibility to this tale.”

Migration

The Christmas Cake: A Japanese Tradition of American Prosperity

The Journal of Popular Culture | Hideyo Konagaya

“For Japanese, Christmas continues to provide an arena to rehearse American values.”

Translation Acts: Afro-Peruvian Music in the United States

Journal of Popular Music Studies | Heidi Carolyn Feldman

“…the track “Panalivio” is based on the music of black Christmas. This Catholic festival, the legacy of slavery and Christianization, takes place in rural Chincha, Peru, a town mythologized during the revival as the cradle of black Peruvian music.”

New Ways to Write the History of Western Europe and the United States: The Concept of Intercultural Transfer

History Compass | Thomas Adam

“The trimming of Christmas evergreens emerged as part of the modern form of Christmas celebration among wealthy families in Germany during the Romantic period. From here it quickly spread across Europe and even to the New England states in the 1830s and 1840s.”

Literary Criticism

Herrick’s “Christmas Carol”: A New Poem, and Its Implications for Patronage

English Literary Renaissance | Tom Cain

“The religious and secular celebration of Christmas had been under increasing political thread in England and Wales since the Solemn League and Covenent was made with the Presbyterian Scots in September 1643.”

Milton’s On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity: The Virgilian and Biblical Matrices

Milton Quarterly | Donald Swanson & John Mulryan

“This wedding of the Virgilian and biblical matrices reminds us once again that Milton was the most learned poet of his time, even at the early age of twenty-one, when he composed this astonishingly precocious poem.”

Creative Writing – Enjoy these original works of Christmas fiction from our journals

The Christmas morning Swim

Critical Quarterly | Robert Cremins

Christmas with Aunt Ama

Critical Quarterly | Yaba Badoe

The Kindness of Strangers

The Yale Review | Sheila Kohler

A Special Collection on Holocaust Distortion and Muslim-Jewish Relations

In light of the most recent World Zionist Congress meeting and the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East, we have curated a special collection focusing on the significance of Muslim-Jewish relations as they pertain to Holocaust Distortion and Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

By freeing the content now through November 30, we hope to facilitate an impactful conversation on religion, culture, ethics, and history to better relations and build effective policy.

Update

To further the conversation on Muslim-Jewish relations, we’ve created a book giveaway! To enter to win Peacemaking and the Challenge of Violence in World Religions, follow the instructions below. Retweet any of tweets with the contest graphic from the following Wiley accounts: @WileyReligion, @PhilosophersEye, and @WileyHistory. The contest ends Friday, Nov 6.

Click here for more information on the book.

Journal of Religious Ethics on Holocaust Distortion

Holocaust Abuse: The Case of Hajj Muhammad Amin al-Husayni

Michael A. Sells

Abstract: This essay reconsiders the category of “Holocaust denial” as the marked indicator of ethical transgression in Holocaust historiography within American civil religion. It maintains that the present category excludes and thereby enables other violations of responsible Holocaust historiography. To demonstrate the nature and gravity of such violations, the essay engages the widespread claim that Hajj Muhammad Amin al-Husayni, the former mufti of Jerusalem, was an instigator, promoter, or “driving spirit” of the Nazi genocide against Jews, and the associated suggestions of wider Arab and Muslim complicity. The essay uncovers the history of the Husayni narrative in question, the dramatic circumstances in which it emerged, its role in the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann, and its rediscovery and misuse within American popular and political circles over the past two decades. Such misuse, it concludes, corrodes Holocaust recognition within American civil religion and demonstrates the need for a revision of the socially accepted ethical boundary for responsible Holocaust historiography.

Response to Michael Sells

Ronald M. Green

Abstract: In an era when lies and misrepresentations about historical events easily become firmly rooted, Michael Sells’s discussion illustrates the importance of careful historical research as a moral enterprise. In addition to the skills of the historian, however, there is also room in this enterprise for those of the ethicist. In particular, I warn against confusing the truth or falsity of claims about one narrow historical period with larger questions about the moral meaning and significance of those claims. Illustrating this, I argue one cannot assess the legitimacy of competing nationhood claims solely on the basis of the deeds of specific actors. Nor should the actions of a single individual like the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem be converted into a totalizing claim about the rights of the Palestinian people.

CrossCurrents Special Issue on Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: Probing the History and Dynamics of Hate