Speaking in Tongues
Aleksandr Chernousov writes about the experience of hearing his first language turned to violent authoritarian ends and finding it anew in Oregon
The Devil, You Know
In an excerpt from Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of “The Exorcist”, Marlena Williams writes about satanic panics from Geraldo to QAnon
Treasures
Sam Mowe on Buddhism, heritage, and his family home
Merciful Debt
Rosanna Nafziger on the implications of generosity, aid, and what we owe.
A Temple Between Us
Shane Burley writes about finding sparks of holiness in marital strife.
"Just Go Do It"
Bruce Poinsette explores the stories of three Black Muslim community leaders in Oregon.
Eid al-Adha, Festival of Sacrifice
Visiting family in Egypt during Eid Al-Adha, when sheep and cattle are sacrificed and their meat is given away, an Egyptian-American writer considers family, faith, and violence.
More Similar than Different
Tricia Gates Brown reflects on rehabilitating a thrush and letting it go
Conversation Project: What Makes Life Meaningful?
This conversation with philosophy professor Prakash Chenjeri and chaplain Fred Grewe aims to engage participants in a thoughtful and meaningful discussion about this very human question.
Black. Muslim. Woman.
Tiara Darnell talks to Fatmah Worfeley, a nineteen-year-old Portland activist and student, about racism within the Muslim community, her parents’ interracial marriage, reconciling her Palestinian and Libyan heritage, and coming to terms with her Blackness.
Conversation Project: Faith and Politics in Oregon and Beyond
This conversation explores how our religious ideas and political identities mix and what it means for our common life together.
Conversation Project: Ritual and Ceremony in Modern Life
Holly Pruett leads a conversation about the role of ritual and ceremony in participants’ family and cultural histories, the impact of life events that have passed unobserved, and the new ceremonies that people are creating to mark these milestones.
Conversation Project: What Makes Life Meaningful?
The question of what makes life meaningful has occupied human thinking for thousands of years. This conversation with philosophy professor Prakash Chenjeri and chaplain Fred Grewe aims to engage participants in a thoughtful and meaningful discussion about this very human question.
Conversation Project: Ritual and Ceremony in Modern Life
Holly Pruett, a life-cycle celebrant who works with individuals, families, and communities to commemorate such occasions, leads a conversation about the role of ritual and ceremony in participants’ family and cultural histories and the new ceremonies that people are creating to mark these milestones.
Conversation Project: What Makes Life Meaningful?
This conversation with philosophy professor Prakash Chenjeri and chaplain Fred Grewe aims to engage participants in a thoughtful and meaningful discussion about this very human question.
Conversation Project: Faith and Politics in Oregon and Beyond
Join writer, educator, and former minister Russ Pierson in a conversation about how our religious ideas and political identities mix and what it means for our common life together.
Conversation Project: Ritual and Ceremony in Modern Life
Holly Pruett, a life-cycle celebrant who works with individuals, families, and communities to commemorate such occasions, leads a conversation about the role of ritual and ceremony in participants’ family and cultural histories.
Conversation Project: What Makes Life Meaningful?
The question of what makes life meaningful has occupied human thinking for thousands of years. This conversation with philosophy professor Prakash Chenjeri and chaplain Fred Grewe aims to engage participants in a thoughtful and meaningful discussion about this very human question.
Conversation Project: In Good Faith
Exploring Religious Difference in Oregon
Conversation Project: Ritual and Ceremony in Modern Life
How do we make meaning out of the big milestones in our personal and community lives?
"Spiritrials" Post-Show Discussion on Faith and Religion
A conversation reflecting on the show with Conversation Project leader Elizabeth Harlan-Ferlo of Interfaith Muse. This is an Oregon Humanities grant-funded event.
Split
Lessons about men’s and women’s work divide a boy from his community. An essay by Ryan Stroud
Conversation Project: In Good Faith
Exploring Religious Difference in Oregon
Conversation Project: What Makes Life Meaningful?
Are we sparks of divine creation, or simply meaning-making creatures, or genes replicating themselves for no other purpose than adapting to our natural environment? This conversation with philosophy professor Prakash Chenjeri and chaplain Fred Grewe aims to engage participants in a thoughtful and meaningful discussion about this very human question.
Conversation Project: In Good Faith
Exploring Religious Difference in Oregon
Conversation Project: In Good Faith
Exploring Religious Difference in Oregon
What We Pass On
Adam Davis, executive director of Oregon Humanities, writes about cultural inheritance.
Finding Land
Charting a course out of depression. An essay by Jennifer Rabin
David and Goliath
Remembering a friend from a hospice house. An excerpt from What the Dying Have Taught Me about Living: The Awful Amazing Grace of God by Fred Grewe, an Oregon Humanities Talking about Dying community discussion leader.
Magazine Podcast: Start
Talking about epigenetics, adoption, faith, and clowns with Oregon Humanities magazine contributors
Origin Stories
The surprising beginnings of six of Oregons claims to fame
Clowns for Christ
Norina Beck writes about losing her faith and finding her nose.
Burning Bushes
When it comes to attention-getting spectacles, God is no longer the only game in town. An essay by Dan DeWeese
Fearful Beauty
Embracing both the wonder and terror of awe. An essay by Courtney Campbell
Against Custom
The first peace advocates imagined a new story for the United States. An essay by Margot Minardi
Under God
Frances Bellamy and the origins of the Pledge of Allegiance. By Richard Ellis
Second-Chance Family
Rajneeshpuram has come and gone: what keep believers bound to one another? By Marion Goldman
Unimaginable Riches
The unfamiliar offers its own rewards. An essay by Joanne Mulcahey
After the Fall
Somewhere beyond fate and reason, the real work of being human begins. An essay by John Holloran
Drown
Two rivers; two Western tales of hubris
Laughing Into the Abyss
The existential howl of Jewish American humor. By Scott Nadelson