Category Archives: Humor

Call for Papers: Ethics in Comedy

Edited by Steven A. Benko What makes a joke right or wrong? When is it good or bad to laugh? The rights and wrongs of a joke can be expressed in political terms: a joke is politically incorrect or it … Continue reading

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Religion as Commodity and the Deification of Beer

By Philip L. Tite I must admit that beyond the beautiful mountains, lush green forests, and interwoven water ways, one of the things I love most about the Pacific Northwest is the plethora of amazing beers. Being raised on the … Continue reading

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Humor, Crazy Cults, and a Final Tribute to Mork from Ork

By Philip L. Tite The shocking death of Robin Williams this past Monday has sparked a flurry of tributes, reflections, and, of course, outpourings of grief by admirers. For myself, his death recalled my recent use of clips from Mork … Continue reading

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Why Durkheim Was Right: On the Perils of Being a Young, Cute Shoplifter

* This post originally appeared on the Culture on the Edge blog. by Leslie Dorrough Smith In yet another entry from the annals of my parenting adventures, a particularly memorable event has always served me well as a reminder of … Continue reading

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Now Published – Bulletin for the Study of Religion 42.3 (September 2013)

The September issue of the Bulletin has been published and is available in both print and electronic versions. Below is the table of contents of this issue. This issue focuses on the topic of religion and humor. We have a … Continue reading

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Zombie Jesus Day: When Labels (Re-)Make Reality

By Philip L. Tite Over the Easter weekend, I heard a story of a young child at a local school discussing the Easter holidays with her friends. The holiday that her family celebrates, she said, is actually called Zombie Jesus … Continue reading

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Social Magic

By Craig Martin Each semester in my introductory course I teach Pierre Bourdieu’s little essay, “Rites of Institution” in Language and Symbolic Power (1991). One of Bourdieu’s claims is that with rites of institution, identities are assigned to subjects—and with such … Continue reading

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