Author: Leah Mickens
Leah Mickens is an independent scholarly researcher who is currently a PhD student at Boston University in the Graduate Division of Religion. She has previously conducted archival work at major repositories of southern U.S. history. Mickens is a frequent contributer to Free Inquiry.
The Catholic Church’s ‘Woman Priest’ Question: Thomas Aquinas and Giving Every Woman Her Due
“To understand the real reason behind the Catholic Church’s ban on women priests, one must examine the Aristotelian and Thomistic foundation of Catholic dogma.”
The World’s Oldest Prejudice: The Center for Inquiry’s Fight against Religious Privilege
Beginning around 1970, humanist social-justice activism began building fewer independent organizations, instead creating stronger humanist organizations.
This article is available for free to all.Creative Minority Report: How the Humanist Movement Changed America
“… Sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, a humanist movement—and its underlying ideals—helped to shape many of the major social-reform initiatives that would transform America’s political and cultural landscape during the twentieth century.”
Will the Real ‘Culture of Life’ Please Stand Up?
Catholic rhetoric about a “culture of life” may sound humanistic, but when clearly understood it is the opposite.
Theology of the Odd Body: The Castrati, the Church, and the Transgender Moment
Current Catholic teaching that a person’s birth sex should never be altered or blurred is contrary to the church’s centuries-long acceptance of castrated male singers.
This article is available for free to all.The Real Old-Time Religion: Magic, Superstition, and the Challenge to Fundamentalism
Fundamentalists who think that they want a return to “old-time religion” should think again.
The Rise of Global Fundamentalism: Are Humanists Really ‘Winning’?
To understand the distressing growth of conservative Christianity and Islam, we must understand the history and cultural dynamics of the so-called “wretched of the earth.”