Summer Religion Reading Recommendations

(Courtesy of JonathanMerritt.com)

The Lost Art of Speaking God

Are we losing the language we share to describe our faiths and religious traditions? Author Jonathan Merritt – a contributor to The Atlantic and religion and culture commentator, says he was struck by how few people “speak God” anymore – and how that can prevent people from expressing their faiths. It launched him on an unlikely journey to understand the very words he uses himself to understand and explore his faith and resulted in his new book.

Jonathan Merritt, The Atlantic contributor and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words Are Vanishing–and How We Can Revive Them

(Courtesy of Penguin Randomhouse)

A modern Muslim woman walks into a bookstore – and finds a spiritual path

Language can lead us to find new spiritual understandings. For one woman, it was the writings of Sufi mystics that took her from her corporate job to becoming an advocate for understanding about Islam and global women’s rights. Daisy Khan is a well-known leader in the Muslim community and she’s the founder and executive director of the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality. She’s also worked on inter- and intra- faith issues as the executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Daisy Khan, author of the new memoir Born with Wings: The Spiritual Journey of a Modern Muslim Woman

Listen to a web bonus from our conversation.

(Pixabay)

Commentary: Unplugging from guilt

Host Amber Khan shares some reflections from her recent summer vacation, in which her family underwent their annual ritual of disconnecting from devices and daily routines. But this year, she felt like retreating from her news consumption was abdicating a responsibility to pay attention.

Amber Khan, host

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