I think the penchant to change religious affiliations in the United States has to do first with the fact that we have become a mobile society and, second, with the economic and educational achievements that drive mobility.

Traditional religious forms, whether they are Protestant Evangelical Fundamentalism or
Conservative Catholicism are particularly strong among people who do not stray far from family roots, geographically or emotionally.

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My first observation about the Eliot Spitzer affair is that compulsive sexual activity is a human disease like compulsive gambling or compulsive drinking. It should be treated psychologically, but human beings seem to enjoy making moral judgments, especially when compulsive behavior appears in the political arena. Watching the mighty fall is viewed as a popular sport.

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My newest book, Jesus for the Non-Religious, just released in paperback, is written for those people who are committed to the Jesus experience, but because they are citizens of the 21st Century cannot twist their minds into First Century pretzels in order to say “I believe” to the traditional explanations offered by the biblical writers. Rather I seek the reality of the Jesus experience that made these explanations seem appropriate.

I do not believe, for example, that Jesus was born of a virgin in any biological sense, but I do believe that people found in Jesus a God presence that caused them to assert that human life could never have produced what they believed they met in him.

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The Question: Which "ism" is more entrenched in America, sexism or racism? Which should religion address?

Racism is more obvious and overt; sexism is more subtle and is still more deeply acceptable.

John McCain rebuked a talk show host for racially tinged remarks he used when calling Senator Obama by his middle name “Hussein.” When McCain was asked by a woman at a rally “How are you going to beat the bitch?” he proceeded to answer by saying how he would defeat Senator Clinton without ever unloading the hostility present in the question.

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