Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie

In a much discussed article in the new online publication Religion & Politics Journal, New York Times religion reporter Mark Oppenheimer offers an enthusiastic endorsement of Jon Stewart's coverage of religion on "The Daily Show," which Stewart hosts on Comedy Central. "Jon Stewart may not be a believer," writes Oppenheimer,...

It is not likely that either President Obama or Gov. Romney will say much about their religious beliefs during the upcoming election campaign, and this is unfortunate. If they were to do so, it would be good for them and good for the American people.

America is by far the...

The following column is part of a series. For more, go to Liberal Zionists Speak Out.

I am a Zionist.

Zionism is the belief that the establishment of a Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel is essential for the creative survival of the Jewish people.

We are all religious, every one of us.

Religion is deeply rooted in human nature and a response to certain profound and universal needs of humankind.

I write these words after reading the essay "Man The Religious Animal" in the April issue of First Things. Authored by Professor Christian...

There are many criteria that one might use to evaluate Mitt Romney's candidacy for President of the United States. But his position on the Mormon practice of proxy baptisms of Holocaust victims and survivors should not be one of them.

Mormon doctrine calls for the baptism of all the dead...

There are two kinds of atheists.

There are the fire-breathing, venom-filled religion haters, who pour out their contempt on religious believers and who delight in talking about the extremism that is to be found in the history of all the great religious traditions.

And then there are those who reject...

Religious conservatives are drawn to the language of religious war, even if no such war exists.

This is a bizarre, dangerous and troubling phenomenon. I experienced it directly on Feb. 9 when I appeared on the Sean Hannity show on the Fox News channel as part of a panel of...

Jefferson Bethke's YouTube video, "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus," has been viewed by more than 18 million people. Bethke raises questions about the intentions of Jesus and the nature of the Christianity, and these questions are properly dealt with by Christian thinkers. But the video and its incredible...

I am a person of liberal convictions, and I spend most of my time with other liberals. Many of my friends share my liberal political views but recoil from my liberal religious beliefs. The reason that they give most frequently is that "religion is divisive and conservative."

My answer...

Again and again, and especially during the election season, we read in the media about "people of faith," "religious Americans" and "value voters" -- and what is meant, in almost all cases, are Americans who are conservative in both their religion and their politics. There is nothing wrong with being...

I am a religious man who loves his country. I have always been an American patriot, but now, more than ever before, I feel a sense of shared destiny with my fellow citizens. My love of country is not a simple matter, of course. It is rooted in a profound...

To talk of religion without reference to sin is absurd.

Sin is what results when a human being chooses evil rather than good. It is the consequence of violating transcendent values. Contending with sin is a central theme of both Jewish and Christian religious thinking.

The United States is...

The political season is upon us. The debates have begun and the primaries are approaching. As always, we hear a great deal about the religious beliefs of the candidates. Since the economy is at the center of everyone's concern, it would be wise to see what the Bible has to...

I believe that morality is absolute. There are values in our world that express how things ought to be. These values tell us that certain things are always right and certain things are always wrong.

As a religious person, I look to the sacred texts of my religious tradition to...

America needs religious politicians. With a few notable exceptions, it doesn't have any.

Our country is not lacking in political opportunists who exploit religion for their own purposes. On both the right and left, candidates and elected officials see religion as a tool intended to attract voter support or...

Neuroscience is "in." It is reshaping public culture by giving us new ways to think about why human beings do what they do.

There have been many high profile champions of neuroscience in recent years. One is Sam Harris, neuroscientist and religion critic, who has argued for a "new atheism"...

The future of liberal religion in America depends entirely on its ability to generate experiences of religious ecstasy.

Hundreds of articles and books have been written on the decline of liberal religion, and the explanations offered usually depend on sweeping and unproven sociological generalizations: the decline is due to cultural...

Shavuot is a much neglected holiday. Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a harvest festival and enjoying equal status with Passover and Sukkot, Shavuot is of shorter duration than her sister festivals and has fewer distinctive rituals; as a result, observance of the holiday has tended to be minimal.

Nonetheless,...

I have been participating in interfaith dialogue as a rabbi and Jewish leader for more than 30 years, and most of the time it just doesn't work.

Most of the time -- and it is painful for me to admit this -- it is terribly boring. Most of the time...

Ill with cancer, outspoken "unbeliever" Christopher Hitchens was unable to appear at the American Atheist Convention, and instead sent a letter attacking the "lethal delusion" of religion. This letter was both unspeakably sad and distressingly naive.

In his missive, Hitchens equated religion with the actions and proclamations of bullies,...