Articles on Religion

How to Argue About Religion and Never Lose - Miles discusses three common ways in which arguments are typically resolved and proposes a fourth way to argue about religion and never lose—and to do so without abandoning our beliefs and convictions. From the Emir-Stein Center, published December 12, 2021.

Lessons From an Unwritten Autobiography - Miles tells the story of his life, so far, "From doubt and despair to faith and love." Published in The American Scholar on December 1, 2021 [subscription required] . 

Miles discussed his book God in the Qur’an on the eve of the commemoration of 9/11 as a keynote speaker, published by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles September 13, 2021. Also available to watch on YouTube under the title An Evening with Jack Miles: The Qur’an and Interfaith Relations.

Why I’ll Stay, Why I Left - Two Essays by Ross Douthat and Jack Miles, from Commonweal's Special Issue on Catholic Identity, published November 19, 2018.

Is the Qur’an the Word of God? Mimetic Theory and the Anxiety of Scriptural Influence - Miles presented The Raymond Schwager, S. J. Memorial Lecture at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, July 14, 2018. Posted on YouTube October 30, 2018.

Why Religion Endures - On a spectrum of postures toward religious faith that runs from organized hostility to muffled contempt to resigned forbearance to never-crosses-my-mind indifference to against-my-better-judgment curiosity to serious interest to fellow-traveling to heartfelt engagement to missionary fervor, where do you place yourself, and how does that dispose you to others’ positions? Published in The Sun, March 2016.

Why God Will Not Die - An excerpt from Jack Miles' "Concluding Unscholarly Postscript," the final pages of his General Introduction to the Norton Anthology of World Religions. From The Atlantic, November 17, 2014.

Robert N. Bellah - Miles reviews two books written by Bellah, Religion in Human Evolution, From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age, and The Axial Age and Its Consequences, published to commemorate Bellah after his death, from the American Academy of Religion, August 22, 2013.

Religion & Environment - Miles discusses how religion can help the environment at UCI as part of their 2011 seminar series on the environment.

Not the Bible - Miles talks on this podcast about religious literature and his new project as general editor of the forthcoming Norton Anthology of World Religions from February 6, 2011.

America, Islam and the 'ground zero mosque' - Video of a lecture given at at The Australian National University on September 9, 2010.

Self-Defense and Defense Against the Self - Opening remarks at the Symposium on Religion and Peace, held under the theme "Global Militarization - Religions' Response," at the Student Center of the University of California, Irvine (UCI), on May 13, 2010, published in Dharma World, October - December 2010 (online article removed; order a backissue at the link).

Trading Places - A Once-Catholic Episcopalian Looks at Benedict’s Offer. Published in Commonweal on January 15, 2010.

Anglican Disunion - What is Rowan Williams trying to hold together? Published in Commonweal on September 12, 2008.

Benedict XVI at the United Nations - Published in Religion and Ethics, April 2008.

Religious Identities and Violence - An American Historical Review conversation from December 2007. Includes Philip Benedict, Nora Berend, Stephen Ellis, Jeffrey Kaplan, Ussama Makdisi, and Jack Miles.

A Divorce the Church Should Smile Upon - A generation from now, when we look back on the breakup of the Anglican Communion and on the status of homosexuals within the churches of the world, what may we expect to see? From The New York Times, March 1, 2007.

Reza Aslan in Conversation with Miles - Two acclaimed thinkers about religion—Reza Aslan and Jack Miles—conduct an enlightening on-stage conversation about the state of Islam. From UC Television, March 13, 2006. Also on YouTube here.

What Would Baby Jesus Say? - An article from Slate, Dec. 22, 2005, on the silence of God.

Ratz! - Benedict XVI: Habemus papam, vivat status quo. From Slate. Published April 19, 2005.

Closing the Gap on Believers - Is religion more prominent or less today in American life? Is it fading away or roaring ahead? Published in The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles on November 5, 2004.

What Jews Need to Know About Jesus - A Q&A primer regarding Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ, and what we know about Jesus and who killed Him. Cover story from The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, February 25, 2004.

What Would Jesus Say About Gay Marriage? - Divorce, not homosexuality, was the deviation that preoccupied him. Cover story from Beliefnet, February 19, 2004.

The God of Abraham, Jesus, and Muhammad - The author of God: A Biography says that, yes, of course Jews, Christians, and Muslims worship the same God, from Beliefnet, December 3, 2003.

Theology and the Clash of Civilizations - Peace will come not when any one terrorist and his network of secret agents have been 'surgically' excised but when an authentic alternative vision has emerged within the House of Islam. From Cross Currents, Winter 2002.

Papal Silence - When the pope quietly sat through an anti-Semitic diatribe, did his silence signal his assent?  From Beliefnet, June 2001.

The Most Dangerous Religion - (Hint: It's not Islam) -  from Arts Journal's Arts Watch, published March 16, 2001.

The Dogma Catholics Deserve - Will Catholics do more than shrug glumly at their church's bullying?  From Beliefnet, September 2000.

Can We Make the World a Worse Place? - On religion and world peace.  From Beliefnet, August 2000.

Buying a Seat Near Heaven - Give democracy--and your local house of worship--a sporting chance. From Beliefnet, June 2000.