The theoretical clash between the sacred and the profane is one of the most compelling aspects of the way humans use discourse in the pursuit of truth. Rene Descartes’ method, understood as an attempt to rebuild a body of knowledge by calling all that is known into question, demonstrates this dynamic. As Descartes disavows all previously held assumptions, he makes a deliberate caveat to exempt his faith in God from suspicion. In this essay, I argue that the separation of Descartes’ faith from his method is a meaningful illustration of reasoning from the sacred. I demonstrate that a key role of the sacred is to shape the way a person reasons, even as a sacred belief can hold a vaunted, protected position in that person’s worldview. This status of a belief is characterized by two distinct logical structures: separation and security. Finally, based on this analysis, I explicate a few ways that this type of separation has telling implications for our contemporary moral discourse.

This article examines a specific Tunisian Muslim woman’s nude protest on social media and its misinterpretation by FEMEN, a Ukrainian radical feminist activist group intended to protect women’s rights. I argue that, although digital media seems to offer more inclusivity in the material world, subaltern bodies who use technology to transmit their message still cannot be heard. Thus, I offer actor-network theory as a different framework for tracking these types of conflicts, one that allows for intersectionality and non-Western religions to be recognized and acknowledged. Finally, I conclude that flexible solidarity is the logical relation of religion-as-networked-performance.

Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805–1844) set the doctrinal table of Mormonism through his revelations, other writings, and oral discourse. Despite the unorthodox nature of Smith’s ideas and his initial lack of oratorical skills, the church he founded has flourished despite determined opposition. This essay reviews Smith’s rhetorical development, including a review of the doctrinally rich King Follett Discourse through the critical lens of Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm, to account, at least in part, for the appeal of Smith and his ideas.