This paper grounds the popular discussions of mindfulness in the U.S. that frame it as a self-help technique in the primary discourses of the Buddha, and cautions against an appropriation of mindfulness as an individualistic and a pragmatic tool. Specifically, I focus on the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (The Foundations of Mindfulness) that is part of the “long collection,” Digha Nikaya (DN), which includes a detailed discussion of the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path that explore the problem of suffering and liberation from suffering in human experience. The noble eightfold path offers a framework for the systematic training of mental faculties through three groups that are interrelated: virtue, concentration, and discernment. Mindfulness is part of the concentration group, which is part of a training that equally emphasizes virtue (moral discipline) and wisdom (discernment). Finally, I discuss communicative and epistemological implications of mindfulness discourses that present ways of knowing and beingin-the-world beyond self-centeredness.

This article examines liturgy through a responsiveness-oriented rhetorical analysis. Responsiveness is an emerging conception of rhetoric that brings focus to how people change their own habits. For Christians, this article finds that liturgical call-and-response can develop people’s rhetorical responsiveness because the scriptedness of responding simplifies what people should do/say, putting more emphasis on people’s participation and their willingness to be drawn in. These findings are then extended through examining two moments in a larger project, which show that liturgy can be adapted for antiracist rhetorical work outside of worship services, in that liturgy allows people to listen, participate without dominating, and subordinate themselves to a common spiritual goal. Overall, this article contributes to work on religious rhetoric, race, and rhetorical theory.

Recent research has revealed a prominent ‘political parallelism’ phenomenon in the coverage of Islam and Muslims. The studies have evidenced that the coverage of Islam and Muslims is widely influenced by the ideological leanings of the newspapers. This paper is set to explore whether the ideological differences of the Australian newspapers are reflected in the coverage of Islam and Muslims during January 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017. Employing Van Dijk’s (1998) ideological square and lexicalization approaches within the CDA paradigm, this study examined editorials from two leading Australian newspapers. The findings have validated the existence of the ‘political parallelism’ discourse in the editorial contents of the selected newspapers representing Islam and Muslims.

When a mission ends, missionaries must make sense of their experiences, themselves, and their lives going forward. This process of sensemaking and its implications for religious organizations’ communication with members who occupy terminal roles is the focus of this study. Based on ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews with former missionaries in one organization, two distinct and divergent patterns of missionaries’ sensemaking and role exit emerged. Finisher sensemaking involved deidentification with vocational ministry, leaving the sending organization, and (re)constructing multiple identities through an arduous process of identity work. Conversely, bypasser sensemaking drew upon the sending organization as a resource to sustain a deep identification with vocational ministry. Thus bypassers positioned themselves as essential members and reidentified with new roles in the organization. The ongoing study of communication in/about terminal roles in religious and other totalistic organizations is discussed as well as practical implications for organizations and their members.

Andrew Peterson’s contemporary worship song “Is He Worthy?” quickly gained popularity through its call-and-response format, praise of a worthy Redeemer, and celebration of a Church made up of members from every culture. However, his video was criticized for lacking any people of color, and subsequent videos by Chris Tomlin and Shane & Shane displayed the same lack of diversity. Applying Walter Brueggemann’s conceptual framework to “Is He Worthy,” we find that the lyrics and musical composition powerfully express prophetic imagination, while the recorded performances reveal the persistence of royal consciousness (in the form of whiteness) in Contemporary Worship Music. We conclude that overcoming this inertia will require collaboration with worship leaders of color.

This study is a conceptual analysis of the role that online jihadist magazines play in the process of Islamic terrorist radicalization. This topic is essential because it demonstrates how successful jihad propagandists have been at finding new ways to radicalize new and potential recruits—often a young target audience—into the Salafist-jihadist doctrine. The four specific magazines examined are Al-Qaeda’s Inspire, ISIS’s Dabiq and Rumiyah, and Al-Shabaab’s Gaidi Mtaani. These units of analysis were selected because they remain the most influential online magazines in the jihadist world today. An important conclusion is that, although Islamic terrorist radicalization still happens offline (through face-to-face meetings, group communication, or various rituals), internet content that promotes jihadism can yield equally damaging consequences in the real-world environment, as demonstrated by a myriad of terrorist attacks (in Europe and the United States) that were inspired by those online magazines.

This essay explores human-divine communicating as though it were between beings who are already connected. Such a reframing is suggested by recent research in human-divine communication, Christian contemplative non-dualistic attending and acting, the study of spirituality and pedagogy from a communication disciplinary angle, and non-linguistic means of communicating from studies using the ethnography of communication. From the perspective of a contemplative Christian spiritual director as well as a communication scholar, the concepts of contemplation, dialogue, interbeing, and connectedness are considered toward an expanded conceptualization of human-divine communication. The essay concludes with a series of questions and reflections highlighting the possibilities of communication research with such a reframing, including suggestions for future research.

This qualitative study investigated how individuals managed their religious identity at work. Christians, non-Christians, and non-religious (n = 320) from across the United States took an online, open-ended questionnaire. Rich information emerged from the data concerning the why and how of religious disclosure, what happened after disclosure, and what strategies should be used for the most positive disclosure outcomes. The findings suggested a religiously respectful culture depends on its individual members’ communicative practices. Religious conversations in the workplace were possible so long as individuals knew how to do so appropriately and effectively. Practical implications including best religious communication practices for employees and organizations were provided.

This article reviews several converging scholarship fields—internal communication, leadership, and workplace culture—coupled with the biblical principle of the imago dei (people’s intrinsic value stemming from being made in God’s image) to offer two propositions. First, Christian public relations scholars/faculty can integrate their faith into their research, grounding their understanding and practice of “excellent” public relations in the concept of imago dei; they can also equip their students to approach their learning and future practice of public relations in the same way. Second, Christian public relations practitioners basing their work in the imago dei concept can help their organizations reap associated relational and productivity outcomes through encouraging particular leadership strategies, practicing “excellent” internal public relations, and fostering an employee-valuing workplace culture.

The elections of Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 to the role of President of the United States were noted as benchmarks in our country's history. There was a strong societal belief that his historic elections reflected a shift in societal attitudes towards racial differences, primarily between Whites and people of color, specifically African Americans; however, public discourse over time revealed deep-seated hate for the country's first African American president. Despite his efforts to fight for social justice for all, he received unrelenting opposition from Congress, and the US public was subjected to horrifying racial attacks on Obama, his wife Michelle, and his daughters that went largely ignored and dismissed. The racist tenor of the US became much clearer with the election of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential run. What is more troubling is that Christian evangelicals came out in full force to elect a man whose very being is the antithesis of what it means to be a Christian. To better understand this national and global phenomenon, this critical essay will explore the various arguments that White Christian evangelicals have used to rationalize the election of a man whose policies and behaviors are in direct opposition of Christian ideologies and sensibilities. This contradiction was not lost on many others within and outside of the Christian world, including Black Christians and other evangelical communities of color who have had a range of reactions to the racism that has been revealed by their fellow White believers. Thus this essay will offer greater insight into the gulf that exists in the racism of the Christian community through the lens of this historic political election. It will also aim to offer suggestions for reformation in the Christian community that can potentially serve as a model for positive race relations in society and the larger political landscape of the US.

Over the past eight years, the rhetoric of many pundits, politicians, and preachers has shifted from pronouncements about the beginning of a “post-racial” age to proclamations about the persistence of racism in the social fabric of the West. What of the tenacity of what Willie Jennings has called the “racialized imagination” owes to its genesis in religion?1 What if race is at heart a theological construct? This paper traces the genealogical accounts of Jennings and J. Kameron Carter, two recent contributors to the field of theological race studies,2 and contrasts them with common theological ways of thinking about Christian identity as a return to traditions of Western virtue.3 The paper closes by suggesting a way forward in resisting the sociopolitical order of whiteness through a scandalous mutual participation in joined bodies politic marked by difference and inhabiting shared space.

In this essay, we examine King’s rhetoric during the last year of his life, (April 4, 1967April 3, 1968)—focusing specifically on the issues of race. In examining several texts of King, we argue that King adopts a prophetic persona of a pessimistic prophet—especially when addressing issues of race and racism. In exploring King’s rhetoric and noting King’s directness and firmness when addressing the race issue, we argue that King’s rhetoric found a home in the African American prophetic tradition in his attempt to dismantle hegemonic politics and institutional racism. Specifically, we argue that Martin Luther King was radically dismantling white hegemony; and becoming one of the most hated men in America.

At its 2017 meeting, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) encountered controversy when it initially declined to debate a resolution condemning the “Alt-Right”—a movement representing ideologies that promote white nationalism in America. Given the SBC’s recent efforts to embrace diversity, many of the denomination’s members thought such a resolution would be supported. A version of the resolution was ultimately approved but only after the SBC faced accusations of bigotry. In this article, we argue that the controversy, although jarring, is instructive. Without open disagreement, expressions of suffering, and public redress, religious individuals and groups cannot heal wounds inflicted by racism.

Whereas biblical texts were used to justify the practice of discrimination and prejudice, Christian principles have also been the motivation for social activism. However, today it is arguable that the Christian church has lost sight of this mission in light of other goals such as expansion and profit. Rapper Lecrae Moore has been the topic of controversy as his music aims to carry out the mission of social justice by intentionally challenging the assumptions of whiteness rooted in the institution of the American Christian Church. Using Stewart’s (1980) functional approach to the rhetoric of social movements, this study examines the extent to which Lecrae uses his music to transform perceptions of history, transform perceptions of society, and prescribe a course of action. The mission of this research and arguably of Lecrae’s work is to hold people of the Christian faith across all races accountable to the mission and biblical commands of unity and social justice often overlooked or dismissed in the American church.

This article explores how Internet memes about religion present a distinct range of frames that offer distinct understandings of how religion is viewed in American culture. Through a critical overview of four research studies conducted on different meme strategies, genres, and forms of humor used to represent religious cultures in memetic discourse, we discover a tendency towards primarily negative messages about religious traditions and their believers online. The results are that meme messages can be seen as promoting religious stereotypes and serve as microaggressions objectifying the religious other. Based on my 2017 RCA Scholar of the Year lecture, this article suggests Martin Buber’s I-Thou relation can be used as a framework for reading Internet memes about religion in ways that lead to dialogue over distancing of religious traditions.

This paper analyzes two poems written by Sir Mohammed Iqbal, a 20th century philosopher-poet, who played a significant role in the Indian struggle for independence from the British Raj. I argue that in the Complaint and the Answer to the Complaint, Iqbal utilizes a Muslim jeremiad to construct an Indian-Muslim identity that is steeped in history yet looks towards new possibilities for people struggling under an oppressive colonial regime. The paper concludes that Iqbal combines elements of Biblical, conservative, and progressive jeremiads to dissolve the contradictions of tradition/progress and spirituality/political agitation that had immobilized his community.

The globalizing potential of digital communication technology evokes frequent comparisons, both hopeful and foreboding, to the Judeo-Christian story of the tower of Babel. Under the guiding metaphor of Babel, this paper integrates the sociological and theological dimensions of Jacques Ellul’s scholarship in an attempt to better understand the profound implications of la technique. To Ellul, the Tower of Babel represents the alienation and sacralization characteristic of the technological society. Yet the metaphor also provides a ray of hope for human flourishing, leveraging media ecology in the service of interpersonal communication while responding to the totalizing demands of the digital age.