religion

Josh Hawley Earns F in Early American History

by John Nichols

"The origins of the misquote, which has circulated for years in Christian nationalist publications, can be traced to that 1956 article in The Virginian, a segregationist-era publication that Willamette University history professor Seth Cotlar has described as 'virulently antisemitic & white nationalist'.”

Is Oklahoma's Religious Charter School Good News for Secularists?

by Jacques Berlinerblau

Oklahoma recently approved the first publicly-funded religious charter school in the United States. Is it possible that this ambitious move will backfire when schools representing all denominations and faiths demand equal treatment? 

Daniel Boyarin's Argument for a Non-Zionist Jewish Nationalism

by Joshua Abramson Cohen

Boyarin's latest work makes provocative arguments that there is a real collective identity of the Jewish people as a nation, but that it is independent of the Israeli state and territory. 

When a Leading Evangelist Held a Revival to Thwart Labor

by Matt Bernico

The events surrounding the 1886 Haymarket Affair, when a Chicago general strike for the 8 hour day became violent, revealed tensions present in Christianity today: what happens when Christians side with the bosses? 

David Hollinger on Christianity's Place on the Right—and the Left

The historian discusses his new book on Christianity in America and the changes that have made the religious more conservative as the society became more secular. 

The Latest SCOTUS Case to Privilege Religion Over Civil Society

by Linda Greenhouse

Historically, the Supreme Court has viewed workplace accommodations for religious workers in terms of protecting minority faiths and relieving undue burdens on employers and coworkers. A pending case brought by a Christian postal worker promises to upend that balance. 

Why Can't the US Press Name the Bad Faith in Evangelical Politics?

by John Stoehr

Head-scratching accounts of "conflicted" evangelicals voting again and again for manifestly ungodly candidates would vanish if the media consulted (or hired) ex-evangelicals, who would explain the movement seeks power, not piety. 

Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration and the Eclipse of Protestant Cultural Authority in America

by Nicholas T. Pruitt

Liberal Protestants in the early 1960s supported the reform of racially restrictive immigration laws, but ended up encouraging a more diverse nation where their brand of moderate religion was eclipsed by both multiculturalism and conservative white evangelicalism. 

Mormon Support for Same-Sex Marriage isn't a Total Surprise

by Benjamin E. Park

A historian of the Latter Day Saints explains that the church has become more willing to tolerate general expansions of rights for LGBTQ Americans at the same time as it reserves the right to dictate sexual mores within its own ranks. 

Broken Faith: What Must Christians Do About the White Nationalists Among Them?

by Anthea Butler

"Three major forces have combined to lead us perilously close to disaster: conspiracy theories, racial and historical panics, and the increasing language of spiritual warfare."

What's in Store for American Religion When Faith in God is Waning?

by J.L. Tomlin and Thomas Lecaque

Two historians address the recurrent American preoccupation with gauging the nation's religiosity and issuing dire warnings about the disastrous results of a decline in piety. 

Church-State Separation is Alien to Many Americans' Faith

by Caleb Gayle

The "classical" Christian curriculum pushes a historical vision that America was conceived by God as a beacon of righteousness, and that Christian duty is to eliminate secularism and religious pluralism. 

Satanic Panic Has Featured in American Politics Since the Revolution

by Zara Anishanslin

Revolutionary patriots used the symbol of the Devil to convey the ideas of corruption and tyranny, and to elevate political disagreements to the plane of good and evil. 

It's Hard to Be God

by Joshua Craze

"One might think that becoming a god is a quick route to an easy life. The problem is that gods are beholden to their believers, and worshippers tend to have plans for their deities."

A Writer Reflects on Four Enlightening and Challenging Lunches with the Father of Black Liberation Theology

by J. Chester Johnson

The author shared Arkansas roots with the influential theologian and teacher, from opposite sides of the color line. Their exchanges showed the possibilities of reconciliation and the height of the barriers created by racism in Americans' shared history.

Review: David Sehat on the Struggle to Make a Secular America

by Johann N. Neem

In "This Earthly Frame," Sehat examines the way that activists in the 20th Century pushed the nation from an implicit privileging of Protestant Christianity toward a posture of "negative secularism" that separated the functions of government from doctrinal belief, and the transience of that victory. 

The Demise of the Church-State Wall

by Steven V. Mazie

A political scientist and court correspondent says that SCOTUS has adopted a radical version of the "free exercise" clause of the First Amendment that makes a mockery of the historic separation of religious and political authority. 

Think You Know the Biblical Position on Abortion? You May Be Surprised

by Melanie A. Howard

Although the Bible was written at a time when abortion was practiced, it never directly addresses the issue.

If "Heathen" Sounds Outdated, Historian Kathryn Gim Lum Says it Still Explains Racism in America

The concept of heathenism has always served to distinguish Americans as a group deserving of their good fortune and apart from others in need of transformation, either by persuasion or by violence. 

Haitian Americans Reclaim the Traditions of Vodou from Centuries of Misperception

Maligned in the aftermath of the Haitian revolution, Vodou has since been blamed for the alleged barbarism of Haitian people and the poverty of the nation. A new generation of practitioners wants to recover the tradition and clear its name.