This blog addresses the issue of why scholars who care about their craft absolutely have to follow the Anxious Bench if they want to stay ahead of the field. In some cases, about five years ahead. (And yes, please do read that with due tongue in cheek). Stonehenge is one of the most spectacular archeological treasures in Europe, and probably in the world. It is also hugely important for any attempt to reconstruct the religious life and thought of earlier... Read more
I recently had a sobering lesson in how we understand the New Testament. Obviously, it’s hard to make much sense of that text without at least some knowledge of the Greek in which it was written, to appreciate the nuances of the text, all the allusions and cross-references. But further, we have to understand that when that text’s authors and readers were referencing the Old Testament – which they did very frequently indeed – it often wasn’t in the form... Read more
Hunter Hampton is Assistant Professor of History at Stephen F. Austin State University. Hunter earned his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri in 2017, and he’s at work on his first book, Man Up: College Football and the Making of American Religion. In the wake of last Sunday’s big game, he narrates the football genealogy that connects two members of the Kansas City Chiefs to the “Mormon Father of Modern Football.” On Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shocked the Kansas... Read more
My ancestors weren't as peaceful as advertised. Read more
Chris looks into the history of an expression that's resurfaced often in the last year or so: "Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat." Read more
Despite ongoing public commentary about how the rise of religious “nones” reveals that “America lost its religion,” a look at newspaper headlines this past week makes clear that religion remains a powerful force in contemporary America. Some people believe that this enduring religiosity can heal and unite a wounded, fractured nation. The most famous proponent of this positive vision of American religion is President Joe Biden, “one of the most overtly religious presidents in recent history,” according to John Carr... Read more
What will US religion look like in a decade or two? This is the subject of a lively scholarly controversy right now, in which I hold a particular position, namely that the country is entering a period of rapid secularization. But I try to be an honest debater, and a piece of evidence has emerged that seems to support a contrary view. Let me describe it. People who look at US religion, which predominantly means Christianity, differ significantly on present... Read more
We are pleased to welcome Peter J. Thuesen to the Anxious Bench. Thuesen is Professor of Religious Studies at IUPUI. He’s the author of several wide-ranging books about the history of religion in the United States, including In Discordance with the Scriptures: American Protestant Battles over Translating the Bible and Predestination: The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine. His most recent book, Tornado God: American Religion and Violent Weather, won Christianity Today’s 2021 award for best book in History/Biography. We... Read more
I started college as an astrophysics major. I had always loved Star Wars and Star Trek, math and science, and particularly the mind-blowing parts of physics like quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of relativity. Then, as a college freshman sitting in a windowless basement lab learning about standard deviation, I had a deconversion experience of sorts. I looked at the symbols on the board and just saw Greek letters. I knew the mathematical concepts they signified, but I no longer... Read more
Reviewing Barack Obama's first book about his presidency, Chris found A Promised Land something like a civil religious memoir. Read more
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