Fifty years ago, in July 1968, the Vatican issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae, “Of Human Life,” which prohibited virtually all forms of artificial contraception for Catholics. This has a claim to rank as one of the most important events in Christian (not just Catholic) history in the second half of the twentieth century, and perhaps the whole century. While the anniversary has received some attention, the fact that it is not better noticed today can actually be seen of just... Read more
My current work on strictly contemporary US history means that I am spending a lot of time with projections of the country in the near future. Many of those have potent religious implications – and as it turns out, especially for the American South. The Washington Post has a recent story by Philip Bump on population trends as they affect states and regions, the bottom line being “In about 20 years, half the population will live in eight states.” Eight... Read more
Despite their macabre subject matter, Quaker persecution narratives add color to histories of seventeenth-century New England. Compared to colonial court records, puritan sermons, and even many letters and diaries, Friends wrote vivid and rich accounts of their tribulations. The narratives also have done much to fix in the American mind the image of New England puritans as cruel tyrants. The Quakers published their accounts back in England with the hope that English officials would pressure New England magistrates to cease... Read more
I’m on a break from blogging as I conduct research in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. If you find yourself on vacation, here’s a beach-reading suggestion I made a couple of years ago. Enjoy! –David *** Before reading this book, I had never heard of netsuke, which are intricate miniature ornaments, usually carved from wood or ivory and representing people, animals, the professions, mythical creatures, and sexual acts. Worn to hang items from a kimono (which have no pockets), they reflect the... Read more
Meet our newest contributor: Melissa Borja, a specialist on the history of migration, religion, and Asian American culture. Read more
Children are very much with us in summer. If this summer’s most disheartening images feature migrant children separated from parents, one of its most lively comes in the box-office hit, Incredibles 2 , in the changeling person of the baby. It’s cute and funny, but not only. The baby, Jack-Jack, turns into a monster when his will is crossed. Or just whenever. Cookie denied or comfort compromised, the sweet dimpled infant may morph into a long-toothed fuschia troll, swell to giant size,... Read more
I am presently writing a book about US history over the past two decades or so, basically the 21st century. The overwhelming point that is emerging for me about the last twenty years has been not just the scale of change – social, economic, and above all technological – but also its extraordinary speed. Matters of race, gender, and sexuality have of course been in constant flux. This sets off many thoughts about extrapolating those changes to the near future,... Read more
Feminist anthropologist Jessica Johnson has just published a fascinating study, Biblical Porn: Affect, Labor, and Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Evangelical Empire, with Duke University Press. She joins us today at the Anxious Bench to discuss her timely new book. What led you to decide to write a book on Mark Driscoll? I never decided to write a book on Mark Driscoll; this project chose me, I did not choose it. The first time that I stepped into the Mars Hill sanctuary I... Read more
While evangelicals rarely perceive Christian influences on the New Deal, a recent religious biography argues that FDR absorbed a "Jesus-based theology" from his Episcopalian upbringing. Read more
My present book project is unusual, even by my standards. I am writing a history of the United States in a really distant and obscure era, namely since the year 2000. I’ll be talking about some themes arising from this in coming blogs, but today I want to look at a very specific and actually fundamental question about the country we are dealing with, about America. What, and where, is this America anyway? This issue emerged for me some years... Read more
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