Soviets and Sassenachs: My Two Favorite Historical TV Series

Last updated on: July 25, 2016 at 4:17 pm By Chris Gehrz

In the first two posts in this series, I’ve suggested that historical movies — and TV shows, for that matter — might best be judged by asking four questions: Are they entertaining? (understanding that there are multiple meanings to the verb “entertain”) Are they truthful? (but in terms of “verisimilitude” more than “accuracy”) Are the makers genuinely interested in the past on its own terms? (or, for example, are they just using it as a dimension of the set) Do they inspire further historical study, or even... Read more

Fertility, Faith and Politics

Last updated on: July 23, 2016 at 3:14 pm By Philip Jenkins

I have been writing on the global demographic revolution marked by collapsing fertility rates and shrinking family sizes. In particular, I have focused on the religious implications of these changes. For a variety of reasons, lower fertility shows a close correlation to secularization, and the rapid decline of organized religion. Some social issues in particular are valuable bellwethers for these changes. Roughly, if you tell me a society’s total fertility rate (TFR) I can make some plausible predictions about its... Read more

Fertility, Faith and Islam

Last updated on: July 26, 2016 at 1:41 pm By Philip Jenkins

I have been posting about declining fertility rates around the world, specifically about their impact on religiosity and secularization. Beyond that, those rates also serve as excellent indicators of trends in gender roles and relationships, and a wide range of social and cultural themes. Tell me a country’s total fertility rate (TFR) and I will tell you a lot about many other aspects of its society, and its religious life. This is in no sense a Christian-Muslim divide. Intriguingly, some... Read more

How Donald Trump Is Prompting a Debate about the Practice of History

Last updated on: July 21, 2016 at 6:16 pm By Chris Gehrz

Should historians be taking sides in the 2016 election? Does our discipline give us any special insight into a candidacy like Donald Trump's? Read more

America’s Public Bible

Last updated on: July 15, 2016 at 10:45 pm By johnturner

Many historians have observed that early Americans lived in a culture drenched in scripture. Through the nineteenth century, Americans’ oral and written speech dripped with biblical allusions that we might miss if we are not familiar with the language of the King James Bible. We might also note that whereas Old Testament narratives and texts resonated deeply with colonial Americans, the New Testament assumed greater weight in the nineteenth century. My colleague Lincoln Mullen has made public a recent project of his... Read more

Trump, Evangelicals, and the Democratic Party

Last updated on: July 19, 2016 at 10:45 pm By David Swartz

White evangelicals have become such an entrenched bloc in the Republican Party that four out of every five of them plan to vote for Trump. Read more

What Makes for the Best Historical Movies? (part 2)

Last updated on: July 18, 2016 at 9:16 pm By Chris Gehrz

Two more questions to ask of historical films: Are its makers actually interested in the past on its own terms? Are they provoking historical thinking? Read more

Will the EU Go the Way of Yugoslavia?

Last updated on: July 18, 2016 at 9:01 am By Thomas Albert Howard

The Brexit vote, the attacks in Nice, and the attempted coup in Turkey have a made it a rocky period for Europe. The example of Brexit and the Nice attacks (which brings to 242 French deaths by terrorism this year), in particular, betoken the further destabilization of the European Union and raise questions about its long-term viability. While rumors of its death have been exaggerated by some, it merits remembering that one need not go back to Babylon or Rome... Read more

Sacred Violence in Early America

Last updated on: July 17, 2016 at 9:13 pm By johnturner

In 1637, English forces and their native allies encircled a Pequot village and burned alive some five hundred men, women, and children. John Mason termed it a “fiery oven” and declared: “It was the LORDS DOINGS, and it is marvelous to our Eyes.” William Bradford, then governor of New Plymouth, allowed that “it was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire.” The stench was horrendous. Bradford, though, declared that “the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice.” Why... Read more

The Terror Attack in France

Last updated on: July 15, 2016 at 8:15 am By Philip Jenkins

I don’t normally post two items in a day, but this is a special circumstance. I am of course utterly horrified at last night’s appalling terror attack in France. It made such a personal impact because the specific method is one I have discussed through the years. Just last week, I published an article for the American Conservative, warning of the danger of terror attacks by lone terrorists in cars or vehicles. Actually with the prospect of U.S. attacks in... Read more

Which sea did Moses part during the Exodus?