As I stared at the fragments of the cross of Christ on display in the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca last year, I was struck with the apparent contradictions of its display—this piece of wood was housed in an exceptionally ornate reliquary. Christ may have died a social outcast at the hands of oppressive political powers, but later imperial figures paid to have the cross enshrined in gold. Cyril of Jerusalem tells us in the mid fourth century that the... Read more
This Spring, I’m teaching a special topics course, “Christianizing Native Peoples,” which explores the Franciscan-indigenous relationship in central Mexico during the first half of the sixteenth century. Inspired by my research, I designed this course to explore the Christianization process via the themes of resistance and resilience. One of our readings this week was a selection from Historia de los indios de la Nueva España (1541), penned by the Franciscan fray Toribio de Benavente Motolinía, one of the famous “Twelve... Read more
In the quite near future, the world’s largest religious institution will be choosing a new head. As everyone knows, Pope Francis is extremely sick, and for a man of his age, there is a strong possibility that he will be leaving us ere long. I am not being ghoulish when I say that: the Vatican is already organizing dry-run funerals. Also, even if he does recover (as I hope), it is very probable that he will resign. What follows here... Read more
Joan Baez is back in the news because of the recent film A Complete Unknown about the life of Bob Dylan. Actress Monica Barbaro’s portrayal of Baez was riveting enough to garner an Oscar nomination. Baez was the folk music world it girl before Dylan came on the music scene, and she used her fame to support both the free speech movement and the civil right movement throughout the 1960s. I have been researching Baez for a couple of years,... Read more
I am very pleased to announce on this post that my new book Broken Altars: Secularist Violence in Modern History (Yale University Press) will be released this month. Here is a link to the book and here is the cover description: A popular truism derived from the Enlightenment holds that violence is somehow inherent to religion, to which political secularism offers a liberating solution. But this assumption ignores a glaring modern reality: that putatively progressive regimes committed to secularism have... Read more
Recently I was in charge of an event—inviting people to come, making sure the program went well, helping with logistics, promoting it, organizing speakers—and I forgot to think about childcare. I’m not a parent right now myself, but that isn’t an excuse. I had married couples on the program who were parents, and I hadn’t thought about how to be more hospitable or inclusive for families with kids. This isn’t just a matter of creating an event that is... Read more
You can think many things about the Trump presidency, but few devote much attention to the impact on the select band of scholars who work on the history of American empire, people such as, oh, myself. I will explain that concern in this post, and suggest that the apparent weirdness of some of the administration’s current claims have very deep historical roots. He is no Donald-come-lately. Dreams of US Empire So here I am innocently writing a book on religion... Read more
Old/New Nazism in America Like many of you, I have observed in horror the uptick of expressions of American Nazism over the last several months: American Nazis marching in Nashville, Elon Musk’s emphatic salute, Kanye West selling swastika t-shirts during the Super Bowl. These events have also shaken loose a dormant memory, that offers historical context for some of this, if no comfort. Over a decade ago, in 2012, I conducted field research for my first book in Southwest Georgia.... Read more
It’s March, which means it’s Women’s History Month– and while in past years at the Anxious Bench, my March posts have been more celebratory, this year’s post is a bit different. Past posts have pointed out how doing church history with an eye towards women tells a better story of the church, or why having women at the table when making policies matters. This year, I’m writing about two books that I think everyone should read this March (one that’s... Read more
This post concerns using a kind of historical evidence that I don’t normally deal with, namely popular songs from the early and mid-twentieth century. Film, pulp fiction, and even radio programs, I often use, and with great confidence, but Tin Pan Alley is new to me as a resource. I think I am drawing some valuable lessons, and I really would request help in finding more examples. I am presently dealing with the history of American empire, and specifically from... Read more
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