Armenia’s Struggle and a New Look at Secularist Violence

Last updated on: January 13, 2025 at 1:35 pm By Thomas Albert Howard

I hope I might be forgiven for using this post to make known two publications (one out already and another forthcoming) that I think (hope!) will be of interest to Anxious Bench readers. The first is an essay, “Armenia Sighs,” based on a trip I made in March to the country of Armenia, which remains locked in conflict with its neighbor, Azerbaijan, due to the latter’s invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani province predominantly peopled with Armenians—that is until recently. Here... Read more

New Interim Editor of the Anxious Bench

Last updated on: January 11, 2025 at 6:45 pm By Joey Cochran

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When I first was asked to be the editor of the Anxious Bench, I was astonished. I had been following this site since its beginning and well before I knew I’d become a historian. I had long depended upon the Bench to be a source for thoughtful and smart engagement with current issues in society, from a historical perspective. My decision to step away from this role is quite simple. I have a pressing deadline to meet with a writing... Read more

Of Lone-Wolf Terrorists, Jihadis, and Nazis

Last updated on: January 8, 2025 at 8:20 pm By Philip Jenkins

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After the recent horrors in New Orleans, we have heard a huge amount about lone wolf terrorism and self-radicalization, with many debates about when and whether a seemingly isolated act of extreme violence can properly be categorized as terrorism. I have been publishing and teaching on lone wolf terror at least as long as any other expert in the field – thirty years or so – and I have things to say on the topic that are still not widely... Read more

Lessons from Remembering “The Mary We Forgot”

Last updated on: January 3, 2025 at 4:28 pm By Lynneth Renberg

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For me, the days off around the holidays traditionally include many things: more baked goods than wisdom says should be consumed, football, family time, and books. This year, one of those books was Jennifer Powell McNutt’s The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today. Released this fall, McNutt’s book is a beautiful mix of theological reflections, Scripture analysis and exegesis, history, and pastoral musings. She seeks, like someone restoring a painting, to uncover a... Read more

Dry January? Christians and Alcohol Prohibitions

Last updated on: January 10, 2025 at 9:49 am By Lisa Clark Diller

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It’s the beginning of the year and all over social media the pros and cons of “Dry January” are being discussed. After a season of feasting, a season of fasting is appropriate. I come from a Christian denomination with a history of anti-drinking lobbying, and whose statement of beliefs includes prohibitions on alcohol. I don’t drink myself, though perhaps for different reasons than I was given as I grew up. So, I found myself listening with interest to the latest... Read more

Jimmy Carter and the Great Presidency That Never Was

Last updated on: January 2, 2025 at 8:06 am By Philip Jenkins

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In the wave of obituaries for Jimmy Carter, the common theme is that as president, he was a decent and honorable man who faced near-impossible circumstances at home and abroad, which made his time in office a failure in many respects. Arguably, the Camp David agreements marked a bright spot, but there is plenty to debate about even that. Only after he left the White House did he come into his own, as the best ex-President we ever had. Such... Read more

Unlock First-Class Learning: Discover BBC Sounds’ Religious Gems

Last updated on: December 30, 2024 at 12:53 pm By Philip Jenkins

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Over the holiday, you might find some down time to listen to podcasts. If so, I have some great advice for you. Arguably the very best source of first-class podcasts, all free, is BBC Sounds. BBC offers hundreds of programs on a near-infinite variety of themes, with multiple updates daily, including many on specifically religious themes. Here, though, let me concentrate on one item, namely the superb In Our Time, introduced by veteran broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, who is fairly universally... Read more

Bethlehem in Song and Image

Last updated on: December 24, 2024 at 8:30 pm By Andrea L. Turpin

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Two years ago, late December 2022, I visited Bethlehem for the Christmas season. By coincidence, Over The Rhine–my favorite band for Christmas music then and now–seems particularly taken with the carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” They have included it in all three of their Christmas albums: instrumentally in The Darkest Night of the Year and with expanded lyrics in two different ways in Snow Angels and Blood Oranges in the Snow. When I listened to the albums again the... Read more

The Peace That Presidents Seek on Christmas Eve

Last updated on: December 21, 2024 at 3:22 pm By Daniel K. Williams

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For the past hundred years, the night before Christmas has not only been the occasion for church services, last-minute gift-wrapping, and eager anticipation from children of a visit from Santa Claus, but it has also been an opportunity for US presidents to give a speech to the nation. At no other time of the year do presidents routinely present homilies that are so explicitly Christian. Presidential Christmas Eve addresses therefore offer a fascinating window into American civil religion – the... Read more

Festivus and the Practice of Religious Pluralism

Last updated on: December 24, 2024 at 1:10 pm By Melissa Borja

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Today is December 23: the last day to get overnight delivery for presents to arrive in time for stuffing Christmas stockings, the last full work day before Christmas, and, most important, the day to celebrate what is arguably the most beloved fictional holiday—Festivus. For the unacquainted, Festivus is a holiday that entered mainstream culture through the television show Seinfeld. It is something of an anti-Christmas, featuring some of the basic elements of any holiday, like family gatherings and feasting, while... Read more