Christianity’s Contemporary Challenges: A Gen Z Perspective

Last updated on: July 1, 2025 at 10:49 pm By John San Nicolas

Each generation of Christians is faced with challenges. There is a morass of articles listing out the “21 Challenges Facing the 21st Century Church,” proclaiming the “The Biggest Issue Facing the Church Today,” or enumerating the “11 Challenges Facing the Western Church in 2025.” Some articles tend to be geared towards demographics changes. Others towards congregational challenges like a lack of biblical literacy. And still others focus on sociopolitical issues. I have always found it fruitful to think about the... Read more

John Winthrop on Inequality and Social Harmony

Last updated on: June 22, 2025 at 10:31 pm By John San Nicolas

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In this brief article, we will explore the political thought of John Winthrop (1588-1649). Winthrop served as governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony. In his “Christian Charitie: A Modell Hereof,” Winthrop coined the famous line that his Puritan society would be a “Citty upon a Hill,” in reference to Matthew 5:14. While the extent of Puritan influence on later American political thought is heavily disputed, this metaphor continues to shape America’s national self-understanding. However, in this article, we will focus... Read more

There is No Muslim Invasion of Europe

Last updated on: June 17, 2025 at 3:34 pm By John San Nicolas

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Immigration to European countries has provoked many negative reactions. Many whose families have lived in Europe for generations feel that immigration is eroding traditional cultures, lifeways, and identity. This discontent has an unmistakable religious valence to it, for those opposed to the influx of immigrants are usually especially against the fact that most of these immigrants are Muslims. Hence, people warn of a “Muslim occupation” or “new Muslim conquest of Europe.” But is there such a Muslim invasion of Europe?... Read more

Washington Clerical Abuse Law Challenges Seal of Confession

Last updated on: June 8, 2025 at 11:18 pm By John San Nicolas

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On May 2, 2025, the Washington legislature approved Senate Bill 5375. The bill codifies the “duty of clergy to report child abuse and neglect.” Although the term “clergy” has a distinctly Catholic ring to it, the word refers to any spiritual leader of a church, religious community, or sect. “When any member of the clergy,” the bill reads, “has reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect, he or she shall report such incident, or cause... Read more

Christians and Political Authority in a Democratic Society

Last updated on: May 12, 2025 at 9:28 am By John San Nicolas

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Throughout Christian history, many have struggled to understand government. What is government? What is its purpose? And what are the limitations of its political authority? Theologians, pastors, and rank-and-file Christians often cite passages like Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17. These passages offer clear descriptions of the Christian’s relationship to government, at least during Christianity’s very earliest days. However, there is difficulty in relating biblical precepts to current contexts. The political possibilities available to us today, and I especially focus... Read more

What Election Data Might Show About Christianity’s Divide

Last updated on: April 6, 2025 at 1:21 am By John San Nicolas

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The Cooperative Election Study (CES) for 2024 is now available. And their election data shows some foreboding signs about how American Christians are being split along party lines. There have already been some interesting headlines drawing from the 2024 dataset. Two days ago, Tessa Gervasini writing for the National Catholic Register reported that the growth of the so-called “nones” (those who do not identify with any particular religion) has now stopped. The fact that this halt of the growth of the... Read more

The Gender Gap: Women’s Religiosity Continues to Decline

Last updated on: March 8, 2025 at 11:11 pm By John San Nicolas

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There is a growing trend in American religion: women are leaving organized religion. According to data analysts, this trend is quite new. Some point to 2016 or 2018 as its starting point. Given that today is International Women’s Day, I thought it proper to open up the conversation on gender and religion. The data published on this topic has generated massive amounts of discussion. And commentators have offered a variety of explanations for why this trend is happening. Traditionally, women... Read more

American Christianity Is No Longer in Decline

Last updated on: March 2, 2025 at 9:33 pm By John San Nicolas

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The narrative of decline has a strong hold on American Christians, particularly Protestants. The narrative goes like this. For decades, Christianity has been on the decline in the US. This steady decline indicates that America has given into nihilism, relativism, and has entered an era of post-Christianity. In Nietzschean fashion, believers themselves declare the death of God in American society. I want to argue that this narrative is untrue. Christianity is not declining any longer, nor has it declined enough... Read more

Romans 13:1 and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp

Last updated on: February 9, 2025 at 8:37 pm By John San Nicolas

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Romans 13 is an often cited passage when Christians think about faith and politics. The very first verse of the chapter reads: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God (Romans 13:1, ESV). As St. Paul argues in his epistle to the Roman church, whoever disobeys these authorities disobeys God. Government is intended to encourage the doing of good and punish those... Read more

Was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a Heretic?

Last updated on: January 19, 2025 at 11:02 pm By John San Nicolas

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I’ve been wanting to write this article for a couple of years. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a widely misunderstood figure in American history. Dominant histories cast King as a moderate, passive, colorblind peacemaker. Today, we will not consider ourselves so much with the “historical King,” if I may. Rather, we will address the surging accusations that King was a heretic. I first saw this claim leveled by a former colleague of mine, and our collegiality ended sometime after.... Read more

Which Orthodox celebration marks the resurrection of Christ?