As someone who studies and writes about faith in public life, I am very grateful to approach my subject with openness and some appreciation rather than hostility and scorn. While I am not a practicing Christian in any meaningful way, I bristle at the assumption that Jesuits turn students into atheists. For me, their influence in the opposite direction has been significant. Read more
Some are calling Kaine a "Pope Francis Catholic," but the truth is more complicated than that. On abortion, it seems safe to assume the Holy Father would like to see Kaine doing more. But the pope has said that abortion and homosexuality are not the only or most important issues Catholic social teaching addresses. On economic issues, Kaine is demonstrably not as progressive as Pope Francis. Read more
Compared with Republican and even Democratic acceptance speeches in recent elections, Donald Trump said very little about his faith or how faith shapes his political priorities. Read more
A leaked copy of Donald Trump’s acceptance speech is circulating Thursday evening. He will deliver the speech June 21 at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Of note: The prepared remarks contain no references or allusions to God, faith, religion, Christianity, church, belief, or religious freedom. Link here. Of course, the speech as delivered could differ substantially from the leaked version. Read more
The New York Times has a nicely reported article on Republican Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence’s turn from Catholicism to evangelicalism. Still, it was not easy for him to leave behind the church in which he had been raised. After graduation, he worked as a Catholic youth minister and even considered becoming a priest. He described himself for years as “an evangelical Catholic.” Friends say he wrestled with how to square his religious past and his religious future. “He was... Read more
Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. spoke with NPR’s Steve Inskeep this morning about why he supports Donald Trump. There’s nothing new here, but Falwell takes quite a swipe at the Reverend Dr. Russell Moore, a fellow Southern Baptist and the denomination’s most prominent spokesman on political matters. INSKEEP: There has been a divide among evangelical leaders, though. I think of Russell Moore. FALWELL, JR.: Oh, there’s always been that divide going back 30-40 years back in my dad’s day.... Read more
I'm uncomfortable with injecting the "anti-Catholic" accusation into the 2016 conversation. I'm willing to be persuaded by evidence, but I don't think the Republican Party is guilty of anti-Catholic rhetoric and signalling – certainly nothing on the level of what was said and intended by Republicans decrying "rum, Romanism, and rebellion" in 1884. Read more
Political conventions are meaningless media spectacles with no significant impact on campaigns or elections. If you love partisans' navel gazing or media self-congratulation, then by all means, watch conventions from start to finish. But now that I dabble in punditry, I see that many of you fine folks would like to read my take on the goings-on in Cleveland. So, stay tuned… Read more
Well this should be pretty interesting. A few weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “Who is Eric Metaxas and why does his Trump endorsement matter?” A lot of evangelicals are disappointed (and many are surprised) that author Eric Metaxas said that Christians “must” vote for Donald Trump. Historian John Fea has criticized Metaxas’ new book, and my Patheos colleague Warren Throckmorton has tirelessly chronicled evangelicals’ dismay with Metaxas at his blog and on Twitter. had a very interesting intvw with @ericmetaxas... Read more
The Reverend Dr. Richard Land, a former religious-right heavyweight, has an unusual piece in his Christian Post. He urges Donald Trump to shore up his evangelical support by appointing Sen. Ted Cruz to the Supreme Court. He also urges Trump to seek the endorsements of people evangelicals love (Dr. Ben Carson, diplomat John Bolton, Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee, etc), and promise to appoint them to senior executive branch posts. I’m pretty sure almost everyone on Land’s fantasy shadow-government wish list... Read more
Capitol and Cathedral
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In