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by Mark Pinsky In the halcyon days of the 1960s civil rights movement, no march, protest or demonstration in the South was complete without white ministers, priests and rabbis prominently in the ranks, linking arms with their African American brothers and sisters. Each was acting — as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once described himself — as a “drum major for justice.” Of course, in that era, most of the white clergy were from up North. But in the... Read more

by Ebony UtleyRhetoric Race and Religion Contributor*This article first appeared in the March 2012 issue of the Memphis Theological Seminary JournalHip hop heads are drawn to the crucified Jesus not because they want to die, but because staring down death makes them feel most alive. According to cultural critic and theologian, Michael Eric Dyson, crucified Jesus is “the God who literally got beat down and hung up, the God who died a painful, shameful death, subject to capital punishment under... Read more

by Peter Montgomery March 19 was a lousy day for Rick Santorum’s campaign. Reporters repeatedly questioned him about his Sunday evening appearance at Tony Perkins’ home church, where, as People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch blog reported, Santorum applauded a pastor who screamed that America was a Christian nation and those who didn’t like it should “Get out.” It was America’s Christian faith that made it a great nation, Terry said, and America’s biggest problem is that we... Read more

By: Martin Marty Almost fifty times a year, the weekly Sightings column by Martin E. Marty appears. Almost every time it is based on documentation from print or digital or electronic media: newspapers, blogs, films, etc. This week is different, not because our attempt to treat “public religion” or “religion in public” this time has no documentary base, no empirical grounding. Instead, its background is too abundant, too rich. When we started monitoring media here not many years ago, there... Read more

by Dan Birdsong There has been a deliberate and concerted effort on the part of the Mitt Romney campaign, even before it officially began, to divert attention from the presidential candidate’s Mormonism by attempting to connect with primary voters by talking about a shared civil religion. But to be effective Romney must take this strategy much further. What’s civil religion? It’s patriotism’s kissing cousin. It’s a kind of deeper version of nationalistic pride. It is an effort to link patriotism... Read more

About 20,000 atheists gathered within shouting distance of the Washington Monument on Saturday for a Reason Rally hell-bent on damning religion and mocking beliefs.A full pantheon of demigods of unbelief — British scientist and full-time atheism rabble-rouser Richard Dawkins was the headliner — kept a crowd of all ages on their feet for more than six hours (and counting — I left before the band Bad Religion was set to play). Dawkins didn’t appear until five hours into the event,... Read more

Our newest contributor Ebony A. Utley discusses the Illuminati, Jay-Z, Hip Hop and Religion on “Left of Black.” Read more

Ebony A. Utley, Ph.D. is an expert in popular culture, race, and romantic relationships. Her book, Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta’s God tackles a sensitive and controversial topic: the juxtaposition—and seeming hypocrisy—of references to God within rap music. In her other research, Utley examines how Americans talk about race and racism, asks probing questions about women’s experiences with infidelity, investigates beliefs about marriage, and explores the tenuous relationship between hip hop and love. In addition to national radio, print,... Read more

by Michael Peppard I just finished reading Michael Sean Winters’s new biography of Jerry Falwell, God’s Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God a Republican and Baptized the American Right (HarperOne, 2012). Being familiar with his previous work (and the author himself), I must say that he did a fantastic job of writing with a different voice. If I had not known who the author was, I would have had no idea of his political leanings. Kudos to Winters: he... Read more