Historian Andrew Preston first became interested in the overlap between religion and America’s foreign policy decisions while teaching an undergraduate class on American foreign policy in the days leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.“My students took it for granted that [Osama] bin Laden would use extremist rhetoric, [but] they were more surprised by [President George W.] Bush’s use of religious imagery and religious rhetoric to explain American foreign policy,” Preston tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. “And they asked... Read more

from Left of Black Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype© by Professor Obery M. Hendricks, author of The Universe Bends Towards Justice (Orbis Books) and visiting scholar at The Institute of Research and African American Studies in the department of Religion at Columbia University. Hendricks shares his recent experience at singer Whitney Houston’s home going ceremony, and explains how it gave people access to traditions in the Black church. Neal and Hendricks discuss why... Read more

First, there’s Mitt Romney’s Mormonism. This time around, when his chances of securing the nomination are better than in 2008, it has been at the centre of attention to his candidacy (his early opponent, Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah, helped underline Mormonism as a feature of the 2012 campaign). Of course, Mormonism has featured before, courtesy of Mitt Romney’s father George, who lost the Republican nomination to Richard Nixon in 1968. But in 2012 it is attached to the... Read more

A small church in Pike County, Kentucky, bans interracial couples from membership and participating in select worship activities. Ancient history from the pre-Civil Rights era, right? No, it happened about four months ago. “I do not believe in interracial marriages,” said Melvin Thompson, the retired pastor who argued the ban would make his church community more cohesive and later said he was dismayed to be portrayed as racist and bigoted. The story made me think about how religion, more than... Read more

by Nihal Khan The other day as I read this verse I had one of those “OH MY Allāh!” moments. I thought it would be beneficial to put it into a post to share with everyone. While we go about living our daily lives, many times we find ourselves at a loss of hope because of our sins. A lot of times this is because we decide to live our lives in a state of “Carpe Diem,” which in Latin... Read more

By Rev. Earle J. FisherRhetoric Race and Religion Contributor*Editor’s Note: Earle Fisher first presented this article at the 2012 National Council of Black Studies Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on March 9, 2012. The Editor added the title.Over the past several years, comedian turned radio host, motivational speaker and author of love relationship manuals Steve Harvey has turned himself and his ideologies into a multi-million dollar business enterprise. While initially being coined a “King of Comedy” Harvey has found a new... Read more

Pastor, professor, writer, preacher and social activist, Rev. Earle J. Fisher graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 1996, earned an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts in 1999 from Lake Michigan College, a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Computer Science in 2003 from LeMoyne-Owen College and a Masters of Divinity Degree in May 2008 from Memphis Theological Seminary. he is an ordained minister in both the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and National Baptist denominations. Currently serving as a adjunct... Read more

by Weldon McWilliams IVRhetoric Race and Religion Contributor Upon my return from a conference in Atlanta, I was sitting in the Airport waiting to come back to Philadelphia and I saw a report about Israeli air missile strikes in Gaza. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East has been going on for over 60 years. The “official” American position in this conflict is neutrality, however Israel is the largest recipient of direct economic and military aid from the United States... Read more

by Armondo CollinsRhetoric Race and Religion ContributorThroughout history, African-Americans have put the three concepts of God, Jesus, and Black people together in some pretty amazing theological combinations. Oftentimes, this synthesis was achieved by means of folklore tales based on church myth. Black church folklore was both sacred and secular, meaning it was told inside and outside of traditional Christian church settings, by preachers and laity alike. African-Americans used folklore to tell one another stories to about their religion and their... Read more

Armondo Collins is a Ph.D. candidate studying English and African-American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He received his bachelor’s degree in English from Livingstone College, and his Masters degree in English and African-American Literature of North Carolina A&T; State University. His research interests are African-American literature and Rhetoric and Composition. Follow him on Twitter @bigpotzdotcom Armondo’s Articles: 1. In Search of a Black God: A Brief History of African American Church Lore Read more