As the presidential campaign begins to heat up, one of the most fascinating areas to watch is how the candidates talk about (or not) religion and faith. Throughout the campaign, I will attempt to share some of the most interesting stories and at times offer my own analysis of how candidates construct God in the public arena. It is important to examine how public officials and their designates talk about “faith matters” because it tends to pour into our own theological realities.... Read more

Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots have been catching flak for being so white. Occupy Atlanta is no exception, getting off to a rough start last Friday when civil rights movement hero-turned-Congressman John Lewis stopped by to offer his support, only to be waved off by the mostly white general assembly, which is the Occupy movement’s collective decision-making group. Congressman Lewis was extremely gracious. Others, less so. In a town that is majority black, Occupy Atlanta moved quickly to make amends. The... Read more

William Saletan’s recent commentary comparing racial and sexist bigotry with bias against Mormonism showed an admirable intent to remove prejudice from our national rhetoric. But his comparison conflated two very different topics—discrimination based on biological characteristic and discrimination based on a chosen system of beliefs. This conflation runs the risk of suppressing citizens’ obligation to evaluate a politician’s beliefs, based on the false premise that expressing concern about a religion’s doctrinal teaching is simply another form of bigotry.Read more here Read more

Here is an article by one of our current MTS students, Karsten Chearis. He writes about  Lecrae’s “cipher” appearance on the BET Hip Hop Awards. Read the article here. See the complete cipher below http://serve.a-widget.com/service/getWidgetSwf.kickAction Read more

Here is an article by one of my former students who is now serving as a Chaplain in the Navy. She answers the question that Tina asked, “What Love Has to do with It?” The article is under “Chaplain Corner” on the second page Read more

For Immediate Release October 16, 2011REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL DEDICATION The National Mall Washington, D.C. 11:51 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you. (Applause.) Please be seated. An earthquake and a hurricane may have delayed this day, but this is a day that would not be denied. For this day, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s return to the National Mall. In this place, he will stand for all... Read more

Dan Hodge, author of the soon to be seminal work, The Soul of Hip Hop: Rims Timbs, and a Cultural Theology,” wades into the religious rhetoric that invariably will be a part of the upcoming election season. Drawing from the work of Wade Clark Roof and Neil Smelser who argues that our civil religion may at times hurt us, Hodge reminds us that hip hoppers sometimes act as prophets that speak out against the hegemony of civil religion. Hodge writes that “at the root of Hip Hop essence... Read more

Faith in Memphis | Blog | Andre Johnson named Netters Professor at MTS: ‘via Blog this’ Read more

“Cut Loose Your Stammering Tongue: Black Theology in the Slave Narratives,” is a book about the accurate description of Early Black Theology by Dwight N. Hopkins and George Cummings. These slave narratives document the whole series of their religious experiences and practice. These narratives uncovered the two links of blacks religious experience: the white-regulated message and practice, and the “invisible institution” that the slave community established across the South embodying its own religious ideals and aspirations. “Invisible institution” is the... Read more

The Literary Archive of Henry McNeal Turner, The Chaplain Writings, Vol 2 is due to be release in November of 2011. Here is what some are saying about the series Dr. Andre E. Johnson’s scholarship on the life, work, and writings of The Henry McNeal Turner recovers an incredibly important aspect of African American history. It is always an important occasion when a scholar goes beyond the study of well known historical figures to re-introduce a leader who lived beyond... Read more