I was distracted at the Baltimore Orioles’ game the other night. At the end of the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), my wife and I joined friends at Camden Yards, but a new friend with us there in the stands kept driving my attention to a jail cell overseas. A few hours earlier, that new friend, Naghmeh Abedini, had joined me on the platform of our gathering of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. I called the SBC... Read more

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The United States Constitution in Article VI, paragraph 3, states in part: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” Just last month, the Navy Chief of Chaplains rejected the application of Jason Heap, a highly qualified chaplain candidate who would have been the first Humanist military chaplain. All the evidence leads invariably to the conclusion this decision was based upon a Constitutionally prohibited “religious test.” If true, this action by the... Read more

by Andre E. JohnsonR3 Editor*This is the first in a series. Get your copy of the Forgotten Prophet: Bishop Henry McNeal Turner and the African American Prophetic Tradition in paperbackWhen Henry McNeal Turner returned South in 1866, he had already established a robust list of accomplishments. Licensed to preach by the Methodist Episcopal Church South (M.E. South) at nineteen, Turner preached to large audiences—both black and white and was quite a successful revival preacher. When he left the M.E. South Church and joined... Read more

Comments made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling has sparked debate about the many intersections of race. We here at Rhetoric Race and Religion thought we would collect some of the editorials and essays associated with this incident. We ask that if you come across some articles please share them with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Enjoy.1. Donald Sterling, Cliven Bundy and the truth about racism 2. Despite Anger at Donald Sterling, Church is America’s Most Segregated Institution 3. How Should Christians Respond... Read more

From their origins in Alfred the Great’s battles against the “heathen” Vikings to the growth of Army chaplains in the First World War, religion has long occupied a central place in Britain’s armed forces. But analysis of new Ministry of Defence figures suggests that atheists and agnostics could overtake Christians in the ranks of the military in just 18 years.The number of Army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel declaring themselves as Christians fell by more than 10 per cent in... Read more

David Brat, the surprise Republican primary victor over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, received a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has also stated that he had at one time wanted to teach systematic theology and ethics anddescribed his win as a God-given “miracle:” “God acted through the people on my behalf.”   Based on this, it would be natural to wonder whether Brat intends to legislate his religious beliefs if elected—and more to the point, what those beliefs actually are. Turns out... Read more

Were it not for the political wrangling over whether he is a hero or a traitor, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who arrived in San Antonio early Friday, might well be held up as a classic example of the religious seeker: the deeply spiritual quester after truth, light and justice. Yet the news media have been curiously silent on the question of his religious background. Aside from vague references to his belonging to a Calvinist church, no one has taken a serious look... Read more

Dr. Kimberly J. Chandler is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.  Her research interests are in gender and communication, specifically focusing on African American masculinities as well as Black women and identity negotiation.  As a survivor of childhood incest, her work is characterized by a continual journey to live beyond her trauma, using her experiences as a foundation from which to operationalize her life mission: to encourage and challenge individuals to embrace liberated living by... Read more

by Peter Gathje R3 Contributor *Peter also blogs at Radical Hospitality When the day after Pentecost had come, they were gathered all together in one place at Manna House.  And suddenly from down the street there came a sound like the rush of a might big semi-truck flying down Jefferson Avenue, and it filled the entire front porch and house where they were sitting drinking coffee.  Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of... Read more