There’s been a lot of discussion lately of the ideological roots of the Christian Right. Sarah Posner dissected Nebraska Senate candidate Ben Sasse’s dissertation here on RD, noting that according to Sasse, the “roots of the modern religious right lie in the 1962 and 1963 Supreme Court decisions striking down mandatory public school prayer and Bible reading.” According to Sasse, those decisions “touched a nerve” among the grassroots, which led to the subsequent rise of the right as a “spontaneous” response to “judicial tyranny.” In Politico, historian Randall... Read more

I’m a feminist who believes in God. Raised Christian, I still attend church.  But what I am not is a person who will willingly check her brain, political convictions, or academic training at the door in order to enter the house of God or to participate in a community of faith. Express homophobic views, tell me that God requires me to let a man rule my house because I have a vagina, or spout a prosperity theology premised on the idea... Read more

Ta-Nehisi Coates‘s recent article, ‘The Case for Reparations‘ opens with scripture: “And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of... Read more

It’s hard to overstate the importance of soul-winning to Southern Baptists. So they’ve been hit hard by the news that the evangelical denomination’s slump in membership and baptisms has continued for the seventh year in a row. “I am grieved we are clearly losing our evangelistic effectiveness,” said Thom Rainer, president of Lifeway Christian Resources and former dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. The troubles of the Southern Baptist Convention offer... Read more

When most people (and many scholars) think of American religion and struggles for social justice, they tend to think first of the southern civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.  And to a certain extent  they would be right to do so.  There is no question that the fight against segregation in the Jim Crow South represented a high point of religious activism in American history – and many of my fellow bloggers here have contributed to our understanding of this... Read more

The Religion Newswriters Foundation, the charitable arm of the Religion Newswriters Association, is accepting applications for the Lilly Scholarships in Religion program from journalists interested in taking college courses in religion or spirituality. The program is designed to give journalists a deeper understanding of religion so that the public can benefit from better, more informed religion reporting in the non-religious news media. The foundation will award scholarships of up to $5,000 to journalists from the United States and Canada to take religion... Read more

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which begins the eve of June 3, celebrates God giving the law at Mount Sinai by reading the Ten Commandments. Those who want more religion in American life should pay close attention: The text may not be what you think. The Ten Commandments have played a starring role in a campaign to bring more religion into public life while, in a post-9/11 world, carefully distinguishing “our” religion from “theirs.” In 2005, Justice Antonin Scalia called the commandments “a... Read more

There was Jimmy Carter the president, Jimmy Carter the Habitat home builder and now what you might call Jimmy Carter 3.0: international advocate for women’s rights. As he nears 90 and the twilight of his public career, scholars are taking yet another look at Carter, a Baptist Sunday school teacher who continues to find ways to use his four years in the Oval Office as a springboard for his faith-fueled passions. In many ways, Carter appears to be seeking redemption... Read more

In a failed economy, at a time when several studies show interest in religion on the decline, why would anyone devote time, energy, and money to studying theology? I would love to write an article with definitive, bulleted reasons why religion is still important, making a case for why we need people to devote themselves to serious consideration of faith and tradition, but I consistently find such an approach stunted. Making a case for religion is a tired exercise. I’d prefer... Read more

by Peter GathjeR3 ContributorOdell fell down this morning on the brick walkway that goes into the backyard along the side of the house. He was having a seizure. Thankfully, another guest, a friend of his, caught him as he fell, preventing him from hitting his head on the bricks. A second guest immediately called 911 to request an ambulance. An ambulance did eventually show up, and I can report that Odell is doing fine now. This is the third time... Read more