One of the most durable myths in recent history is that the religious right, the coalition of conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists, emerged as a political movement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion. The tale goes something like this: Evangelicals, who had been politically quiescent for decades, were so morally outraged by Roe that they resolved to organize in order to overturn it. This myth of origins is oft repeated by the movement’s leaders. In his 2005... Read more

By Elizabeth F.Desnoyers-Colas  R3 Contributor Since the American Revolution, African American women have served, usually behind the scenes, in every military conflict in which the United States has been engaged. Despite this dedicated service to their country, very little empirical research has been published regarding African American servicewomen, including those who have served in the Gulf wars (Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom). There has also been a decided lack of interest among the national media’s on providing significant... Read more

This video extra from the Independent Lens documentary The New Black (premiering June 15 on PBS stations) gives us an intimate look at how singer Tonéx, a.k.a. B.Slade, shifted gears in his life as a successful gospel artist when he revealed he was gay. The news set off a storm of controversy within the gospel music world and the church, but won him new fans as well. Read more

by Andre E. Johnson R3 Editor *Below is an edited version of a paper that our editor submitted for presentation at the Rhetoric Society of America Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Due to scheduling conflicts, he was not able to share it at the conference. Introduction Nineteenth century African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Bishop Henry McNeal Turner (1834-1915) was one of the finest orators of his generation. Turner’s powerful rhetoric led him to preach integrated revivals, command audiences with Senators, congressional... Read more

We here at R3 thought we would collect some of the tweets using the hashtag #YesAllBiblicalWomen [View the story “#yesallbiblicalwomen” on Storify] Read more

We now have the best biblical scholars ever, academics who have developed research tools that amaze me and offer a very good handle on what Jesus said and what he did not say as well as the cultural, historical, religious and social context in which he lived and taught. With what I now know, I find it impossible ever again to see Jesus with a sword in his hand or in possession of a protective shield. The Jesus that I... Read more

In October 1976, just prior to Jimmy Carter’s election as president, Newsweek had christened 1976 the “Year of the Evangelical.” Carter’s candidacy had introduced many Americans to the term evangelical, and his articulation of the themes of progressive evangelicalism—care for the poor, concern for human rights, and an aversion to military conflict—brought many evangelicals into the arena of politics, some of them for the first time. Nearly half of evangelical voters in 1976 favored Carter, which represented a significant increase... Read more

As an atheist, it’s a pretty sure bet I won’t get into heaven (which doesn’t matter since, well, I don’t believe it exists). But it also looks like I couldn’t get elected president either. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, more than half of Americans reported they would be less likely to vote for an atheist running for political office than for a believer. In fact, they preferred pot smokers and adulterers over atheists, which makes the study... Read more

Does religion affect the way nations interact with one another? Does it affect foreign policy?  And if so, why have scholars of international relations ignored the role of religion until recently?  David Smith, a lecturer at the University of Sydney in the Department of Government and International Relations and a researcher in the United States Studies Program, provides us with an overview of how religion has played, and possibly still plays, a role in international relations and foreign policy. We start out with an... Read more

by Paula Penn-NabritR3 Contributor I was never great with numbers but lately I’ve been calculating like mad. 365 days ago CMadison died beautifully and peacefully at home, alone with me.  I’m sad and still adjusting to his absence because we were married for 36 years, 8 months and 22 days.  I miss him, but I’ll be missing him for the rest of my life even though I can’t calculate how long that will be. In the meantime, yesterday as I... Read more