

Christian Nationalism: Complexities to Discuss
[Last October, I posted a rush article entitled "Fragments Related to Christian Nationalism" (CN). It included a promise to revise and...
May 1116 min read


Goodbye to Pat Robertson, Hello to the Falwells’ Pool Boy
For the New Year, let’s recall two milestones on the Christian Right from the past year. One of the key architects of that movement, Pat...
Jan 2, 20244 min read


Christmas Mashup: Jesus Meets Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Sometimes humor only works in distinctive niches with particular background presuppositions. Whether it will land in this case, I'm not...
Dec 27, 20232 min read


Hegemonic Half-Truths: Why 9/11 Didn't Really Strengthen the Religious Right in the Long Run
This post is cross-published here on Narrative Paths Journal I fielded a query from a University of Tennessee campus newspaper about...
Sep 14, 20206 min read


"Prayer as a Toxin": Joel Osteen on COVID and Positive Thinking
Imagine that a shark has a fish literally inside its jaws, but cannot bite down. Prayer is like that. It is like a “toxin” that makes you...
Apr 10, 20203 min read


The Melting of a Glacier Matters Even If It's Still Very Cold: Evangelicals and Trump
NOTE: I am publishing tomorrow, in October 2024, a note to link back to this article which has continuing relevance even though it first...
Jan 2, 202013 min read


I Watched Kanye’s Christmas Pageant So You Don’t Have To...
…Or… if you want to watch, or already did—if you are into that sort of thing—let’s compare notes. The production was fascinating in...
Dec 31, 20197 min read


Remembering Trauma with End-Times Pentecostals and Left-Wing Rappers
What do we remember? How do we remember? What good does it do? I started writing this post while the media was hyping the 50th...
Aug 27, 20194 min read


Women’s Equality: Does It Include Sister Aimee Preaching to the KKK at Her Own Megachurch?
I just published an article in the American Studies journal, Quarterly Horse, which features concise scholarly interventions. Here it is...
Jul 4, 20191 min read


Empathy Walls: Understanding Oppressed People Who Love Trump
There isn’t much point in sending readers of this little blog to Reading Religion , the American Academy of Religion’s review portal—I...
Jun 24, 201910 min read


Against the Stereotype of End-Times Believers as Fatalistic
In both classes I am teaching this term, I heard matter-of-fact comments about how end-times theologies correlate with “fatalism”—which...
Apr 7, 20196 min read


True and Useful Generalizations About Agnosticism in 700 Words or Less
Earlier I discussed a reporter who asked for abut a sound-bite about “religion” in the south— and how this led to “True and Useful...
Apr 6, 20184 min read


True and Useful Generalizations About U.S. Religion in 1000 Words or Less
Before I began my previous post, I imagined an introduction to set up a lightly edited version of some notes I prepared for a reporter....
Oct 11, 20176 min read


Why are Religious Leftists Building Luxury Condominiums Outside My Window? How Can I Defend Them?
NOTE: I've tagged this for "oldies but goodies," partly because it's a follow-up to my piece on Chris Hedges referenced below, and...
Jul 27, 20174 min read