Evangelicals Bring the Votes, Catholics Bring the Brains

To understand Catholic overrepresentation on the U.S. Supreme Court, we must look to the history of American Catholic education.
Colorful illustration of Larry Norman, haloed by yellow.

The Unlikely Endurance of Christian Rock

The genre has been disdained by the church and mocked by secular culture. That just reassured practitioners that they were rebels on a righteous path.

Aquarius Rising

Considering the religious roots of the 1960s anti-militarist counterculture.

Why Putin is an Ally for American Evangelicals

American evangelicals once saw the Soviet Union and other communist countries as the world’s greatest threat to their faith.
Football players kneeling in prayer on the field.

Football and the Political Act of Prayer

In football, prayer is—and has always been—political.
partner

The Real Reason the Catholic Church Remains Plagued by Abuse Scandals

In the wake of abuse scandals, lay people, not priests, should have more power.
The Rev. William Barber, the Rev. Liz Theoharis, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson gather outside of the U.S. Capitol during a Poor People’s Campaign rally in June, 2018.

The Social Gospel Roots of the American Religious Left

A review of Gary Dorrien's new book, “Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Social Gospel.”
Trump with eyes closed and head bowed as evangelist Paula White leads a prayer at the White House.

The Christian Nationalism of Donald Trump

The debate among American Christians over globalism and nationalism is nothing new — rather, it has been going on for decades.
Steve Gaines, prays with his wife at the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention meeting.

Southern Baptists, Gender Hierarchy, and the Road to Trump

Many Southern Baptists in the 1970s supported abortion rights and gender equality. What happened?
Abolitionist political cartoon depicting the devil telling a slaveholder he is sinning.

How Antebellum Christians Justified Slavery

In the minds of some Southern Protestants, slavery had been divinely sanctioned.

Conversion and Race in Colonial Slavery

To convert was not just a matter of belief, but also a claim to power.

Evangelical Fear Elected Trump

The history of evangelicalism in America is shot through with fear—but it also contains an alternative.
Elvis Presley performing to a crowd of fans reaching toward him

How Christianity Created Rock ’n’ Roll

Rock music owes much of its claim to coolness to the Christian faith.
partner

Religious Groups Are Fighting Trump to Keep Families Together

But they didn’t always oppose ripping kids from their parents.
Billy Graham at the pulpit.

American Evangelicalism and the Politics of Whiteness

If white evangelicals are united by anything, it isn't theology.
Jeff Sessions.

The Fight to Define Romans 13

Jeff Sessions used it to justify his policy of family separation, but he’s not the first to invoke the biblical passage.
Book of Mormon

Mormons Confront a History of Church Racism

The Mormon church is still grappling with a racial past.
Donald Trump shaking hands with Mike Huckabee.

Church of The Donald

Never mind Fox. Trump’s most reliable media mouthpiece is now Christian TV.

God Gave Rock and Roll to You

Fiery, energetic and preached by charismatic frontmen, Pentecostal Christianity had a big influence on rock and roll in its formative years.
President Trump and religious leaders praying in the Oval Office
partner

Today is a National Day of Prayer. Should That be Legal?

How solid is the wall between church and state?
William Sloan Coffin Jr. and his daughter.

Anti-War Protests 50 Years Ago Helped Mold The Modern Christian Right

Vietnam created a rupture in the Protestant church.

The Gods of Indian Country

How American expansion reshaped the religious worlds of both settlers and Native people.

Where Sunday School Comes From

Sunday school was a major part of nineteenth century reformers’ efforts to improve children’s lives and morals.

A History of the Jerks: Bodily Exercises and the Great Revival

A digital archive of first-person accounts from the turn of the 19th century chronicling an unusual display of religious ecstasy.
Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux.

New Documents Reveal How the FBI Deployed a Televangelist to Discredit Martin Luther King

Elder Michaux, a popular black evangelist, aided the bureau's campaign to destroy King's reputation.
Intricately painted Easter eggs.

Why Easter Never Became a Big Secular Holiday like Christmas

Hint: the Puritans were involved.

Writing Jewish History

Histories of the Jews reveal a lot about the times in which they were written.
Billy Graham at the pulpit.

Billy Graham’s Legacy

A roundup of historians' commentary about Billy Graham in the wake of his death.

The Revolutionary Roots of America’s Religious Nationalism

America's sense of religious nationalism was forged in the same fires that ignited the profoundly secular French Revolution.

Modern Mindfulness is Rooted in a Racist History

Before Americans turned to Buddhism for life hacks, they treated it like a dangerous cult.