Medieval Christian Nationalism? Crusades and Christian Nations
For those of us who are American, today is the Fourth of July: a day for fireworks, family, and celebrating (or reckoning with) the history of the United States of America. I have to admit, as a...
View ArticleHistory, Cancel Culture, and the Desire for Innocence
In the 1980s when I was growing up as a pastor’s daughter in a conservative Christian context, I kept my ear to the ground for the whispers of the adults around me. As a budding scholar of history, I...
View Article“The World is an Insane Asylum”: Notes from a Texas Megachurch Visit
Hi! I am a cultural sociologist on a tour of Texas Megachurches. Check out my first post here. For today’s post, I cover my recent visit to Cornerstone Church in San Antonio....
View ArticleA Conversation with Dr. Andrew Whitehead
Last month I had the privilege of talking with Andrew Whitehead, Associate Professor of Sociology at IUPUI and Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives at the Center for the Study of...
View ArticleAmerican Secularization Hasn’t Followed the Script That Secularization Theory...
“Nones” now comprise 28 percent of the American adult population, according to survey data that the Pew Research Center released this month. Sixteen years ago, in 2007, only 16 percent of Americans in...
View ArticleWhat Happened with Rosaria Butterfield?
Several weeks ago, while browsing at my local public library, I came across Rosaria Butterfield’s new book, Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age. I hadn’t heard of it. But like so many other...
View ArticleWhy Is the Abortion Rate Increasing?
The Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 was supposed to reduce the number of abortions in the United States. In the summer of 2022, jubilant pro-life advocates eagerly forecast an...
View ArticleSheep in Wolves’ Clothing: A Parable and a Provocation
“If you converse with these missionaries of Christian civilization, you will be surprised to…meet a politician where you expected to find a priest.” In the almost 200 years since Alexis de Tocqueville...
View ArticleExvangelicals and Evangelicals: Reviewing McCammon & Alberta
Last month, I read two recently-released books grappling with trends within evangelicalism: Sarah McCammon’s The Exvangelicals and Tim Alberta’s The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory.: American...
View ArticleThe Catholic Conversion of J. D. Vance
This blog post is reposted from Current: Now that he is the Republican vice presidential nominee, J. D. Vance is one of the most famous Catholic converts in the United States. He is now the tenth...
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