Review
Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Juliane Hammer reviews Denise A. Spellberg’s new book, Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders.
By Juliane Hammer
Review
Darwin, Hitler, and the Hijacking of Evolutionary Theory
Was Hitler a Darwinian? Disputed Questions in the History of Evolutionary Theory By Robert J. RichardsThe University of Chicago Press, 2013 Biology is not ideology. But with evolution, …
By Michael Schulson
Review
Pulled into the Maze: 12 Years a Slave
One of the most haunting scenes in the film 12 Years a Slave comes shortly after the main character Solomon Northup—now known by his enslavers …
By Rachel McBride Lindsey
Review
Searching for the New Mind of the South
The New Mind of the SouthBy Tracy ThompsonSimon & Schuster, 2013 W hen the journalist W.J. Cash set out to describe the American South, back …
By Michael Schulson
Review
Surveying a Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage
Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in AmericaBy Jeff ChuHarperCollins, 2013 Of all the songs in the “dog-eared …
By Win Bassett
Review
The Father of Modern Political Cartoons
Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political CartoonsBy Fiona Deans HalloranUniversity of North Carolina Press, 2012 For those of us who work on American religion …
By Leigh Eric Schmidt
Review
To Be Straight, Thin, and “Healthy”
Seeking the Straight and Narrow: Weight Loss and Sexual Reorientation in Evangelical AmericaBy Lynne GerberUniversity of Chicago Press, 2011 Last month, California Governor Jerry Brown signed …
By Amy Frykholm
Review
Can Political Theology Save Secularism?
Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer’s Guide to the Uses of ReligionBy Alain de BottonPantheon Books, 2012. The Faith of the Faithless: Experiments in Political TheologyBy …
By David Sessions
Review
Vampires, Gay Rights, and the Political Underpinnings of HBO’s True Blood
HBO’s True Blood has always been saturated with political commentary. The first episode aired in September of 2008, just months before the passage of California’s …
By Joseph Laycock
Review
The Art of Jon McNaughton, the Tea Party’s Painter
Editor’s Note: Utah-based artist Jon McNaughton has received a lot of attention from both the press and political pundits. Much of this attention has been …
By David Morgan