Civil Liberties
Interview
The Political Legacy of Progressive Evangelicals
For all the media attention paid to the Religious Right, much less energy has been spent looking into its counterpart, the Religious Left. And yet, …
By Eric C. Miller
Excerpt
Thomas Jefferson and the Origins of American Religious Nationalism
Scholars have variously depicted Thomas Jefferson as everything from a crypto-Unitarian with a deep love of Jesus to a priest-baiting infidel. My own view is …
By Sam Haselby
Editor’s Note
On Planned Parenthood, Beware of False Prophets
“The Bible says, ‘Beware of false prophets,’” outgoing House Speaker John Boehner told Face the Nation host John Dickerson on September 27. Boehner was referring …
By Marie Griffith
Essay
Pope Francis Comes to Washington
As recently as the 1950s, it was gospel in certain liberal circles that Catholicism was, to take a leaf from Ben Carson, “inconsistent with the …
By Leslie Woodcock Tentler
Essay
Kim Davis and the Anxieties of Christian America
Once released from her short stay in her county detention center, throngs of supporters greeted Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis with an energetic celebration. Davis …
By Benjamin E. Park
Essay
Pulling Us Back In: David Barton, Ted Cruz, and the Evangelical Grassroots
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Like Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III, who thought he could squirm …
By Paul Harvey
Report
New Clash over Religion in Schools: Communities Face Backlash for Lessons on Islam
Many of the speakers wore red shirts in solidarity. Dozens of them took turns standing at the microphone to lash out at the members of …
By Linda K. Wertheimer
Essay
When Our Truths Are Ignored: Proslavery Theology’s Legacy
For an African American writer during slavery, there was an expectation that a “white envelope” framed the “black message.” For autobiographers like Frederick Douglass and …
By Yolanda Pierce
Essay
Obergefell and the End of Religious Reasons for Lawmaking
In Obergefell v. Hodges, marriage equality for same-sex couples became the law of the land. In the wake of the decision on Friday, focus has …
By Micah Schwartzman, Richard Schragger and Nelson Tebbe
Editor’s Note
For Charleston’s Emanuel A.M.E., a Legacy of Hope and Resistance
Charleston is known as the holy city, for its many steeples and spires that tower above the landscape. On Wednesday night, a most unholy act …
By Tiffany Stanley