Culture

Essay
Imprisoned by Scientologists? Our Fascination with Captivity Narratives
Two weeks ago, after Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise, a media frenzy ensued. The tabloid site TMZ alleged the divorce was not …
By Joseph Laycock
Report
Why Do Mormons Love the Fourth of July So Much?
Tonight, one of the nation’s biggest Fourth of July celebrations will take place in Provo, Utah, in front of 50,000 people at Brigham Young University’s …
By Benjamin E. Park
Interview
Red State Religion: An Interview with Robert Wuthnow
Red State Religion: Faith and Politics in America’s Heartlandby Robert WuthnowPrinceton University Press, 2012 Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard R. Andlinger ’52 Professor of Sociology …
By Alfredo Garcia
Report
The Lonely Life of American Atheists
There may be no “church” for the unbeliever, but there can at least be one big party. In late March, more than 10,000 people gathered …
By Alfredo Garcia
Review
Can Sex Sell Abstinence?
Making Chastity Sexy: The Rhetoric of Evangelical Abstinence Campaignsby Christine J. GardnerUniversity of California Press, 2011 When it comes to adolescent sexuality, more than the …
By Amy Frykholm
Essay
The Long Approach to the “Mormon Moment”
Unless you have been living in a cave or asleep for the last half year, you know that we are living in an era that …
By Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp
Essay, Profile
The Megachurch: Where Jerry Falwell’s Influence All Began
The Rev. Jerry Falwell’s name will always be linked with the Moral Majority, the organization he formed to galvanize conservative evangelicals into political action. Certainly, …
By Michael Sean Winters
Essay, Profile
Jon Stewart, Religion Teacher Extraordinaire
As difficult as it is to find good writing about religion, it is harder still to find good television about religion. Most televangelists do not …
By Mark Oppenheimer
Profile, Report
John Stott, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien: Why American Evangelicals Love the British
John R. W. Stott’s death last July, at the age of 90, prompted an outpouring of grief and fond memories all over the Christian world. …
By Molly Worthen