Media
Profile
A Scholarly and Judaic Approach to Political Punditry
Brooke Baldwin, CNN’s news anchor, was chagrined. During the presidential election, despite a plethora of fact checking of candidates’ statements from both political parties and …
By Robert Israel
Excerpt
How Mormons Became American
Acentury ago, it was once a simple matter to assume a norm for American culture and situate the Mormon well outside it. Polygamy was likened …
By Terryl Givens
The States Project
Mississippi: A Historian Challenges H.L. Mencken
A Historian Challenges H.L. Mencken.
By Alison Collis Greene
Essay
What Does Shari’a Really Mean?
In August, Representative Joe Walsh spoke to constituents at a town hall meeting in Elk Grove, Illinois, about radical Islam, noting, “It’s in Addison. It’s …
By Krystina Friedlander
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
Editor’s Note
A Status Update
Recently, Religion & Politics reached a milestone. Sometime after the start of the RNC in Tampa, and before the conclusion of the DNC in Charlotte, …
By Tiffany Stanley
Essay
The Anniversary of Kennedy’s Landmark Speech on Religion
On September 12, 1960, John F. Kennedy gave his now-famous speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. In front of the Protestant ministers in attendance …
By The Editors
The Table
Ryan Speaks the Language of “Faithful Catholics”
“Paul Ryan’s Catholic Problem.” “Catholics for Ryan.” “Representative Ryan’s Ayn Rand Problem.” “Congressman Ryan Denounces Ayn Rand’s Ideology.” “Ryan’s a Packers Fan?” “Paul’s Favorite iTunes …
By R.J. Moeller
Editor’s Note
What War on Religion?
In July of 1844, word reached New York that Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the LDS Church, had been murdered by a mob in Illinois. …
By Tiffany Stanley
Interview
The Lost Art of Political Compromise: An Interview with Al Simpson
Alan K. Simpson is one of America’s favorite political pugilists. A lawyer, legislator, and devout Episcopalian, during his four decades in national politics, Simpson has learned …
By Max Perry Mueller