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Belief

On ritual, the supernatural, and religious community.

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Image by Hans Glaser depicting a blood rain that supposedly occurred near Dinkelsbühl in Germany’s Franconia region in 1554.

Strange Gods: Charles Fort’s Book of the Damned

Rains of blood and frogs, mysterious disappearances, objects in the sky: these were the anomalies that fascinated Charles Fort in his Book of the Damned.
by Joshua Blu Buhs via The Public Domain Review on November 26, 2024
Painting depicting the Salem Witch Trials.

Did the Witch Trials Ever Truly Come to an End?

Marion Gibson’s research rigorously traces the legal and human aspects of the trials through today.
by AX Mina via Hyperallergic on October 30, 2024
Photo of United States bill, saying "In God We Trust."

The Deep Religious Roots of American Economics

Any attempt to understand the complexities of American economic thought without considering the significant role of religious beliefs is incomplete.
by Benjamin M. Friedman via The MIT Press Reader on September 5, 2024
A Christian cross in an open field, with a sunset in the background.

Jesus Freaks: On the Free Spirited Evangelicals of the 1970s and 80s

Chronicling the emergence of a unique blend of counterculture and Christianity.
by Eliza Griswold via Literary Hub on August 8, 2024

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NYC street preacher <loc.gov/pictures/item/2020636204/>
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Religious Freedom

Tracing the long and contested history of religious freedom in the U.S., from colonial times to recent skirmishes over school prayer, abortion rights, and religious displays.

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Higher Callings

A survey of American religious movements, from the Puritans to today's Christian Right.

Painting of the archangel Michael, holding shield, defeating Satan and other angels.

Extremist Pop Culture and the American Evangelical Right

Jack Chick and the origins of the 1980s “Satanic Panic."
by Sean Goodman via Journal of the History of Ideas Blog on December 16, 2024

The Late Great Hal Lindsey

The ideas he popularized will continue to shape evangelicalism for generations to come.
by Matthew Avery Sutton via Religion News Service on December 5, 2024
Church with graveyard.

Divided Providence

Faith’s pivotal role in the outcome of the Civil War.
by Robert Wilson via The American Scholar on December 2, 2024
Image by Hans Glaser depicting a blood rain that supposedly occurred near Dinkelsbühl in Germany’s Franconia region in 1554.

Strange Gods: Charles Fort’s Book of the Damned

Rains of blood and frogs, mysterious disappearances, objects in the sky: these were the anomalies that fascinated Charles Fort in his Book of the Damned.
by Joshua Blu Buhs via The Public Domain Review on November 26, 2024
A painting of a group of Puritans walking through a snowy forest, with the men carrying rifles.

The Puritans Were Book Banners, But They Weren’t Sexless Sourpusses

From early New England to the present day, censors have acted out of fear, not prudishness.
by Peter C. Mancall via Zócalo Public Square on November 25, 2024
Norma Gabler gives a press conference on July 20, 1977 holding up books in her hand.
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The Woman Who Gave Today's Book-Banning Moms a Blueprint

Norma Gabler's work in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s foreshadowed today's campaigns.
by Katie Gaddini via Made By History on November 13, 2024
A black and white photo of an American soldier on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2005.

God’s Directive

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, evangelical American missionaries followed military tanks into Afghanistan and Iraq to convert Muslims.
by Rozina Ali via New York Review of Books on October 31, 2024
Painting depicting the Salem Witch Trials.

Did the Witch Trials Ever Truly Come to an End?

Marion Gibson’s research rigorously traces the legal and human aspects of the trials through today.
by AX Mina via Hyperallergic on October 30, 2024
Senator J.D. Vance and Patrick Deneen at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Toward a Christian Postliberal Left

A truly Christian postliberalism would imagine and enact an alternative modernity with a different standard of progress.
by Eugene McCarraher via Commonweal on October 22, 2024
A boy scout yawns as he holds a U.S. flag at an event in Maine in 1984.
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The Christian Nationalism at the Heart of Jim Crow America

The Trump campaign is signaling that it intends to make the U.S. a "Christian nation." Here's what that idea looked like in history.
by William Horne via Made By History on October 17, 2024
St. Francis on the Brazos church.

How a Mediterranean Spiritual Movement Went Global

From the ruins of the Spanish Civil War to air force bases in Texas.
by Philip Jenkins via Anxious Bench on October 17, 2024
A crowd of people in court during the Salem Witch Trials.

How Dogs Were Implicated During the Salem Witch Trials

Sometimes an accused witch was believed to have had a dog who would do her bidding; to others, the devil appeared in the form of a dog.
by Bridget Marshall via The Conversation on October 15, 2024
Co-founder of Moms for Liberty Tina Descovich speaks during the 2024 Joyful Warriors National Summit.

From the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s ‘Body of Liberties’ to Today’s ‘Moms for Liberty’

The "parental rights" movement, rooted in colonial theocracy, has evolved into a political force resisting racial, gender, and educational equality.
by Bruce Gourley via Church & State Magazine on October 1, 2024

How ‘Left Behind’ Got Left Behind

A changing political mood among evangelicals has many believers imagining the end of the world differently than they used to.
by Matthew D. Taylor via The Bulwark on September 26, 2024

Ralph Waldo Emerson Meets His Spirit Animal

Some Americans who have lost faith in traditional institutions are finding spirituality in this Denver church—and in themselves.
by Molly Worthen via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on September 19, 2024
Black churchgoers attending a sermon.

Democrats Can’t Rely on the Black Church Anymore

The path to winning the Black vote no longer runs through the church door.
by Daniel K. Williams via The Atlantic on September 18, 2024
Martin Luther King Jr. speaking to an anti-Vietnam War rally in 1967.

The Anti-War Political Tradition: An Introduction

Anti-war politics has a rich historical tradition, one that seems to be in desperate need of revival.
by Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins via Foreign Exchanges on September 17, 2024
Teenagers marching in civil rights rally holding large sign reading "Black Power."

Black Church Leaders Brought Religion to Politics in the ‘60s

But unlike today's white Christian nationalism, Black church leaders called for healing internal divisions through engagement.
by Tobin Miller Shearer via The Conversation on September 6, 2024
A sign that reads "In God We Trust" over the seal of the United States.

Mainline Protestants and Christian Nationalism

Exploring the role mainline Protestants have played in promoting the idea of America as a Christian country.
by Brian Kaylor, Beau Underwood via The Revealer on September 5, 2024
Photo of United States bill, saying "In God We Trust."

The Deep Religious Roots of American Economics

Any attempt to understand the complexities of American economic thought without considering the significant role of religious beliefs is incomplete.
by Benjamin M. Friedman via The MIT Press Reader on September 5, 2024
Headlights on the road and a forest fire on the horizon.

Meaning in Decline

The surprising influence of premillennial eschatology on American culture.
by Daniel G. Hummel via Comment on September 5, 2024
A few people sitting down and reading the bible.

Public Schools, Religion, and Race

It was no coincidence that public school secularization and desegregation were happening, and failing, simultaneously.
by Leslie Beth Ribovich via The Revealer on September 5, 2024
Still from a "Between the Temples," showing a man and woman lying opposite each other.

How Resilient Are Jewish American Traditions?

"Between the Temples" tackles the anxieties around cultural assimilation—and finds continuity among very different generations.
by Mark Asch via The Atlantic on August 30, 2024
A political cartoon depicting Brighma Young walking in front of a group of his wives, the majority of whom are depicted as non-white.

The Sovereignty of the Latter-day Saints

Less about morality than about rights, the Mormon War of 1858 hinged on the issue of polygamy, pitting a Utah community against federal authorities.
by Katie McBride Moench via JSTOR Daily on August 28, 2024
A senior quote from Bookter T. Washington High School 1921 yearbook.

The Myth of the Christian State

When religion became the veil for racial violence in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
by Ross D. Johnson via The Oklahoma Eagle on August 18, 2024
A swamp in Southampton County, Virginia.

An Extraordinary Historical Collaboration Sees Nat Turner's Rebellion in a Prophetic Light

A new book argues that we misunderstand the forces that drove the notorious slave rebel.
by David W. Blight via Los Angeles Times on August 9, 2024
A Christian cross in an open field, with a sunset in the background.

Jesus Freaks: On the Free Spirited Evangelicals of the 1970s and 80s

Chronicling the emergence of a unique blend of counterculture and Christianity.
by Eliza Griswold via Literary Hub on August 8, 2024
Eugene V. Debs giving a speech on an American flag themed stage.

Did ‘Churchianity’ Sink American Socialism?

A new book blames institutional Protestantism for undermining a vibrant strain of Christian radicalism that swirled through the Gilded Age.
by Heath W. Carter via Commonweal on July 26, 2024
James Dobson speaking in front of a sign for his organization, Focus on the Family.
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The Surprising Roots of James Dobson's Political Power

The evangelical psychologist gained influence with millions of families through decades of parenting advice focused on strict discipline.
by Sarah McCammon via Made By History on July 25, 2024
Malcolm X arrives in New York City in 1964 after a tour of the Middle East.

Malcolm X and the Difficulties of Diplomacy

In 1964, he toured Africa and the Middle East on a journey that would both transform his outlook and reveal the limits of transnational solidarity.
by Alex White via New Lines Magazine on July 19, 2024
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