Christian values — Bunk History

Hail Mary

In the 1970s, some athletes began questioning the alliance between sports, conservative Christianity, and politics.

by Paul Putz via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on September 9, 2024

Howard Thurman.

The Overlooked Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement

Remembering Howard Thurman and other forgotten activists.

by David B. Gowler via Made By History on December 11, 2018

Jeff Sessions.

The Fight to Define Romans 13

Jeff Sessions used it to justify his policy of family separation, but he’s not the first to invoke the biblical passage.

by Lincoln Mullen via The Atlantic on June 15, 2018

Where Sunday School Comes From

Sunday school was a major part of nineteenth century reformers’ efforts to improve children’s lives and morals.

by Livia Gershon via JSTOR Daily on April 22, 2018

Jimmy Carter in the 1970s visiting a town in Brazil that commemorates Confederate expats.

Jimmy Carter, 1924-2024

As an individual, Jimmy Carter stood as a rebuke to our venal and heartless political class. As a politician, his private virtues proved to be public vices.

by Tim Barker via Origins of Our Time on January 1, 2025

Former President Jimmy Carter speaking to the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in 2019.

Jimmy Carter’s Most Perplexing Legacy

For all of his personal Christian devotion, he could not capture the hearts of white evangelicals.

by Thomas S. Kidd via The Dispatch on December 31, 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

Norma Gabler gives a press conference on July 20, 1977 holding up books in her hand.

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 boy scout yawns as he holds a U.S. flag at an event in Maine in 1984.

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

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

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

Image from the filmstrip, showing a grieved woman with her head in her hands, being comforted by a man standing beside her

Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the Hands of the Red Scared

Again and again, a fervant British anticommunist's filmstrip of the novel shows images of women in states of distress.

by Georgina Blackburn via Commonplace on February 6, 2024

Children in a kindergarten classroom at the Horace Mann School, Tulsa, Okla., 1917.

Yes, Schools Should Teach Morality. But Whose Morals?

Belief that schools must teach moral values is older than public schools themselves. But whose morals?

by Mallory Hutchings-Tryon via Made By History on January 9, 2024

A mother sits behind a sign reading, "I have a Bible, I don't need those dirty books."

The Great Textbook War

What should children learn in school? It's a question that's stirred debate for decades, and in 1974 it led to violent protests in West Virginia.

by Trey Kay, Deborah George, Stan Bumgardner via American Public Media on September 11, 2023

The American flag on a black background; underneath the flag the outline of the Christian cross is visible

How Christian Is Christian Nationalism?

Many Americans who advocate it have little interest in religion and an aversion to American culture as it currently exists. What really defines the movement?

by Kelefa Sanneh via The New Yorker on March 27, 2023

Photograph of Donald Trump smiling and giving a thumbs up, with Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. behind him.

A New Documentary Exposes the Truth About the Religious Right

It’s a political movement willing to align with anyone to win.

by Matthew Avery Sutton via Made By History on November 16, 2022

The front cover of Peter Manseau's new book, featuring a photo of Jefferson's bible.

Doubting Thomas

Is Jefferson's Bible evidence that the Founding Fathers engaged with scripture to birth a Christian nation? Or that they sought to foster a new secular order?

by Ed Simon via Los Angeles Review of Books on November 6, 2022

How Religion Became More Conservative and Society More Secular

Evangelicalism and the more liberal “mainline” Protestantism must be understood in a dialectical relationship to one another, rather than in isolation.

by David A. Hollinger, Eric C. Miller via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on October 18, 2022

Charles Sherrod consulting advisors on courtroom strategy

A Vital Civil Rights Activist You Never Heard of Has Died

Charles Sherrod wasn’t a big name, but his life has a lot to tell us about the civil rights movement.

by Ansley L. Quiros via Made By History on October 13, 2022

Picture of a cross necklace over a suit.

The Faith and Its Keepers

In the 1990s, liberal intellectuals complained that evangelicals were moralistic on political questions. Now the complaint is reversed.

by D. G. Hart via The Wall Street Journal on October 4, 2022

An eight photo collage of pictures showing the proper way for women to smile

Just Wear Your Smile

Few who encounter Positive Psychology via self-help books and therapy know that its gender politics valorize the nuclear family and heterosexual monogamy.

by Micki McElya via Boston Review on September 26, 2022

Black and white portrait of an African American family with coats and bags ready for travel.

The Myth of Racial Reconciliation

We will never truly achieve racial justice until we, collectively, learn how to treat and heal the wound of white supremacy.

by Malcolm Brian Foley via Anxious Bench on September 7, 2022

Collage of a hand raised up toward major conservative Christian figures throughout American history.

The Evangelical Question in the History of American Religion

The disturbing conclusion might just be that evangelicalism does not exist.

by Kirsten Sanders via The Hedgehog Review on July 23, 2022

A celebration outside the Supreme Court on June 24, in Washington. (Steve Helber/AP)

The Christian Right’s Version of History Paid Off on Abortion and Guns

How Christian conservatives' version of American history shaped the Supreme Court’s abortion and gun decisions.

by Lauren R. Kerby via Made By History on July 18, 2022

Photograph of women from the Women's Christian Temperance Union gathered at a bar wearing protest signs.

The Forgotten Temperance Movement of the 1950s

Despite the repeal of Prohibition, alcohol consumption was an enormous political issue for many white American Protestants.

by Livia Gershon, Pamela E. Pennock via JSTOR Daily on July 5, 2022

The Supreme Court Building in the nation's capital.

A Family’s Journey From a School Prayer Dispute to the Supreme Court

The Weisman family objected to religious prayers at a 1986 school graduation. The case went to the Supreme Court, which is again ruling on prayer in schools.

by Linda K. Wertheimer via Retropolis on June 20, 2022

“A Very Curious Religious Game”: Spiritual Maps and Material Culture in Early America

The Quaker spiritual journey, often invisible due to its silent, humble and individual nature, is illustrated in this map.

by Janet Moore Lindman via Commonplace on June 7, 2022

Man holding bible outside Capitol with Trump supporters

Christian Nationalism Is Surging. It Wasn’t Inevitable.

How the decline of liberal religion transformed American Christianity — and politics.

by Gene Zubovich via Made By History on May 6, 2022

Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers speaking before the appearance of former president Donald Trump at a Save America Rally on Jan 15th in Florence, Arizona.

The Bond That Explains Why Some on the Christian Right Support Putin’s War

Russia has become an ally in a global movement.

by Bethany Moreton via Made By History on March 5, 2022

Billboard claiming MLK was a Republican

The Uses and Abuses of the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Politics have diluted King's dream.

by Andre E. Key via Religion Dispatches on January 13, 2022

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