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Science under Fire: Challenges to Scientific Authority in Modern America

Anti-Anti-Anti-Science

A new book tackles the deep and persistent American intellectual tradition we might call Science-hesitant.
Lithograph of Native Americans, 1870.

Polygamy, Native Societies, and Spanish Colonists

Having more than one wife was an established part of life for some Native peoples before Europeans tried to end the practice.
Malcolm X

A Malcolm For Our Times

"The Dead are Arising" may be the best Malcolm X biography yet. But its author seems unsure of how to write about a religion outside the American mainstream.
John Ossoff.

The Politics of Nostalgia

Nostalgia is not merely reductive; it is also productive.
A collage featuring Thomas Jefferson and passages cut from the Bible.

What Thomas Jefferson Could Never Understand About Jesus

Jefferson revised the Gospels to make Jesus more reasonable, and lost the power of his story.

QAnon Didn't Just Spring Forth From the Void

Calling QAnon a "cult" or "religion" hides how its practices are born of deeply American social and political traditions.
The cover of Exodus by Leon Uris.

How Americans Were Taught to Understand Israel

Leon Uris's bestselling book "Exodus" portrayed the founding of the state of Israel in terms many Americans could relate to.
Washington takes the oath of office surrounded by Founders.

The Faith of the American Founders

What were the religious beliefs of the American founding generation? What do they mean for us today?
An image of President Donald Trump holding a Bible in front of a church.

The Dangerous Power of the Photo Op

American photojournalism has always been entangled with race and religion.
Graphic of Sojourner Truth testifying in court.

The Electrifying Speeches of Sojourner Truth

Daina Ramey Berry details the life of the outspoken activist Sojourner Truth and her legendary speaking tour.

Lovers Under an Apple Tree

Why did the priest and the choir singer die, and what was the nature of their love?
partner

A Founder of American Religious Nationalism

On Rousas Rushdoony's political thought and lasting influence on the Christian right.
Civil rights leader Wyatt Tee Walker addresses a crowd at St. Phillips AME Church in Atlanta.

How Civil Rights Leader Wyatt Tee Walker Revived Hope After MLK's Death

In a sermon two weeks after MLK's funeral, Walker urged young seminarians to be hopeful and take action for making change happen. His sermon has valuable lessons today.

The Right’s “Judeo-Christian” Fixation

How a term that sounds inclusive is used to promote exclusion.

Managing Our Darkest Hatreds And Fears: Witchcraft From The Middle Ages To Brett Kavanaugh

America has a history of dealing with witches - and it has culminated in a modern movement of politically active ones.

Religion and the U.S. Census

Did the Census Bureau's practice of collecting data on religious bodies violate the separation of church and state?
Political cartoon depicting stock exchange fraud.

Has Capitalism Become Our Religion?

On the myths and rituals of the market, the lost radicalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the rise of neoliberalism.

Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why?

“Not religious” has become a specific American identity—one that distinguishes secular, liberal whites from the conservative, evangelical right.

Why Did Christianity Thrive in the U.S.?

Between 1870 and 1960, Christianity declined dramatically across much of Europe. Not in America. One historian explains why.

Myth and Modernity: A Review of Persecution and Toleration

A new take on the origins of our ideas about religious liberty.

James Madison Understood Religious Freedom Better than Jefferson Did

One emphasized the freedom to think; the other, in effect, the freedom to pray.

Muslims of Early America

Muslims came to America more than a century before Protestants, and in great numbers. How was their history forgotten?

“Our Moral Obligation:” The Pastors That Counseled in Pre-Roe South Carolina

Before the Roe decision, at least 68 South Carolina clergymen actively counseled women on where they should receive abortions.

How Cults Made America

A new book argues that, politically, messianic movements were often light-years ahead of their time. But at what cost?

Religious Cult, Force for Civil Rights, or Both?

Examining the life of Father Divine, the black preacher who called for the destruction of racial separation and claimed to be God.

Creationism, Noah’s Flood, and Race

For centuries, literalist interpretations of the Book of Genesis have fueled scientific racism and white supremacy.

The Forgotten Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii

A dark chapter in the history of religious persecution.
Young Japanese American girl Yoshiko Hide Kishi. Tom Hide Collection, Washington State University Libraries' MASC.

The Complex Role Faith Played for Incarcerated Japanese-Americans During World War II

Smithsonian curator of religion Peter Manseau weighs in on a history that must be told.
Places of origin for early Eastern Mediterranean immigrants. The dot size reflects the relative number of immigrants.

“Like A Wolf Who Fell Upon Sheep”: Early Lebanese Immigrants and Religion in America

For some Lebanese immigrants, religion was a comfort, providing a sense of home in an new world. For others, it was a constant reminder of what was left behind.
American Progress painting by John Gast.

Getting Out of the White Settlers’ Way

Re-telling the arrival of settlers on the prairie.

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