religious freedom
A history of the Pilgrims that neither idolizes nor demonizes them
Historian John Turner tells the story of Plymouth Colony with nuance and care.
by Grant Wacker
The law in our lives
David Opderbeck’s book about theology, the law, and how we engage with both
by Chris Hammer
Churches obsessed with their right to reopen are missing the point
Genuine Christian faith is larger than the US Constitution.
Religious freedom in America
Melissa Rogers considers what a healthy role for religion in American public life might look like.
Steven Waldman has something new to say about religious freedom in the US
His narrative includes heroes and villains on both sides of the political divide.
The Christian act of dissent
A riveting history of religious dissenters, from William Blake to Clarence Jordan
A civil debate about religious freedom
John Corvino, Ryan Anderson, and Sherif Girgis agree: religious liberty is good, discrimination is bad, and the clash between these values is complicated.
Americans have never agreed on what religious freedom means
Peyote use has been defended with religious liberty arguments. So has Bible reading in public schools.
by Tisa Wenger
The evangelical response to Trump
We have now heard Donald Trump’s words, literally ad nauseam, as he boasted about forcing himself on women, kissing them and grabbing them. Now, while the Republican Party implodes, many conservative evangelicals are brushing off the comments.
Peyote and the racialized war on drugs
A summer of racial unrest throughout the country has led to calls in the presidential campaign to “restore law and order.” It’s the same line used by Richard Nixon in 1968 to appeal to white nationalist fears of black criminality after the “long hot summer of 1967.” Racialized wars on drugs emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—directed against Chinese people for opium use, African Americans in the South for charges of cocaine use, and Mexicans and Mexican Americans surrounding allegations of marijuana use.
Then there is peyote, a sacred medicine and religious adjunct in Native American worship.
The Boss and the baker
There are at least two important differences between a touring musician who skips a state to make a point and a service provider who doesn’t want to provide services on account of personal opposition to the larger thing being served.
Do Christian refugees matter more?
Shortly after the terrorist attacks in Paris in mid-November, Texas senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz set off a flurry of controversy when he announced that he believed the federal government should bar Muslim refugees fleeing violence and civil war in Syria from resettling in the United States. He stated on Fox News, “on the other hand, Christians who are being targeted for genocide, for persecution, Christians who are being beheaded or crucified, we should be providing safe haven to them.”
After President Obama described these sentiments as “shameful” and “un-American,” Cruz doubled down.
When "religious freedom" means the opposite
Insisting that a government office answer to the law rather than to a given official’s religious beliefs isn’t de-prioritizing religious freedom in favor of something else. It is religious freedom.