Authors /
Jon Sweeney
Jon M. Sweeney is author of Sit in the Sun and editor of Living City magazine, published by Focolare Media.
The complicated women of mainline Protestantism
Margaret Bendroth tells the stories of mid-20th century women who fought patriarchy from within the church.
September 22, 2023
From hateful murmurs to blood libel
Heather Blurton explains the origins and legacy of an outrageous antisemitic lie: the fable of William of Norwich.
March 2, 2023
Reconciliation or supersessionism?
Karma Ben-Johanan traces the troubled history
of Jewish-Christian relations after Vatican II.
August 18, 2022
Rachel Gross wants to blur the distinction between Jewish culture and Jewish religion
Being Jewish goes beyond the synagogue.
June 23, 2021
The Martin Buber book I carried around while my marriage failed
Tales of the Hasidim was an unlikely companion.
May 7, 2021
Who is solitude for?
David Vincent’s exhaustive tome suggests that fruitful solitude has often been linked to privilege.
December 18, 2020
Pope Francis the populist intellectual
The pope doesn't always show off his theological talents. Does that matter?
October 29, 2018
Crisis and opportunity in the American Catholic Church
Massimo Faggioli is the most articulate interpreter of U.S. Catholicism today.
December 4, 2017
Improvising the music of daily life
Robert Bresson’s films are adventurous, brooding, and deeply religious.
June 1, 2017
Conversations with the other pope
Benedict XVI’s book is both unusual and important. Mostly because it never should have been written.
February 13, 2017
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Papal politics and perils
Politi's account reveals much of what happened among the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on those days in March 2013.
June 14, 2016

E. E. Cummings: Complete Poems, 1904–1962 and The Collected Poems of James Laughlin
E. E. Cummings and James Laughlin didn’t write with metaphysical or philosophical ambition. But that doesn’t mean their poetry doesn’t matter.
July 9, 2015

The Great Reformer, by Austen Ivereigh
Austen Ivereigh's book on Francis has caused some controversy. It's also the most important biography of Jorge Mario Bergoglio yet published.
April 5, 2015

Updike, by Adam Begley
Updike's religious explorations are what make his writing so interesting, and Adam Begley explores them well. But he devotes too much space to trying to link fictional settings and characters with Updike's real life.
June 16, 2014

John Updike: The Collected Stories, edited by Christopher Carduff
To read John Updike is to remember just how upper-middle-class and masculine his fictional universe is.
December 17, 2013
Being and doing: What’s in a religious identity?
At a seder or shul, I am with my primary congregation—even though I'm not Jewish. And the fact that I'm a rebbetzman is not the only reason I attend.
November 7, 2013