Politics & Society
A call to solidarity at Duke
At graduation, we faculty members looked at one another across the aisle, wondering which of us would be, in the university president’s words, “pruned and thinned.”
Still seeking justice for George Floyd
Five years after an infamous murder, George Floyd Square in Minneapolis remains a site of protest, lament, and mutual aid.
Reviled for Jesus’ sake
One of the clearest ways God says yes to Christians is when unjust authorities hate us.
Who are our neighbors?
A startlingly large number of Americans support immigration arrests in houses of worship.
Trump’s imperial golden age
Augustus and Nero also offered peace and security for those who fell in line. Paul critiques them in his epistle to the Romans.
In times of fear, I return to Julian of Norwich
The medieval mystic offers challenging words for desperate times.
Why does J. D. Vance want more American babies?
Pronatalists fixate on tomorrow’s imaginary children. Baptism demands that we care for those already born.
The church has a DEI problem
We love diversity. That doesn’t mean we’re willing to make room for difference.
We are not living in a postcolonial world
Many church folk use the word decolonization while ignoring its only goal: returning Indigenous lands to Indigenous hands.
Evangelical fantasies in Amish country
I grew up in the Quiverfull movement. In the tourism industry of Shipshewana, Indiana, I see a lot that looks familiar.
White supremacy and the Latino vote
Journalist Paola Ramos takes a nuanced look at the world of right-wing Latinos, revealing the logic behind their ideology.
The Trump administration hasn’t attacked religious schools and seminaries—yet
Liberation theologian Ignacio Ellacuría didn’t leave us a blueprint for resistance, but he speaks to times like ours.
Police reform in Minneapolis and beyond
Sociologist Michelle Phelps analyzes the racial and political factors in reform efforts both before and after George Floyd’s murder.
Pauli Murray’s song of hope
Her contributions to this nation can hardly be overstated. The federal government’s attempt to erase them has theological implications.
The US media is biased against Palestinians
Compassion compels us to remember people journalists choose to forget.
Writing from both sides of the economic divide
Sarah Smarsh brings her sharp reporting skills to her family’s history of rural poverty.
American hell
In the last year of his life, Martin Luther King Jr.’s confidence in the politics of progressivism dimmed. Judgment became his refrain.
Ten Commandments, zero context
Many lawmakers want to see the commandments displayed in public schools. Are they also interested in the Hebrew Bible’s ethical demands?
A mother-son road trip across the divide
Jedidiah Jenkins recounts a long drive with his conservative mother—and his attempt to navigate their complicated relationship.
Consent, outrage, and the abduction of Rumeysa Ozturk
The philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Fred Rogers are helping me make sense of the shameful footage.