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  • Racial Justice
    • Uncovering the (White) Christian Roots of Slavery, Native American Genocide, and Ongoing Efforts to Erase History
      Uncovering the (White) Christian Roots of Slavery, Native American Genocide, and Ongoing Efforts to Erase History
    • America Appears to be Heading for a Religious Civil War
      America Appears to be Heading for a Religious Civil War
    • Holocaust Humor and The ‘Real’ Germany — As Top Officials Shatter Post-WWII Taboos, German Conservatives Follow GOP Playbook and Charge Ahead
      Holocaust Humor and The ‘Real’ Germany — As Top Officials Shatter Post-WWII Taboos, German Conservatives Follow GOP Playbook and Charge Ahead
  • Politics/Law
    • America Appears to be Heading for a Religious Civil War
      America Appears to be Heading for a Religious Civil War
    • Holocaust Humor and The ‘Real’ Germany — As Top Officials Shatter Post-WWII Taboos, German Conservatives Follow GOP Playbook and Charge Ahead
      Holocaust Humor and The ‘Real’ Germany — As Top Officials Shatter Post-WWII Taboos, German Conservatives Follow GOP Playbook and Charge Ahead
    • ‘Sit Down and Be Quiet’ — MAGA Attack on Jewish Republican Exposes Christian Nationalism’s Shaky Commitment to Pluralism
      ‘Sit Down and Be Quiet’ — MAGA Attack on Jewish Republican Exposes Christian Nationalism’s Shaky Commitment to Pluralism
  • Sex/Gender/Justice
    • ‘Sit Down and Be Quiet’ — MAGA Attack on Jewish Republican Exposes Christian Nationalism’s Shaky Commitment to Pluralism
      ‘Sit Down and Be Quiet’ — MAGA Attack on Jewish Republican Exposes Christian Nationalism’s Shaky Commitment to Pluralism
    • Following Republican Playbook, German Conservatism Breaks <em>the</em> Post-WWII Taboo
      Following Republican Playbook, German Conservatism Breaks the Post-WWII Taboo
    • Contrary to Claims of Anti-Trans Muslims, LGBTQ+ Acceptance is Widespread in the History of Islam
      Contrary to Claims of Anti-Trans Muslims, LGBTQ+ Acceptance is Widespread in the History of Islam
  • Christian Nationalism
    • Uncovering the (White) Christian Roots of Slavery, Native American Genocide, and Ongoing Efforts to Erase History
      Uncovering the (White) Christian Roots of Slavery, Native American Genocide, and Ongoing Efforts to Erase History
    • America Appears to be Heading for a Religious Civil War
      America Appears to be Heading for a Religious Civil War
    • ‘Sit Down and Be Quiet’ — MAGA Attack on Jewish Republican Exposes Christian Nationalism’s Shaky Commitment to Pluralism
      ‘Sit Down and Be Quiet’ — MAGA Attack on Jewish Republican Exposes Christian Nationalism’s Shaky Commitment to Pluralism
  • Books
    • Uncovering the (White) Christian Roots of Slavery, Native American Genocide, and Ongoing Efforts to Erase History
      Uncovering the (White) Christian Roots of Slavery, Native American Genocide, and Ongoing Efforts to Erase History
    • From Civil Rights Liberals to New Age Conspiracy Theorists — What Betty and Barney Hill’s Alien Abduction Story Reveals About America
      From Civil Rights Liberals to New Age Conspiracy Theorists — What Betty and Barney Hill’s Alien Abduction Story Reveals About America
    • Russell Moore Claims There’s a Crisis in Evangelical America — But White Evangelicalism is Exactly Where it Wants to Be
      Russell Moore Claims There’s a Crisis in Evangelical America — But White Evangelicalism is Exactly Where it Wants to Be
mrecla@umail.ucsb.edu'

Matt Recla

Matt Recla is an instructor in the Foundational Studies Program at Boise State University. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He researches the genealogy of violence in the Christian tradition.

Guest BloggersApril 25, 2013

Religion and Violence? Short Answer: “Religion” Does Not Exist in a Vacuum

By Matt Recla

It is patronizing to reduce religion to “ethics” or “values.”

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(A)theologies, Culture, Politics/LawJanuary 17, 2010

‘Biblical’ Disaster in Haiti: Pat Robertson and the Curse of Unyielding Ignorance

By Matt Recla

As people around the world begin to reckon with the scope of the catastrophe in Haiti, we offer a set of responses to what was—for those whose work focuses on American religion—a shameful expression of prejudice and ignorance from a once-prominent evangelical leader. 

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(A)theologies, Politics/LawJanuary 15, 2010

The Theo-logic Behind Pat Robertson’s Offense

By Matt Recla

Once again, Pat Robertson has embarrassed the larger Christian community with his comments on Haiti, but the idea of God as a judge is deeply rooted in American religion.

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Religion Dispatches

Religion Dispatches

Religion Dispatches is your independent, non-profit, award-winning source for the best writing on critical and timely issues at the intersection of religion, politics, and culture.

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