University of Southern California
USC Annenberg
  • Submissions
  • Contact
  • Taxonomy Report
  • FAQ
Religion Dispatches - Religion Dispatches Religion Dispatches
  • Election 2024
    • Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
      Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
    • With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
      With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
    • No image
      With no Viable Alternative on Ballot, Anti-immigrant Movement Claims Victory and Releases Wish Lists
  • Racial Justice
    • No image
      With no Viable Alternative on Ballot, Anti-immigrant Movement Claims Victory and Releases Wish Lists
    • New Doc Claiming Columbus was Jewish May Have Some Accuracy Issues — But There’s a Far Bigger Issue We Need to Reckon With
      New Doc Claiming Columbus was Jewish May Have Some Accuracy Issues — But There’s a Far Bigger Issue We Need to Reckon With
    • PRRI’s Robert P. Jones Discusses Authoritarianism, Christian Nationalism, and What the 2024 Election is Really About
      PRRI’s Robert P. Jones Discusses Authoritarianism, Christian Nationalism, and What the 2024 Election is Really About
  • Sex/Gender/Justice
    • With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
      With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
    • Packed with Threats of Political Violence, Media Largely Ignore the NAR’s ‘Million Women’ Rally in DC
      Packed with Threats of Political Violence, Media Largely Ignore the NAR’s ‘Million Women’ Rally in DC
    • New Doc Strives for Christian Unity—But What if Unity is the Problem?
      New Doc Strives for Christian Unity—But What if Unity is the Problem?
  • Christian Nationalism
    • Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
      Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
    • The Dark Horse ‘Stop the Steal’ Scenario: NAR Leaders Sought ‘Trojan Horse’ in Election Offices Filled with ‘Christian Patriots’
      The Dark Horse ‘Stop the Steal’ Scenario: NAR Leaders Sought ‘Trojan Horse’ in Election Offices Filled with ‘Christian Patriots’
    • The ADL is Correct that Antisemitism is Rising — But the Main (and Most Dangerous) Source Isn’t the Left, It’s Always Been the Right
      The ADL is Correct that Antisemitism is Rising — But the Main (and Most Dangerous) Source Isn’t the Left, It’s Always Been the Right
  • Taxonomy Report

Murali Balaji

Murali Balaji, Ph.D. is the founder and principal of Maruthi Education, a diversity and inclusion consulting firm that focuses on cultural competency. He previously served as director of education for the Hindu American Foundation. A Fulbright Specialist and former journalist, he has taught at Temple University, Penn State University, and Lincoln University, where he served as Chair of the Department of Mass Communications. Balaji is the author of several books, including The Professor and the Pupil: The Politics and Friendship of WEB Du Bois and Paul Robeson (2007), the editor of Thinking Dead: What the Zombie Apocalypse Means (2013), and the co-editor of the seminal anthologies Desi Rap (2008) and Global Masculinities and Manhood (2011).

Archive, Books, Racial JusticeAugust 25, 2020

The ‘C’ Word: What We’re Missing When We Talk About ‘White Privilege’

By Murali Balaji

Author, scholar and activist Khyati Y. Joshi has been one of the seminal voices on…

Read More
(A)theologies, Archive, OMFGMay 21, 2020

Christianity Today’s ‘Humble’ Hindu-to-Jesus Conversion Story is Still a Story of Christian Triumphalism

By Murali Balaji

When I was a freshman at the University of Minnesota in the 1990s, I was…

Read More
Christian Nationalism, OMFGMay 3, 2019

After Synagogue Attack, Some Evangelicals Finally Owning Their Part in White Christian Nationalism

By Murali Balaji

Taking ownership of an ideology that has spawned—and will continue to spawn—extremist groups or lone wolves might be the best to way to eradicate it.

Read More
Christian Nationalism, History/Theology, OMFG, Politics/LawApril 11, 2019

House Hearing on White Nationalism Missed the Boat on Christian Nationalism

By Murali Balaji

The federal government cannot attack the scourge of hate without understanding the role Christian supremacy plays in white nationalism behavior.

Read More
Christian Nationalism, OMFGMarch 21, 2019

White Christian Nationalism May Not Be Religious, But It Is Christian

By Murali Balaji

White Christian nationalism’s foot soldiers don’t necessarily connect their racial resentment with their devotion to the Bible, yet they’re often trying to retake what they presume to be lost: white and Christian dominance. 

Read More
Archive, Christian Nationalism, OMFG, Racial JusticeMarch 18, 2019

Behind New Zealand Terror Attack Is a Problem Bigger Than Islamophobia

By Murali Balaji

Even as advocates point to growing Islamophobia as the cause of the attack, the larger issue seems to be white Christian nationalism.

Read More
OMFGFebruary 14, 2019

MIT, Facing Opposition to Extremist Speaker, Might Try Google Next Time

By Murali Balaji

Swamy, who has been affiliated with right-wing politics in India, is India’s version of Louis Farrakhan, Milo Yiannopoulos, or Nigel Farage: a polarizing figure with a long history of demonizing statements.

Read More
OMFG, Politics/LawNovember 13, 2018

The Suburban Shift Putting Republicans in Peril

By Murali Balaji

A growing number of Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim voters represent areas that once boasted white, Christian, college-educated voters. It’s easy to see how an administration that’s doubled down on xenophobia has imperiled Republicans’ outreach efforts.

Read More
OMFG, Politics/LawSeptember 26, 2018

GOP ‘Big Tent’ Implosion: Hindu Edition

By Murali Balaji

One would think the Republicans would figure out a way to send well wishes without drawing upon the worst stereotypes of Hindus as “idol worshippers.”

Read More
OMFG, Politics/LawAugust 30, 2018

Trump’s Remark to Evangelicals is Straight Out of Global Authoritarian Playbook

By Murali Balaji

Trump’s fealty to evangelical leaders may be sowing the seeds of a Christian autocracy that can easily be replicated by a future GOP president.

Read More
1 2 3 Next

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.

© Religion Dispatches
Back to top