Religion Dispatches
…utors assign blame to defendants. Alexander writes of the disproportionate number of incarcerated black and brown youth: “A major reason for these disparities is unconscious and conscious racial biases infecting decision making. In the state of Washington, for example, a review of juvenile sentencing reports found that prosecutors routinely described black and white offenders differently. Blacks committed crimes because of internal personality fla…
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…America.” And she’s decided to create a sharp contrast with the soft, weak Washington “elites” who can’t make harsh choices (like killing your 14-month-old puppy). But Noem seems to have miscalculated the love people have for their dogs (or any dog, really), and most importantly, she seems to have forgotten what Amanda Marcotte calls “the first rule of fascist Fight Club,” which is, of course, that “you never show your true face to outsiders.” The…
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…downfall retains the persistent odor of usefulness. In a statement to the Washington Post, Tchividjian said: “I resigned from my position at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church today due to ongoing marital issues. As many of you know, I returned from a trip a few months back and discovered that my wife was having an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, I informed our church leadership and requested a sabbatical to focus exclusively on my marriage and…
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…ir multi-national, multi-racial and multi-ethnic character. That said, the numbers of nations and people that we mention are sourced solely on the claims of the groups themselves. We have no way to independently verify these numbers, so they should be used advisedly. Simply put, the global vision of the NAR is based on their understanding of the Great Commission text of Matthew 28:18-20, with an emphasis on “discipling nations” (28:19). Internatio…
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…oups of Christians to pray, fast, and march around government buildings in Washington DC, in protest of the election results. Among the NAR apostles who called on their millions of followers to reject the results of the 2020 election are Lance Wallnau, Dutch Sheets, and Cindy Jacobs. Paula White—a popular televangelist, spiritual advisor to Donald Trump, and NAR apostle—led the actual mob in prayer just before the attack on the US Capitol. As was…
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…n and politics found in the pages of The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other media of comparable reach and influence. This earlier history is easy to ignore since the problematic features of evangelical Protestantism were much less consequential until the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Two portentous, virtually simultaneous developments changed that. First, evangelical Protestantism was catapulted from th…
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…nt summary of the chapters, check out Christiana Z. Peppard’s piece at The Washington Post.) We hear those litanies of devastation often these days and simple reflection on global warming can send anyone into a spiral of ethical helplessness and moral ambiguity. But there’s something in the rhetorical feel, the affective language of this letter that might help pull a reader through. The letter’s laments are couched in the language of praise. Franc…
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…s, and schools, Walters has nevertheless tapped the state coffers to pay a Washington, DC-based media firm up to $5,000 a month to project a cartoonish image of a macho Christian culture warrior by writing his op-eds and speeches and booking him for media appearances. Local investigative journalism has blown the lid off of his vanity project—which, as it happens, is directly connected to Project 2025. Walters had the state contract with Vought Str…
Read More…s and administrative regulations sought religious exemptions in increasing numbers. The Little Sisters of the Poor, the owners of the Hobby Lobby chain, various Christian colleges and universities, and wedding florists, photographers, and cake-bakers have all advanced such claims. It’s clear that this issue is here to stay. The year that just ended saw the opening of new fronts in the legal battles over religious freedom. In 2018, the Supreme Cour…
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…man rights progress,” a decision Brian Dooley called “welcome news” in the Washington Blade: There’s plenty room for improvement. The Egyptian government has silenced virtually all peaceful dissent. Tens of thousands of people have been jailed or disappeared; many have been convicted in sham trials and tortured in prison. Political opposition figures, human rights defenders, and the LGBT community are key targets of this repression. Although same-…
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