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A Post-Christian America? Not Quite—Though Devoutly to be Wished

By Peter Laarman

…say about Jon Meacham’s Newsweek piece on the fairly sharp fall-off in the number of Americans self-identifying as Christian (in the newly-released ARIS survey), this bloghead initially demurred. I mean, the amiable and well-informed Meacham said what I would have said: on balance, it’s a good thing that the various and dangerous forms of grievance associated with “Christian nation” thinking should now recede. It’s a good thing that more have come…

Exclusive: Christian Right Bill Mill, Project Blitz, Hasn’t Gone Away, It’s Just Gotten More Secretive

By Frederick Clarkson

…14 of which have passed, according to Blitz Watch. Whether the dip in the number of bills introduced is attributable to Covid-19, the toxicity of the Project Blitz brand, or some other combination of factors is hard to say. In 2020 and 2021, 24 of the bills introduced involved displays of In God We Trust in public buildings or on license plates, while 16 were largely about religious exemptions and state versions of the federal Religious Freedom R…

Obama in Copenhagen: From an Embarrassment of Riches to a New Earth Ethic

By Peter Laarman

…cy for action on climate change. In addition, the administration’s made-up number is embarrassingly modest; far more modest than the radical reduction timetable that climate-change science and the “decent opinion of mankind” (the old Jeffersonian standard) both now call for. None of this, I want to stress, is the president’s fault. The reality and reputation of the United States as an energy hog goes back centuries. Seventeenth-century European co…

Catholic Leaders Offer Criticism, Support to Boxer Pacquiao After Anti-Gay Comments…

By Peter Montgomery

…an background.” Shine writes, “Fr. Jerome Secillano, head of the Public Affairs Office for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the Leviticus quote posted on Instagram is undeniably in Scripture, and it was ‘unfair’ to criticize Pacquiao for quoting it.” Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said the boxer’s comments were shocking because they don’t reflect Christian teaching to love other people, but he expressed admiration for Pacq…

The Fretting About Whether Democrats Are “Friendly” To Religion

By Sarah Posner

…well aware that good Catholics can part company with the hierarchy on any number of issues, including abortion. Catholics represent about 23% of the American population, so they are obviously a significant voting bloc with a chunk in the middle that are crucial swing voters. But the quest to satisfy them by bending to the bishops or straining to be “friendly” to religion is not only misguided, but undemocratic. According to the Pew Religious Land…

Demonized and Demonizing No More.

By Joanna Brooks

…sm all that attractive for many people and part of the reason why that is—fairly or unfairly—is that they’ve been presented in the media as telling people what to do rather than inviting them to consider an alternative way forward. In the book, I was very mindful about saying, “This is how it has been for me. This is where I am right now.” I hope to invite people to think about their own lives, and I hope other people will step forward and offer t…

3 Reasons Catholic Bishops Are Holding Their Tongues on GOP Health Care Debacle

By Patricia Miller

…not to … preventing birth.” But, as New York Times reports, under Trump a number of anti-contraception activists have been given prominent roles in the administration. They are moving not just to finalize a rule that would allow any entity to opt-out of the contraceptive mandate for any reason, which has long been on the bishops’ wish list, but have a history of attacking contraception in general. Katy Talento, who is now a White House domestic p…

Swimming Against the Tide: Religious (Non) Affiliation Might Not Mean What You Think It Means

By Timothy King

…llowing such a line of reasoning might mean we are seeing an uptick in the number of American’s who will report a life-changing Christian experience while simultaneously being less likely to identify with any particular Christian institution. This raises questions about the complicated relationship between Americans and their willingness to affiliate with large institutions (religious and otherwise) in general. The rate of decline in affiliation f…

Trump’s “Muslim Ban” A Gift to Terrorists

By Ali Olomi

…t; spontaneous protests in support of immigrants and Muslims took place in airports across the nation, advocacy groups (successfully, so far) challenged portions of the order, while public figures like Madeleine Albright vowed to register as a Muslim. The immigration ban on refugees from Muslim-majority countries is proposed in the name of security. While many Americans continue to protest, Donald Trump’s supporters are cheering, seeing it as the…

U.S. Bishops Reject Pope Francis’ Priorities

By Patricia Miller

…OH, Bishop George Murry, won for the not terribly consequential post of chair of the Committee on Catholic Education. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput beat another Francis pick, Bridgeport, CT, Bishop Frank Caggiano, for chair of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, which is responsible for promoting the church’s teaching regarding hot-button issues like family and contraception (or the lack thereof). Msgr. J. Brian Bran…