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#VanillaISIS, White Tears and the Adventures of Captain Moroni

By Megan Goodwin

…slim Americans expect Muslims to look a certain way (i.e. Brown), and what American politicians and news pundits call a “complaint” when white Mormons do it becomes “terrorism” for racial and religious minorities. The hashtags #YallQaeda, #VanillaISIS and the rest have proliferated on Twitter to criticize the bland characterization of an armed occupation of a federal building as a “peaceful protest.” But these hashtags should give us pause for two…

ABC’s Hit Sitcom Black-ish Does God, Pushes Theological Respectability

By Anthony B. Pinn

…be black enough for black-ish‘s father of the house. Assuming all African Americans believe because they are African Americans flies in the face of a growing trend, tracked by pollsters. The Nones, or unaffiliated, represent a growing percentage of the US population. And African Americans represent an important demographic within this growth. Keep in mind, too, that the number of African Americans falling into this category has almost doubled ove…

Elizabeth Warren, American Evangelist

By Peter Laarman

…use they are committed to spreading the Good News—the Gospel—euangelion in New Testament Greek. American Evangelical Christianity is a religious phenomenon. But small-e evangelism is more of an unconfined quiddity, a way of operating or performing in public that “works” in a cultural way among Americans who aren’t especially interested in religion per se. For example, it would be entirely accurate to say that the notorious Robert G. Ingersoll, oft…

Why Did So Many Black Women Die? Jonestown at 35

By Sikivu Hutchinson

…on for its radical views. About 75% of Peoples Temple members were African American, 20% were white and 5% were Asian, Latino and Native American. The majority of its black members were women, while its core leadership was predominantly white. As per the cultural cliché, black women like Thrash were “the backbone” of Peoples Temple, the primary victims of Jonestown, and the population with the deepest investment in the philosophy, ethos and missio…

Omar Ahmad: Muslim, American, Cowboy Boot Aficionado (1965–2011)

By Wajahat Ali

…and from there, to the mayor’s office. In that position, he did what every American mayor does, he fought with the Firemen’s Union. In all his activities, he remained committed to his faith. He helped nurture and train Muslim-American leadership. He was a behind-the-scenes mover, who used his vast entrepreneurial experience to make sure the next generation would be able to build real, lasting community relationships with our neighbors. We admired…

Gingrich’s Anti-Secularism Greatest Hits

By Sarah Posner

…age.” It was at these meetings that the idea for Gingrich’s organization Renewing American Leadership was hatched. When Barton, who serves on ReAL’s board, appeared on Glenn Beck’s program last year, the organization boasted that “David’s appearance builds on the mission of ReAL. We work to protect our God-given freedoms in Washington, D.C. and around the country. Educating Americans is critical to preserving those freedoms and spreading the truth…

#TakeAKnee: Race and Religious Violence at the Heart of Trump Attacks on Kaepernick/NFL

By Benjamin E. Zeller

…heologian Jon Pahl argued in Empire of Sacrifice: The Religious Origins of American Violence that American history and society is marked by especially high degrees of both religion and violence. He finds “identifiably religious” patterns in this violence, particularly “systematic exclusions, prejudices, or biases—that is, ritualized incantations or performances—that substitute violence against scapegoats or victims for actual solutions to social p…

Christian Right Denialism is More Dangerous Than Ever: A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation

By Frederick Clarkson and André Gagné

…e some of their leaders “apostles,” the report emphasizes that, “since the New Testament does not provide guidance for the appointment of future apostles, such contemporary offices are not essential to the health and growth of the church, nor its apostolic nature.” Honorifics Too often, major Apostles and Prophets of the NAR are misidentified in news stories and magazine articles as pastors or evangelists. While they may be those things as well, t…

Beyond Alarmism and Denial in the Dominionism Debate

By Anthea Butler

…tion movement. It also bears saying that none of what Wagner has touted as new, is new; rather, it is the recapitulation of old Pentecostal teachings—and actually heresy to some Pentecostals (like the Latter Rain and Shepherding movements). The NAR was “created” by Wagner after leaving Fuller. Wagner believes that the offices of apostles and prophets are still given by God for today, and they are not just for the church, but for the world. Some ap…

New Atheism Produces Another Curiously Uncurious Science v. Religion Book

By Michael Schulson

…to historical grievances and social power. It also helped shape the modern American creationist movement, which Coyne mistakenly portrays as the cause of the Scopes Trial, rather than a product of its outcome. I’ve written about this Scopes history before, but it’s not exactly new; the scholar Edward Larson, some of whose other research Coyne cites, wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the topic in 1997. Details, details: Coyne will have none of…