In a recent column, I explored the unusual friendship between Jonathan Rauch, a gay Jewish atheist, and a circle of evangelical heavyweights like Russell Moore and the late Tim Keller. Rauch, a leading public intellectual, drew sustenance and inspiration from…
Can an atheist save the American church?
David Brooks once remarked that, when he let it be known he considered himself a religious seeker, he was bombarded with helpful books. He received more than 700 unsolicited volumes from evangelical readers, he says, “and only 500 of them…
Here’s who’s behind the war on empathy
When Donald Trump made his triumphal return to the White House, Joe Rigney could hardly contain his excitement. “The polls show that a significant majority of Americans favor the president’s goal,” the Baptist scholar noted, “but will we have the…
Burning down the church
Just prior to the 2008 presidential election, 52% of American adults attended worship. As the 2024 election approached, only 31% of the white American population was regularly in church, a decline of 21 percentage points. In 2008, 68% of 18-…
Two versions of Christianity cross swords at the National Cathedral
On Jan.21, President Donald Trump and a thousand invited guests filed into Washington’s National Cathedral to take part in “A Service of Prayer for the Nation.” The lengthy service (it clocked in at two hours and 18 minutes) featured Scripture…
The fear driving Trump’s grift
Shortly after the 2024 presidential election, I dreamed a dream. I was on a sidewalk in what appeared to be a seedy part of town. Weeds were pushing through sidewalk cracks. Volunteer bushes were brushing up against the gigantic wall…
How Richard Hays changed his mind
In 1996, New Testament scholar Richard Hays wrote his most influential book, The Moral Vision of the New Testament. Christianity Today placed The Moral Vision on its list of the 100 most important books of the 20th century. American evangelicals…
How will Trump’s victory influence the Israel-Gaza conflict?
Kamala Harris mainly evaded the Israeli-Gaza conflict during her presidential campaign, largely because anything she said would invite harsh criticism from one segment of the diverse Democratic coalition. Now that Donald Trump is headed back to the Oval Office, how…
Voters must choose between two religious visions
The 2024 presidential election is a head-scratcher. Donald Trump is intentionally violating every canon of American political etiquette. His interminable campaign speeches are aimed at no one outside the MAGA base. Outside of a few washed-up celebrities like Kid Rock…
One nation under God: How liberal religion dominated mid-century America
In the decade following the Second World War, the United States experienced an unprecedented religious revival. In 1958, more than 50% of Americans claimed to have attended a worship service in the previous week. By every conventional measure, the nation…
A hundred years after the Scopes trial, not much has changed
If you haven’t heard about the 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton, Tenn., that is about to change. We are rapidly approaching the centennial of that messy affair, and books and articles on the subject already are starting to appear. Any…
A week at Chautauqua has me pondering the future of the Protestant Mainline
I was fussing over a jigsaw puzzle when somebody turned on the Biden-Trump debate. As the combatants droned on in the background, my attention remained firmly fixed on the task before me. It was all birds and foliage. A thousand…