Like Catholics, fundamentalists preach strict obedience to religious authority. Sex is prohibited outside of marriage and rarely discussed. Overlapping dynamics of silence and submission make conservative Christians a ripe target for sexual predators.

Christians who get all high and mighty about whether others say “Merry Christmas” come off as hateful jerks rather than loving soul winners. Ramping up on “Merry Christmas” may be a productive political ploy, but it’s atrocious evangelism.

Hobby Lobby, whose owners are evangelical Christians, said it began collecting a “variety of Bibles and other artifacts” several years ago with the goal of preserving them for future generations.

These folk preachers blended homespun sermon and song to offer life lessons on how to survive in a world of inequality and virulent racism.

Plenty of people feel that the Harry Potter stories contain spiritual messages, at least in a broad sense, all ready to be asserted and propagated, among grown-ups as well as children.

As part of her work, Anders documented the slow but steady advancement of women into Baptist pulpits. In 1983, she discovered that there were 14 women serving as Southern Baptist pastors. By 1993, that number had grown to 51.

Jefferson knew that religious struggles had caused “rivers of blood” to flow all over the world. He hoped Americans would be spared this carnage, and he did his best to set us on that path.

It requires great subtlety to express genuine love for one’s land, one’s people, one’s culture and, at the same time, recognize the devastation, at home and abroad, done by our hand or at least in our name.