The big news today was that Paul Dans, director of “Project 2025: The Presidential Transition Project,” is stepping down from his position at the Heritage Foundation, which spearheaded the project. The policy blueprint and political playbook is publicly supported by…
We can’t let political violence be used to silence concerns about rising political violence
On the flight home from our family vacation on Saturday, my phone lit up with messages about the horrific and thankfully unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at his rally in rural Pennsylvania. In the wake of that awful event,…
What, to the white American, is the 19th of June?
On July 5, 1852, the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester invited Frederick Douglass to give a speech on the 76th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which became known by its central piercing question, “What, to the American slave, is your…
Trump the totem
Last week’s historic verdict is worth rehearsing. On May 30, Donald J. Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. Twelve ordinary citizens unanimously found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in…
Leave it to the states? Five takeaways about abortion attitudes in all 50 states
PRRI, where I serve as president and founder, just released one of the largest surveys ever conducted on abortion attitudes in America. Throughout 2023, PRRI interviewed more than 22,000 adults as part of its American Values Atlas, giving us not…
Understanding America’s overlooked religious middle
In America’s religious landscape, the groups attracting the most public attention are those staking out the poles in our political divides: the shrinking, aging, but still influential group of white evangelicals on the right vs. Black Protestants and the growing…
Trump the blasphemer: During Holy Week, Trump compares himself to Jesus and hawks a white Christian nationalist Bible
For the approximately two-thirds of Americans who identify as Christian, this is Holy Week, a solemn time of participation in worship services that encourage reflection and repentance ahead of the resurrection celebrated on the holiest day on the Christian calendar, Easter…
Just the facts on abortion attitudes
In preparation for a recent appearance on The Joy Reid Show, I prepared the following talking points that might be of interest to others. NATIONAL TRENDS. Two thirds (64%) of Americans favor the legality of abortion, vs. one third…
The threat of Christian nationalism in all 50 states, illustrated in eight charts
I’m pleased to share with you insights from the largest survey of Christian nationalism ever conducted, which was released today by PRRI. The survey was fielded among a sample of more than 22,000 Americans throughout 2023. This large sample size…
IVF, CPAC and MAGA: Christian nationalism erupts to the surface
FEBRUARY 16 The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization are children. The court arrived at that decision by combining the logic of the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which…
Iowa and the zombie myth about white evangelical support for Trump
Heading into the Iowa caucuses, the Republican presidential candidate standings looked to be as frozen as the snow-covered ground. The last results from the storied Iowa Poll, conducted by J. Ann Selzer from Jan. 7 to 12, showed Donald Trump with…
Beyond ‘I Have a Dream’: Meditations on Martin Luther King Jr.’s hard words for white Christians
I rarely crosspost old columns, but this year, I’m re-upping a relevant column I penned two years ago, which contains with one plea for white Christians: If we want to honor Rev. Dr. King and think honestly about ourselves, white…