Upon meeting each other, the brothers in my esteemed fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, have a unique way of greeting and engaging that establishes and proves membership. We’ve learned interrogating to establish membership is crucial because there are a lot of…
New reports connect dots between demographic change and ‘strange political ideas’
Do you find yourself wondering why so many strange political ideas that have little public appeal are coming forth? Normally, politicians stay away from unpopular proposals. For what reasons are these ideas surfacing now? Here are examples: Mass deportation of…
Our most basic freedom — deciding one’s own religion
My most recent column was on Christian nationalism and the threat that movement poses to religious freedom. Some would say that is our most basic freedom — to make our own way through the thicket of religions that clamor for…
‘Disarming Leviathan’ sees Christian nationalists as vast mission field
In his 18 years as a pastor, Caleb Campbell has seen Christian nationalism seduce believers from the way of Christ, leading to broken relationships, causing division and departures in churches and leaving him exhausted, hurt and ready to retire. But…
Church/state mandates then and now: A tenuous freedom
Church/state mandates began early in the American colonies. On July 19, 1651, three Baptists — John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes and John Crandall — traveled from Newport, R.I., to Lynn, Mass., and the home of William Witter, who requested their visit…
Christian Zionism: the blind spot in faith-based activism against Christian nationalism
Christian nationalism in the United States seems more alive than ever. Project 2025 threatens to erode the separation of church and state, Donald Trump is hailed as a messiah following his assassination attempt, and at the state level, Ten Commandments…
Trump officially disavows Project 2025, but does he reject its vision for America?
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…
Americans United launches toolkit to help anyone talk about dangers of Project 2025
One of the more infuriating and frightening aspects of Project 2025 is the audacity of its designers to openly promote the subversion of the U.S. government and Constitution, said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and…
Black voters should be especially wary of Project 2025, speakers urge
Christian nationalism is “anti-blackness on steroids” with its attacks on voter rights, education and immigration, minister and racial justice advocate Cassandra Gould said during a webinar hosted by the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. That “unholy trinity of Christian nationalism” is…
Re-read the Constitution
As I was watching my grandson play baseball a couple of weeks back, I spotted the following on the back of an acquaintance’s T-shirt: “The Constitution does not need to be rewritten; it needs to be re-read.” I thought to…
Now there’s an effort to put a specific ‘American’ Bible in classrooms
Republican officials, partnered with the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation and the First American Bible Project, are lobbying to have editions of the Aitken Bible provided for use in public school classrooms. The initiative has been especially popular in Tennessee, but…
‘You can’t forget history you never knew’
On July 2, I was on a Zoom gathering for a discussion of the new book by Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood: Baptizing America, How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism. During the discussion, one of the authors observed that…