Vann Newkirk II is senior editor of The Atlantic and one of our most thoughtful and talented writers on race, politics and culture. I first met him years ago when Baylor University sponsored an annual film program on race and…
Evangelical university president seeks to raise money by casting blame on transgender people
The president of Trinity International University this week sent out a fundraising letter complaining about cultural acceptance of transgender people and linking this acceptance to the recent mass shooting that left six people dead in Nashville, Tenn. Some alumni of…
Guys, guns and gods
I am an unabashed 1980s baby. My childhood was blessed with He-Man, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and the then-wrestlers from the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation. I grew up memorizing movie lines and moves by…
Amid quantum leaps of change, we’re experiencing enlightenment despair
For the past several decades, our world has experienced quantum leaps of change on its perspective of itself and the universe in greater degrees than ever before in human history, and we are reacting with whiplash anxiety. The new James…
I vote for a bit of normal
Four recent events in my life maybe converge to a theme: After six apocalyptic years, I want some normal. First event: I am walking around Zurich, Switzerland, in September. From what I have learned about Switzerland, I am confident this…
Drag queens reading books to children are not the problem
Seriously, Christian folks have got to lighten up about Drag Queen Story Hour. We have an epidemic of predatory pastors, but, yeah, let’s worry about drag queens reading books to children at the local library. Drag is a performance, part…
50 years later, I’m still embarrassed to admit what a stranger at church taught me about being welcome
I’ve been interested in Mary Magdalene lately for some unknown reason. Hers is a fascinating story, and to be honest, everything we know about her would barely fill a small paragraph. Here it is: Mary Magdalene was a Jewish woman…
The ABCs of LGBTQ
This is the second in a series of articles. Life seemed simpler when we didn’t know so much. The problem is, no matter how much we learn there is always so much more to know. Every solution seems to reveal…
Ryan Burge has some important things to say about white evangelicals, partisan politics and the future
If you’re interested in fascinating yet random facts and trends about American religion and culture, follow Ryan Burge (@ryanburge) on Twitter. Burge, who is an American Baptist pastor and a professor at Eastern Illinois University, loves to make graphs. And…