The issue of abortion is more important to Democrats than it is for Republicans when choosing political candidates heading into the 2024 election, according to a study by Public Religion Research Institute. The PRRI-Brookings Institution survey of 2,500 U.S. adults…
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…
‘What the hell is wrong with these people?’: An Advent message on Christian white nationalism and the end of America
You may have seen Atlantic Monthly writer Tim Alberta on air talking about why he wrote his new bestseller, The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory, one of a trio of extraordinary books out this fall warning about white supremacy…
Most Americans believe democracy is at risk in 2024 — but for different reasons
Election-related pessimism, paranoia and predictions of political violence are among the key findings of the 14th annual American Values survey, author and pollster Robert P. Jones said. “One of the things we’re finding is that the political temperature in America…
‘Genesis stories are never accidental’: A conversation with Robert P. Jones
Last week, I welcomed Robert P. Jones back to Baylor University for a conversation about race, religion, James Baldwin and American democracy. Jones was a keynote speaker for our first Baylor conference on racism in the church in 2021, and…
The inertia of history
Inertia. Think back to high school, maybe physics class. Yes, that inertia: “a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force.” History certainly…
In biblical truth-telling, we need to mind the gap between clergy and laity
It doesn’t surprise me that new research shows white mainline Protestant clergy are more supportive of LGBTQ rights, abortion rights and racial justice than their congregations. I’ve been there, done that and have the scars to prove it. From my…
Retired pastor’s book finds Methodist history ‘strangely lukewarm’ on confronting racism
If United Methodists are to fulfill the church’s current mission to dismantle racism, then its white members must come to terms with the denomination’s racist history, contends author John Elford. Elford’s conviction spurred him to write Our Hearts Were Strangely…
American belief in fixed binary gender is growing
The percentage of Americans who believe only two fixed genders exist is steadily increasing, and more than a quarter claim young people are being coerced into being transgender, according to new polling data from Public Religion Research Institute. Faced with…