America has a problem. That’s not news to anyone. But it bears repeating again and again until we, as a nation, awaken from our collective slumber and decide to do something to fix it. A week ago Sunday morning, Americans…
‘Radical new arrangements’: On conservative Christian radicalization in the U.S.
After a year of researching the matter rather deeply — including listening to conservative scholars, activists and politicians — it has become completely clear to me that a significant chunk of conservative Christians in the United States has moved from…
Christianity: Where the end justifies the means
It is hard not to argue that conservative Christians led the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade — whether they be evangelicals, Roman Catholics, Mormons or Eastern Orthodox. Since the rise of the Moral Majority, Paul Weyrich, the Christian Coalition…
Secular revolutions and religious counterrevolutions
In 2015, highly esteemed Princeton political philosopher Michael Walzer published The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions. The title itself immediately arrested me, as it crystallized a current intuition of mine. I believe the United States and several…
Why I’m a pro-choice Christian and believe you should be too
The Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a leaked first draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito. As an early draft, this opinion is not an official decision from the court, and abortion remains…
How transactional faith led evangelicals to embrace transactional politics
In an excellent Nov. 13 Washington Post column about how white evangelicals have whored themselves to support the most immoral president of our lifetime, Michael Gerson hit upon a word that jumped off the screen at me: “transactional.” He wrote:…
Faith leaders make a case for Trump to the delight of some and dismay of others
“I’m done with Michael W. Smith.” That sentiment has been expressed widely this week on social media by Christians who have loved the veteran Christian singer-songwriter’s music but now find themselves disaffected by his apparent politics. For public figures —…
BNG webinar to feature Mark Galli, former editor of Christianity Today
Mark Galli, former editor in chief of Christianity Today, will be the next speaker in BNG’s webinar series, “Conversations That Matter.” The first webinar, offered Sept. 14, featured a panel of mental health experts talking about how to maintain good…
Pivotal religious freedom case scheduled for day after election
As if a high-stakes presidential election isn’t enough for the first week of November, the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 4 will take up a case that goes to the heart of the culture wars fought by the Religious Right…