Politics & Society
The strengths and limitations of Saul Alinsky’s approach
Mark Santow’s intellectual biography of the influential organizer explores how his Chicago coalitions wrestled with the challenges of race.
Palestinian and Christian in a violent time
“What does it mean to be church amid these very harsh circumstances?” asks Bethlehem pastor Munther Isaac.
Faith at the expense of freedom
Catholic integralism is not fascism. But the two have often made common cause.
Kamala Harris’s interfaith identity could help her win the election
Engaging openly with her Christian, Hindu, and Jewish traditions also models a healthy way to build coalitions for social justice.
The gender phantasm
Judith Butler seeks to understand how and why the word gender has taken on such apocalyptic proportions, including among Christians.
The humanity of human smugglers
Anthropologist Jason De León charts the desperation, grief, and friendships of the Central American guías who bring migrants across borders.
The deluge and after
This spring, I was new to the Midwest—and the cataclysm of a biblical flood was not on my agenda.
Can we build our own future?
Elon Musk’s techno-optimism needs something to temper it. Maybe the dimmer outlook of a companion named Hobbes.
Empathy for the demagogue
On July 13, Trump’s human vulnerability was palpable. The threat he poses to democracy remained as real as ever.
The shared root of antisemitism and White supremacy
Historian Magda Teter identifies an endemic rot at the center of Christianity.
How roads hurt animals
Ben Goldfarb’s book on road ecology has expanded my understanding of what makes a livable city—and world.
A church politics of nondomination
Liberal Anglicans and Methodists often face a tension between LGBTQ inclusion and anti-colonialism. But we don’t have to choose.
Self-evident truths?
What may have been obvious to Thomas Jefferson was probably not obvious to those he enslaved.
Jerry Falwell’s toxic legacy
Keri Ladner digs into the Moral Majority founder’s archives to show how his fantastical interpretations of world politics seeded the ground for QAnon.
What happened to US politics?
John Ganz explores the gritty political and cultural trends that erupted in the early 1990s and set the stage for the present.
What is the rainbow in Genesis a reminder of?
This year during Pride month, God seems to have a lot of rainbow defenders online. But they aren’t getting the Bible story quite right.
What does ‘Christian nationalism’ even mean?
Could it really be all the different things people say it is?
Facing a world on fire
The contemplative life is about getting closer to reality, not retreating from it.
The post-Catholic Joyce
Filtered through my deconstructed Catholic faith, Ulysses holds up surprisingly well.
Twin threats to democracy
Patricia Ventura and Edward Chan interrogate the ongoing enabling relationship between White supremacy and neoliberalism.