Politics & Society
Who is sacrificed, and who benefits?
Approaching Holy Week in the wake of a half million COVID-19 deaths
Henry Louis Gates celebrates the Black church through history and stories
The companion book to the PBS series is accessible, comprehensive, and joyful.
I want to talk to Thomas Merton about race
Merton has been my spiritual companion, but as a Black woman, I have questions for him.
How the dream of a Judeo-Christian America shaped the culture wars
Healan Gaston excavates a label that has both divided and united us.
Is there an American caste system?
Caste is more complex than Isabel Wilkerson suggests. But she excels at forcing open our eyes to the horrific realities of racism.
What the US has wrought in Yemen
Biden’s announcement of the end of American involvement is refreshingly clear and straightforward—assuming it pans out.
Will all American cities soon look like Houston?
Its residents are the most diverse in the US. For decades, sociologist Stephen Klineberg has tracked their views.
Politics, the pulpit, and my pastoral calling
It’s not easy to avoid the perception of a political motive.
The 2017 tax law is getting even worse
The law’s assistance to lower-income Americans was modest—and temporary.
Live not by a false sense of persecution
Rod Dreher’s Live Not By Lies is a damning testament to a religion without vision.
Naming my African American ancestors to keep them alive
Their presence brings strength to those still fighting and grieving.
What do fertility rates have to do with secularization?
A lot, says Philip Jenkins—but it’s not as simple as cause and effect.
Beloved Everybody, an ability-inclusive church that embodies the beloved community
At this church, people with and without disabilities both worship and lead.
The federal death penalty and the Trump administration’s last-minute killing spree
The first federal execution in 17 years took place last summer. Twelve more followed.
Rebuilding refugee resettlement to make it better than it was under Trump—or Obama
“The last four years were incredibly hard. But we also know that the system was not perfect four years ago.”
The crumbling myth of American exceptionalism
To believe that moral values and virtuous leadership are self-enforcing is to fool ourselves.
Why The Crown is so fascinating to a world in perpetual crisis
As the series drifts, it mimics the drift of the monarchy itself—and of other institutions.
In Eugene, civilian response workers are dispatched to nonviolent crises
CAHOOTS is providing a model for rethinking public safety.
A history of the Pilgrims that neither idolizes nor demonizes them
Historian John Turner tells the story of Plymouth Colony with nuance and care.