The cliché about polite conversation is that there are two things never to discuss: religion and politics. We at Sightings know better. We seek out and comment upon the events, agents, and trends in public life where issues of religion are writ large, in plain view—or are simmering under the surface.

Sightings: Reflections on Religion in Public Life, a collection of one hundred of our most memorable columns from the past twenty years, will be published on January 24, 2019, by Wm. B. Eerdmans.