Sightings
Reporting and commenting on the role of religion in public life.
Measuring the Apocalypse
Where we will and won't find meaning in this global pandemic
A Normalized Sense of Hopelessness
By Cynthia G. LindnerMaking America Great at the Expense of Her Soul
July 23, 2020
Stop Asking What the Bible Means to the President
By Seth PerryA historian of the bible in America reflects on what Trump’s recent photo-op in front of St. John’s Church does (and doesn’t) mean
June 8, 2020
Hate and Its Elusion
By Matthew CreightonLessons learned (and lessons needed) about anti-Semitism in the time of COVID-19
July 9, 2020
Recent Columns
A Summer Correspondence
By Richard A. RosengartenThis August a dormitory at Loyola University in Maryland that had been named in honor of the American short story writer and novelist Flannery O’Conno...
September 21, 2020
The Donation Dilemma
By Nada MoumtazOn 6:08 pm on August 4, 2020, a near-nuclear explosion blasted through my hometown of Beirut. In a split second, 300,000 people found themselves homel...
September 17, 2020
Imagining History without Heroes and Villains
By Russell P. Johnson“Against every law of society and nature,” President Trump said in a recent speech at Mount Rushmore, “our children are taught in school to hate their...
September 14, 2020
The Creedal Orthodoxy of the RNC platform
By Bradley HansenThe Republican National Committee recently opted not to release a new platform this year, but instead re-released their 2016 platform with an unwaveri...
September 10, 2020
Labor Sunday
By Janine Giordano DrakeImagine a trade union movement with so many active members that its “Labor Day” parades and celebrations shut down New York City for a day in 1882. Im...
September 7, 2020
King Cotton
By William B. LawrenceAmong his recent initiatives as a first-term member of the United States Senate, Tom Cotton has recently gained some attention for his efforts to cont...
September 3, 2020
Summer Hiatus
By The EditorDear Readers, Per tradition, Sightings will be closing up shop for the month of August—a chance for us to gear up for another year of insightful rep...
July 30, 2020
Moral Reckoning Under a Mushroom Cloud
By William GeorgeOn the morning of August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan. Nagasaki was similarly bombed three days later. T...
July 27, 2020
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Browse by Associated TagsSighting Religion in the Public Square
Through the eyes, ears, and keyboards of a diverse group of writers, Sightings displays a kaleidoscope of religious activity: a reflection of how religious currents are shaping and being shaped in the world.