Sightings Articles
Civil Religion as a Gateway to Christian Nationalism
The inclusion of “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was a sectarian move whose exclusionary effects are increasingly evident in today's religious landscape....
June 20, 2024
Ukraine: Religion In Plain Sight?
When gods and kings are too closely aligned, religion becomes an engine of discord and war....
March 24, 2022
America the Imperfect, America the Beautiful
A veteran's reflection on the meaning of Memorial Day...
May 31, 2021
In What Do We Trust?
Reflecting on what holds us together as a society that embodies justice...
June 22, 2020
Commencement 2020: Let the Adulting Begin
What do this year's graduation ceremonies, hallmark rituals of American civil religion, reveal about the state of our collective soul?...
May 21, 2020
Who—or What—is Above the Law?
The presence and absence of religion in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump...
January 23, 2020
Christmas Movies and the Religious Dimensions of Story Structure
Can religion help settle the debate about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie?...
December 2, 2019
What to the Immigrant is Veterans Day?
John Sianghio reflects on the complicated nature of American identity for immigrants today...
November 14, 2019
The Blinding Idol
Daniel Owings discusses the shortcomings of idolatry imagery for understanding Donald Trump...
October 17, 2019
Festivals of Forgetting
Perhaps more than other years, this July in the United States has been filled with festivals. President Trump’s excessive “Salute to America” was filled with jets, armored vehicles, marches, and a Presidential speech. Many have also enjoyed the mont...
July 22, 2019