Sightings Articles
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and American Civil Religion
Civil religion in America...
January 21, 2019
Taking a Knee as Critical Civil Religion
What happens when we compare Colin Kaepernick to Tim Tebow? Here we have two professional football players “taking a knee” not for a coach’s huddle but to express personal convictions outside the boundaries of their sport. I understand how much th...
January 5, 2017
Redefining the American Civil Religion
Editor's note. This is the third in a series of essays on the Trump phenomenon—or "Trumpism," if such a thing can be defined—and what it reveals about the relationship between religion and politics in America today. Be sure to check out the previous ...
October 6, 2016
Refusing to Stand: Can America's Civil Religion Tolerate Dissent?
49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the national anthem...
September 22, 2016
To Pray or Not to Pray? Civil Religion and the 9/11 Memorial Service by Rick Elgendy
Last weekend, as the nation marked the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, our collective media gaze focused on lower Manhattan, where the memorial service and dedication led by Mayor Michael Bloomberg had already provoked controversy. Tho...