Sightings Articles
Today's Amish Are Plain, Not Simple
Comments by Stephen Colbert overlook the complexity of Amish culture in the 21st century....
April 4, 2024
Leaving Evangelicalism Behind
"The Exvangelicals" is both timely and superb: It deals with the issues that will decide the 2024 elections and discusses them with sensitivity, sophistication, and bravery.
March 14, 2024
The Long Road to Iowa
Neatly dividing "political evangelicals" from "religious evangelicals" is an impossible task....
January 17, 2024
Donald Trump and the Exceptions of American Evangelicalism
Evangelicals see themselves as exceptional in both respects: as not typical of American society as it currently is governed by loathsome elites, and as surpassing that society in virtue. ...
October 13, 2023
The Prophetic and the Pragmatic in Cornel West
Using the language of prophecy and vocation to describe West’s campaign raises some interesting questions—not only about West but about what it means to be prophetic....
June 9, 2023
Banning Books; Banning Brains
Neglect of commitments to education has profound social and political implications....
March 2, 2023
Religion, Politics, and Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Fall from Grace
Hulu's new documentary about the Falwell family sheds light on entanglements of religion and politics and has important implications for the current moment....
November 11, 2022
The Great Defiance: Religious Objections and Vaccine Mandates
Vaccination defiance among healthcare workers reveals much about how many Americans think about themselves and their faith....
February 23, 2022
Extremism and Defense of Democracy
If we focus on policing acceptable political ideas via the state, we do more to undermine democracy than to secure it....
December 2, 2021
Time, Plague, and Politics at Passover
A new administration, a new pace for the news cycle, and a very old truth...