Increased stratification and declining social mobility. A crisis of expertise. The rise of “populist” leaders. Heightened tensions around “identity politics.” Growing affective polarization. Political dealignments and realignments. These are not separate phenomena, they’re fronts in a broader struggle over which communities, stakeholders, lines of work, lifestyles and cultures are valued in contemporary society – and… Continue reading Book Announcement: Those People
Tag: Christianity
On Christian Nationalism and the ‘Religious Right’
In recent years, there has been growing scholarly and media focus on Christian nationalism. Google nGrams, a search engine that tracks word frequencies in books, show that the contemporary resurgence of interest in Christian nationalism seems to correspond with the 2016 election cycle. A search on Google Scholar produces roughly 7,000 results for scholarly works… Continue reading On Christian Nationalism and the ‘Religious Right’
A Post-Religious America? I Wouldn’t Count on It.
In a recent essay for Interfaith America, I explored how Americans seem to be losing faith in organized religion. Looking at the overall U.S. trends in recent decades, the picture can indeed seem dire. For instance, this chart shows the share of Americans who are affiliated with a church, synagogue or mosque – a figure… Continue reading A Post-Religious America? I Wouldn’t Count on It.
African Americans Seem to be Losing Faith in Organized Religion… and the Democratic Party
Throughout the Qur’an, God charges people of faith “not just to be nice and avoid doing wrong in their personal lives, but instead, to support the good and prohibit or resist that which is incompatible with al-sharia (the Path). This mandate, which is repeated over and over again throughout the Qur’an (e.g. 3:110 & 114, 7:157, 9:71 & 112, 31:17), has two… Continue reading African Americans Seem to be Losing Faith in Organized Religion… and the Democratic Party
On the ‘Great Awokening’ and Racial Realities
Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new?’ Already it has existed for ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also, of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who come later still.” Ecclesiastes 1: 10-11… Continue reading On the ‘Great Awokening’ and Racial Realities
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
American liberals often charge that Christians seem unusually preoccupied (even obsessed) with sex and sexuality, and have a bunch of strange hang-ups about marriage and family structure. Conservatives, meanwhile, argue that the “traditional family” lies at the core of Western Civilization, and that weakening foundational norms around sex, marriage, and child-rearing would likely have destabilizing… Continue reading The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
Religion and Politics in the Age of Trump
In a previous essay I demonstrated that Democrats have been consistently losing ground with both people of color and people of faith in virtually every midterm and general election cycle after 2008. Republicans, meanwhile, have seen consistent gains with many constituencies. What occurred in 2016, therefore, was not an aberration – but the culmination of… Continue reading Religion and Politics in the Age of Trump