Inazu is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion at Washington University Law School. He is the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference. That book was published two years ago and Inazu continues to...
John Inazu, a law professor at Washington University and the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Among Deep Differences, has weighed in on Princeton Theological Seminary’s decision to rescind the Kuyper Prize from evangelical Presbyterian minister Tim Keller. Get some background...
In his March 2017 Christianity Today cover story, conservative writer Rod Dreher introduces evangelicals to “The Benedict Option.” I like Dreher’s published works. I read his book Crunchy Cons at a time in my intellectual journey when I was also...
I have been reading Washington University law professor John D. Inazu‘s challenging and refreshing book Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving through Deep Difference (University of Chicago Press, 2016). Here is a passage from the Introduction that really hit me between the eyes:...
I am looking forward to reading and possibly reviewing John Inazu‘s new book, Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference (University of Chicago Press, 2016). If Inazu’s argument in the book is anything like his recent piece with Tim Keller...
Portland, Oregon How do we live with one another despite our deepest differences? Over at The Hedgehog Review, Washington University law professor John Inazu introduces us to “confident pluralism.” He writes:Confident pluralism insists [that] our shared existence is not only possible, but...
Last week, the Senate advanced the Respect for Marriage Act. The bill legalizes (“provides statutory authority” for) same-sex and interracial marriages. Here is a summary of the bill from Congress.Gov: Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for...
Last week I did a post on evangelical theologian Wayne Grudem’s biblical defense of Donald Trump’s border wall. Here is what a couple of smart people tweeted about Grudem’s defense of the wall: I admire much of Wayne Grudem’s work....
Last week we wrote about Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber’s criticism of the religious questions posed to federal judge nominee Amy Coney Barrett by Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Today we call your attention to Eisgruber’s speech at...
Longtime readers of this blog will know that I am a big fan of John Inazu’s work, especially his book Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference. Until I read this interview at Inazu’s Substack, I did not realize...
In his 2017 book Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference, Washington University Law Professor John Inazu writes: Wellesley College, an all-women’s school, now confronts internal challenges around its growing transgender student population. Even though Wellesley admits only women,...
When it comes to the witness of the church, the Christian Right brand of politics is unsustainable. The church needs other alternatives.
John Inazu teaches law at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference (University of Chicago Press, 2016) and (with Tim Keller) Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of...
Get up to speed here. Pete Williamson is the team leader for InterVarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries at Harvard and a Harvard Chaplain. Here is a taste of his recent piece at Christianity Today: For seven years, I have worked...
Today the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the state of New York cannot limit attendance in houses of worship. Here is NPR: Gorsuch filed an unusually acerbic concurring opinion, blasting not only Governor Cuomo but also Chief...
Some say Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito got too political in his recent speech to the Federalist Society. Others say his speech merely repeated arguments he has made in formal Supreme Court decisions. Both sides of this debate are correct....
Many have asked me to weigh-in on the election. Let me begin by saying that my choice of a candidate was not difficult. Donald Trump is immoral. He is a pathological liar. He is a narcissist. He is a racist...
There are many white evangelicals out there who do not want to vote for Donald Trump, but they also refuse to vote for Joe Biden because they are worried about Supreme Court justices, abortion, and religious liberty. I know these...
R.R. Reno, the editor of First Things magazine, recently wrote a piece titled “Keep the Churches Open.” Here is the first sentence: “Cancelling church services is the wrong response to the coronavirus pandemic.” Read it here. Historian and cultural critic...
John Inazu is a professor of law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference. Here is a taste of his recent piece at The Atlantic: What is a...
Inazu teaches law at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference and the forthcoming (with Tim Keller) Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference. Here is a taste of...
Yesterday several readers sent me Andrew T. Walker‘s National Review essay, “Understanding Why Religious Conservatives Would Vote for Trump.” Walker teaches Christian Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. Walker writes in a very irenic tone as he challenges...
Here is a taste of Elana Schor’s Associated Press piece “Democrats’ challenge: Courting evangelicals in the Trump era“: President Donald Trump’s strong white evangelical support poses a challenge to Democrats: how to connect with a group of Christian voters...
Eric Metaxas has once again turned to the op-ed page of The Wall Street Journal in defense of Donald Trump. (Some of you may recall his October 12, 2016 op-ed in which he said “God will not hold us guiltless” if we...
I was on Fall Break this weekend and probably spent way too much time reading and watching the news, following the Values Voter Summit, and tweeting. With the exception of the beautiful central Pennsylvania weather, I leave the weekend pretty...
Here is a taste of the Wheaton College professor’s recent post at Christianity Today: I’m concerned with the clear and complete disregard around religious liberty. This term was used a few times, often with the phrase “so called” tacked on. Candidates would...
Beto O’Rourke went to high school at Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. He graduated from the boarding school in 1991. Woodberry Forest is an all-boys school. Like most schools, colleges, and universities, it is a non-profit organization with tax-exempt status....
Here is Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke on CNN last night: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR02Kf4wS_0&w=560&h=315] Every Democratic candidate for President of the United States should be asked this question. I have always appreciated Beto’s sense of conviction, but I hope he rethinks...
Universities like Duke claim to be bastions of free speech, inclusion, and pluralism, but they tend to define these commitments very narrowly. For example, the student government at Duke recently rejected Young Life‘s official status on campus because the Christian...
Court evangelical and fear-monger Franklin Graham obviously has the reigns at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). The editors of Decision, the official magazine of the BGEA, recent published an article titled “How the White House has Strengthened Religious Liberty.” Here is...
The administration of the University of Iowa does not want a Christian student group called Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC) on campus because they do not permit LGBT students to hold leadership positions. After de-registering BLinC as an official student...
At the State Department’s recent “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions claimed that there is a “dangerous movement, undetected by many” that is “challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom.” This “dangerous movement,” Sessions added,...
As some of you know, I spent the last couple of days in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Canadian Society of Church History (CSCH) invited me to deliver the keynote address at its annual conference. (Thanks for everything Stuart Barnard!). The collegial...
Over at First Things, church historian Carl Trueman argues that Christian colleges need to prepare financially for a bleak future in a post-Christian age. He writes: The specific point of conflict is likely to be (once again) Title IX legislation that...
It is a disaster for all the reasons Chris Gehrz makes clear in his post today at The Pietist Schoolman. (I should add the title of this post is mine). The so-called “Nashville Statement” is indeed “theology for the...
Alternative title for this post: “The heroes of Rod’s book are almost all monks.” David Brooks has reviewed Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option. Here is a taste: Rod is pre-emptively surrendering when in fact some practical accommodation is entirely possible....
Are American Christians being persecuted for their faith? I am not sure persecution is the right word. No one is coming into the homes of Christians with weapons threatening to kill them if they do not publicly denounce their faith....
Christianity Today’s website has published a statement, signed by Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders, opposing a bill sitting before the California State Senate that will essentially punish religious colleges that uphold traditional views of human sexuality. Here is the statement,...
Evangelicals should stop trying to legislate morality for the nation and tend to their own house
The courts may be on the side opening churches, but Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian and director of the National Institutes of Health, does not think it is a good idea. Here is NPR: With COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths at […]
Read the entire letter here. Let’s break it down: Dobson: As I write this newsletter, voters across this nation are only a few short months away from the next general election. What an ominous time this is for our 244-year-old...
Not all Christian colleges are the same. Some of you may recall a post in which I compared Messiah University to Liberty University. If you have a child considering a faith-based college I encourage you to read that post. Liberty...
Sarah Pulliam Bailey’s recent story at The Washington Post adds to what I posted about earlier this week (here and here). Here are some new things we learn from her piece: Mohler’s son-in-law is a Trump appointee in the State Department....
As I wrote about yesterday, Franklin Graham’s organization Samaritan’s Purse has built a field hospital in Central Park to service coronavirus patients. Not everyone is happy about it. For example, Brad Hoylman, a New York state senator representing Manhattan, wants...
Here is a taste of my recently published piece at Religion News Service: Do the current Democratic candidates for president have any chance of winning evangelicals in November 2020? Probably not. Of the candidates left in the Democratic primary race,...
Last week we introduced readers to the Fairness for All Act. Over at The Anxious Bench blog, historian Chris Gehrz has published his interview with Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). The CCCU is...
As some of you have heard, Taylor University, an evangelical Christian college in Upland, Indiana, has invited Mike Pence to be its 2019 commencement speaker. Not everyone is happy about Taylor’s decision. Taylor alumni have started a Change.org petition claiming that...
See my November 7, 2016 piece, “Here’s what Hillary Clinton has to do to win over Evangelicals.” Here it is: What would it take for the majority of white evangelical Christians to vote for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday or, should...
He penned an op-ed for Religion News Service. I think this may be one of those primary source documents that will soon be assigned in American religious history courses. It also may be another reason why some of us will...
