In his new book, It’s Debatable, Robert Jensen gives us tools to keep talking to each other–not past each other.
culture wars
FIRST THINGS magazine asks: “Is the Republican Party becoming pro-choice?”
We just got done watching J.D. Vance and GOP chair Michael Whatley tell members of Ralph Reed’s Faith & Freedom Coalition that the GOP is still the party of the Christian Right. As we have now noted several times here, […]
A Benedictine College philosophy professor on Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech
Benedictine philosophy professor Jim Madden has taught at Benedictine College for more than two decades. Here is a taste of his “On the Pleasures of Outrage“: I don’t want to make this conversation about my family, but a bit of […]
The Author’s Corner with Anthony G. Roeber
Anthony G. Roeber is Professor of Church History at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. This interview is based on his new book, Orthodox Christians and the Rights Revolution in America (Fordham University Press, 2024). JF: What led you to write Orthodox […]
Os Guinness keeps pushing his faulty American Revolution vs. French Revolution thesis
Watch Christian commentator and author Os Guinness at the Family Research Council’s “Pray Vote Stand Summit”: Guinness sounds like an old Federalist–a defender of order. He, of course, is free to take such a position. But his view of the […]
Eric Metaxas prepares pastors for a holy war
Metaxas spoke last night at Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Faith event and issued a call for pastors to engage in a holy war: I am reminded of Russel Moore’s recent piece at Christianity Today: “Culture War is Not Spiritual Warfare.”
Finding common ground with book banners
There’s not much common ground to be had, but I appreciate writer Garret Keizer’s piece today at The New York Times. A taste: More than half a century has passed since I graduated from high school, an eon in digital […]
Growing Up Absurd and patriotism
This is part II of a three-part series of reflections on Paul Goodman’s 1960 bestseller Growing Up Absurd. If you have missed part I, you can read it here. A chief argument of Growing Up Absurd is that the United […]
Climate change as a culture war issue
Sadly, the debate over climate change has become just another issue in our ongoing culture wars. Meanwhile, the earth is getting hotter. Here is Paul Krugman at The New York Times: Understanding climate denial used to seem easy: It was […]
Liberty University: New president, same old stuff
On July 1, 2023 Dondi E. Costin took the helm of Liberty University. We will see if he brings any changes to Liberty’s culture war stance, but if this Steve Bannon-Dave Brat conversation is any indication I am not optimistic […]
What is going on in the Texas State Historical Association?
If you examine its website, the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) looks like any other state historical society. It is led by historians with Ph.Ds from reputable institutions. President Nancy Baker Jones is an accomplished public historian with a Ph.D […]
Conservative culture warriors love Antonio Gramsci
For several years now conservatives, and especially the Christian Right, have been warning their followers about the influence of “cultural Marxism.” One of their favorite bogeymen is Mussolini-era Italian communist Antonio Gramsci. Here, for example, is Christian right purveyor of […]
Keep Sean Feucht away from the Asbury University revival
The MAGA worship leader and failed congressional candidate has commented on what is going on in Wilmore, Kentucky: I would encourage everyone to understand the above tweet in the context of the Feucht tweets that surround it on the platform. […]
Some evangelicals will be tempted to support Trump in 2024 if it means striking a blow to the LGBTQ community
When Donald Trump was president he said very little about gay marriage and other LGBTQ issues. But when he did speak about the LGBTQ community it was usually positive. In April 2016, The New York Times published a piece by […]
Mean evangelicals
Here is Kelsey Dallas at Deseret News: As a prominent religion scholar and practicing Christian, Richard Mouw is often asked to explain people of faith’s behavior in the public square. More specifically, he is asked why his fellow evangelicals seem […]
The battle for our public schools
Hannah Natanson, Clara Ence Morse, Anu Narayanswamy and Christina Brause explore 64 laws passed in the last three academic years that are “reshaping what students can learn and do in school.” Read the piece at The Washington Post. Here are a few of […]
Metaxas: “God has called me to fight to the death for what is true and right”
Back in April 2021, I wrote a piece at Current titled, “The Education of an Evangelical Insurrectionist.” It told the story of Tyler Ethridge, a graduate of Charis Bible College who entered the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 […]
“Capture the schools”
University of Pennsylvania education historian Jonathan Zimmerman reflects on the wars over history in schools. A taste: Last year, former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon likewise called on right-wing Americans to capture the schools. “The path to save the nation is […]
When evangelical pastors radicalize
More on how Trumpism has found its way into evangelical churches. I have heard multiple stories similar to the ones Tess Owen tells in this piece at Vice News. Here is a taste: Pastor Ron Tucker took the stage one […]
Universities and the culture wars
Wesleyan University president Michael Roth‘s answer to the “culture war” is “culture peace.” Here is a taste of his piece today at Insider Higher Ed: We have often looked to schools and universities as places where inquiry and debate can […]