They loved it, of course. Let’s begin, one more time, with American religious historian Grant Wacker from his biography of Billy Graham: The crucial point is that Graham continued to defend Nixon long after most Americans smelled a rat. When […]
family values
Tonight’s debate
Some thoughts on the final debate of the 2020 presidential campaign. On the format: The mute button definitely worked. Kristen Welker did a solid job as moderator. Trump was under control. He started-out very mellow: Symbolic gestures are important, especially […]
The “family values” administration can’t find the parents of 545 children
Many conservative evangelicals champion family values, but I am guessing their leaders will say nothing about this. If the court evangelicals cared about families they should be crying from the rooftops right now. They won’t because they are held captive […]
Is Donald Trump “the greatest defender of life, family, and religious liberty to take the White House in decades?
Court evangelical Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, recently tweeted: Is Trump really a president who values life? I assume that Perkins is referring to abortion here. But there is not a single baby in the womb who […]
Michelle Obama’s DNC convention speech was deeply Christian
After the first night of the Democratic National Convention I tuned into Fox News. Laura Ingraham was on the air and, as might be expected, she was trashing the convention. I stopped watching after about forty minutes of analysis from […]
Court evangelical James Dobson invokes the Civil War in a letter to followers on the November elections
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 […]
Trump Will Speak at the Value Voters Summit on Saturday
Christian Broadcasting Network has the scoop. Trump will join the following speakers at the Omni Shoreham Hotel: Gary Bauer, Bill Bennett, Sam Brownback, Sebastian Gorka, Dana Loesch, Mark Meadows, Eric Metaxas, Oliver North, Tony “Mulligan” Perkins, Dennis Prager, Steve Scalise, and […]
Where are the Court Evangelical Defenders of “Family Values” Today?
The Trump Administration separated 1000s of immigrant children from their parents. If I am reading this article correctly, the administration does not know where these kids are located. They simply failed to write down where they sent them. It will […]
Some Thoughts on James Dobson
I have been a critic of James Dobson for a long time. I hit him pretty hard in my book Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump. I am no fan of his Christian nationalism, his culture-warrior approach to public life, […]
When Did Evangelicals Start Talking About Family Values?
Over at The Anxious Bench, David Swartz of Asbury University argues that “family values” is a relatively knew idea in American evangelicalism. Here is a taste: “Turning hearts toward home”—a phrase Dr. James Dobson has repeated so often over the last four […]
Stephen Colbert on Jeff Sessions’s Use of Romans 13
There was a brief moment when I actually felt sorry for Jeff Sessions: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4KaLkYxMZ8&w=560&h=315]
We’re Right There With You Barack!
Many of us know what this is like. From The New York Times: After Malia Obama went off to Harvard University last month, her father couldn’t hold back the tears. Barack Obama described that moment on Monday in a speech for […]
The Kelly Family Speaks!
I love this: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsQaB-GSvY4&w=560&h=315] A professor was Skyping with the BBC and his kids unexpectedly entered the room. Academics and others went nuts trying to deconstruct this. Some said this was an example of patriarchy. Others thought Professor Kelly’s […]
The Author's Corner with Seth Dowland
Seth Dowland is Assistant Professor of Religion at Pacific Lutheran University. This interview is based on his new book, Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right: Politics and Culture in Modern America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015). JF: […]