Notice the word “almost” in the title. As most readers of this blog know, I am not a Josh Hawley fan. In fact, the guy usually makes my skin crawl. But the other day I actually found myself, at least...
gender
The Author’s Corner with Nik Ribianszky
Nik Ribianszky is Lecturer of American History at Queen’s University Belfast. This interview is based on her new book, Generations of Freedom: Gender, Movement, and Violence in Natchez, 1779-1865 (University of Georgia Press, 2021). JF: What led you to write Generations...
A critique of “Jesus and John Wayne”
If social media is any indication, everyone loves Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s book Jesus and John Wayne. The praise is merited. It’s a strong book that says things about the recent history of American evangelicalism that should have been said...
What happened at the end of this prayer before Congress?
I have no idea what Rep. Emanuel Cleaver was doing at the end of this prayer. It appears to be political correctness run amok: The word “Amen” means “so be it.” “Awoman” is not a word. Cleaver, however, must have...
Women: Don’t worry about it, Trump will get your husbands back to work and preserve your domestic suburban lifestyle
When I talk about my book Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, I often discuss the meaning of the phrase “Make America Great Again.” If Trump can tell me when America was “great,” I can enter the conversation...
Muscular Jesus and His Tough-Guy Followers
Rodney Howard-Browne is the co-founder (with his wife Adonica) of Revival Ministries International, a Tampa-based Christian organization committed to revivals of “signs and wonders and miracles.” He is a court evangelical who includes his meeting with Donald Trump as an...
“The boys mostly like Trump”
This is a really interesting article on how 18-year-olds in the Scranton, Pennsylvania area are thinking about the 2020 election. Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Julia Terruso explores some of the gender differences among first-time voters in this important swing state. Here...
Pro-Trump Evangelical: “When you look at the women who were literally scratching the doors of the Supreme Court building and pounding the doors, it was like someone having a tantrum when they couldn’t get their way…”
Michael Brown, a pro-Trump radio pundit, recently appeared on court evangelical Steven Strang‘s podcast and talked about the attempts to impeach Donald Trump . The title of the podcast is “Are Demonic Spirits Influencing the Trump Impeachment Process.” (I am...
Kate Bowler on Evangelical Women Celebrities
Duke Divinity School’s Kate Bowler keeps churning out books. Her latest is The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities. Over at Christianity Today, Liberty University’s Karen Swallow Prior interviews Bowler about her new book. Here is a taste: Despite...
The Author’s Corner With Kelly Ryan
Kelly A. Ryan is Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Professor of History at Indiana University-Southeast. This interview is based on her new book Everyday Crimes: Social Violence and Civil Rights in Early America (New York University Press, 2019). JF:...
Beware of Social Justice Warriors and Women Preachers
The anti-social justice warriors and complementarians are at it again. Here is Religion News Service: (RNS) — A video posted by Founders Ministries, a neo-Calvinist evangelical group, paints Bible teacher Beth Moore, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore, a former president of...
Did Men Invent “Likability?”
Check out historian Claire Potter‘s piece at The New York Times: “Men Invented ‘Likability.’ Guess Who Benefits.” She reflects on the origins of the idea of “likability” advertising culture and, eventually presidential politics. As Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and...
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,...
Gender History at #AHA19
Over at Perspectives on History, Colgate University historian Monica Mercado “takes stock” of gender history at this weekend’s annual meeting of the American Historical Association. Here is a taste: More than 30 years after Joan Scott first argued for gender as...
Male Authoritarianism and the Southern Baptists
R. Marie Griffith directs the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Some of you may remember our interview with her in Episode 32 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast. During...
Author’s Corner with Elisabeth Ceppi
Elisabeth Ceppi is Associate Professor of English at Portland State University. This interview is based on her new book Invisible Masters: Gender, Race, and the Economy of Service in Early New England (Dartmouth University Press, 2018). JF: What led you to write Invisible...
Southwestern Baptist Seminary is Dragged (Kicking and Screaming) into the #MeToo Era
A few days ago, in a post on April Armstrong’s powerful piece on life at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I wrote: “I imagine we will hear more stories like the ones April Armstrong has shared at the website #SBCToo: Breaking the Southern Baptist...
April Armstrong on the Culture of Paige Patterson’s Southwestern Baptist Seminary
I imagine we will hear more stories like the ones April Armstrong has shared at the website #SBCToo: Breaking the Southern Baptist Seminary Silence. Armstrong attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary while Paige Patterson was president and then went on to...
Evangelical Preacher Beth Moore Speaks-Out on Misogyny in the Southern Baptist Church
Beth Moore is one of the most influential evangelicals in America today. In a recent post on her website titled “A Letter to My Brothers” she calls out Southern Baptist pastors for their misogynistic attitudes. Here is a taste of...
Mary Beth Norton on Women in Academe
Norton is the president of the American Historical Association and Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History at Cornell University. She reflects on her experience as a woman in the academy in a Chronicle of Higher Education article titled “The Awakening: Women...