Author: Chris Gehrz

Graph showing first-time full-time college students indicating no religious preference, 1971-2014

The American Freshman: A Survey of New College Students

February 10, 2015

Last Thursday the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California Los Angeles released “The American Freshman,” a report based on a fall 2014 survey of over 150,000 first-time, full-time students at 227 four-year colleges and universities (out of 1.6 million nationwide). What did HERI learn? Its executive summary highlighted a few findings: More students opt … More The American Freshman: A Survey of New College Students

Petty-Madden organ at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church

That Was The Week That Was

February 7, 2015

Here… • Our department’s weekly webisode series, Past & Presence, premiered on Wednesday. (Despite the best attempts of the Conference on Faith and History Facebook page to put us in competition, John Fea was gracious enough to plug our webisodes at his blog. And congrats to John for his Why Study History? getting such prominent attention from the American Historical Association!) • … More That Was The Week That Was

Spufford, Unapologetic

Emotion or Belief? Starting on Francis Spufford’s Unapologetic

February 6, 2015

Just a short post this morning to wrap up what’s been a pretty quiet return to blogging. Once I’m past a week that’s included not only the start of a semester but a fairly big series of meetings at work, I’ll have more to say next week: about our World War I trip, but also about … More Emotion or Belief? Starting on Francis Spufford’s Unapologetic

Screenshot from the opening titles to our "Past & Presence" webisode series

The Debut of Our Department’s New Webisode Series!

February 4, 2015

After several months of work, I’m proud to announce the debut of our department’s new webisode series: Past & Presence! My friend Sam Mulberry and I have been filming material for Past & Presence since last summer — and will continue to do so even this afternoon. (Episodes will keep coming all the way through the end of our semester.) In … More The Debut of Our Department’s New Webisode Series!

American Sniper poster

That Was The Month That Was: Christianity

January 31, 2015

One last month-long set of links covers posts and articles on Christianity. That Was The Week That Was will return next Saturday. • Why kick off a list of links on Christianity with Miles Mullin’s Anxious Bench post on American Sniper? Because Clint Eastwood’s Iraq War film “raises questions about the thinness of American Civil religion, a religion in which the … More That Was The Month That Was: Christianity

"Je Suis Charlie" graffito in Paris

That Was The Month That Was: History

January 30, 2015

Just a few of the more interesting history-related posts and articles that appeared during my month off from blogging: • Christopher Columbus, Captain Cook, and nine other explorers to know. • The Charlie Hebdo shootings have rocketed Voltaire’s Treatise on Tolerance — published in 1763 — to the top of French bestseller lists. (Lots of important … More That Was The Month That Was: History

God's Glory, Neighbor's Good screenshot

Announcements: How You Can Support a Documentary Series on Pietism

January 29, 2015

Please join me in supporting an exciting new project being spearheaded by Mark Safstrom (University of Illinois; editor of Pietisten) and Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom (North Park Theological Seminary; author of Angels, Worms, and Bogeys: The Christian Ethic of Pietism): a six-part documentary film series on the history of Pietism! God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good will be written by Michelle and … More Announcements: How You Can Support a Documentary Series on Pietism