Category: Politics

Michael Gerson

The Spiritual Dangers of Living under the Trump Administration

January 31, 2017

As a result of Trump’s election conservative Christians (a larger group than evangelicals, but including most of them) will see fewer trespasses on institutional religious liberty from the executive branch. They will be able to support judges more amenable to their rights. They will be welcomed at the White House and have access to the … More The Spiritual Dangers of Living under the Trump Administration

Munich's White Rose Memorial

Thinking about the American Present via the European Past

January 24, 2017

It’s been about three weeks since last I blogged here at The Pietist Schoolman. Anything been happening? If you didn’t know, I spent most of January in Britain, Belgium, France, and Germany, where my friend Sam Mulberry and I were leading a travel course on the history of World War I. I’m sure I’ll have more to share … More Thinking about the American Present via the European Past

Swartz, Moral Minority

White Evangelicalism Has Been Politically Conservative… But Must It Remain So?

December 21, 2016

I’d love to disagree with the thesis of historian Neil Young’s piece in Religion Dispatches, but he’s probably right that …the bulk of white evangelicals’ political efforts have always veered to the right, often to the extreme. From Civil Rights to Vietnam to abortion to gay rights, from national defense to tax policy to climate change … More White Evangelicalism Has Been Politically Conservative… But Must It Remain So?

Art of social media

Quit Social Media?

December 15, 2016

More than at any time in the last five years, I’ve been thinking of quitting social media. A lot of this is driven by the unpleasant experience of the presidential campaign, and the immediate aftermath of the election. Far from creating a more robust kind of democratic discourse, in which a broader array of citizens … More Quit Social Media?

Hostetter Chapel

How Did Evangelical College Students Vote in the Presidential Election?

December 7, 2016

To what extent did evangelical colleges and universities contribute to the election of Donald Trump? That’s the question that Adam Laats, author of a forthcoming book on the history of such schools in the 20th century, raised recently at History News Network. (I’ve recommended his blog before.) Seeking an explanation for the much-cited figure of 81% of … More How Did Evangelical College Students Vote in the Presidential Election?

Drawing of Billy Sunday preaching (1915)

“Tell It Like It Is”: How Pastors Can Respond to Election Day

November 12, 2016

Let me talk to pastors for a moment. (Though their congregants might want to listen in.) Sisters and brothers – Now that candidate Trump has become president-elect Trump, I know that many of you are struggling with how you’re going to preach tomorrow morning. Unsettled yourselves, you know that you’ll soon look out at the expectant faces of people feeling … More “Tell It Like It Is”: How Pastors Can Respond to Election Day

Centerville Evangelical Covenant Church

Done with “Evangelical”? Maybe You Should Try…

November 10, 2016

Back in March, when Donald Trump was nothing more than the surprise leader in the Republican primaries, the fact that he was getting even 40% of the self-identified “evangelical” vote had already led Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore to declare that religious term “almost meaningless this year.” Even worse, “in many ways the word itself … More Done with “Evangelical”? Maybe You Should Try…

Donald Trump holding a Bible

Who’s an “Evangelical”? We Now Know…

November 9, 2016

Theologians, historians, sociologists, and other scholars spill a lot of ink debating the definition of the term “evangelical.” But thanks to what happened on November 8, 2016, we can set aside the Bebbington Quadrilateral and all its rivals. At least as “evangelical” pertains to Americans of European descent, it’s now clear that it chiefly describes the voting … More Who’s an “Evangelical”? We Now Know…