Who gets to say what about religion? When does free speech verge into something more insidious — insult, offense, even blasphemy? These questions remain highly contested across much of the contemporary world.…
Essays
The Immanent Frame publishes essays reflecting on current events, debates in the field, and other public matters relevant to scholarship in secularism and religion.
The Immanent Frame typically publishes essays by invitation only. To see our open calls for content, click here.
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Essays
Revisited: On “beyond Trump”: Evangelical politics, born again
April 1, 2024
Survey data indicates a growing generational split among evangelicals, with the younger generation supporting a range of left-leaning policies that their parents and grandparents vehemently opposed. These young evangelicals are interested in…
April 1, 2024
Essays
We the People of the Book
December 20, 2023
In 2004, four US college students were arrested for stealing a book. A rare first edition of John James Audubon’s Birds of America was stored in special collections at Transylvania University in…
December 20, 2023
Essays
Mysteries of transmission: Thinking in a pandemic
March 11, 2021
Realizing my pandemic amnesia is yet another confirmation of the interpretive power of positionality and the never-ending work of learning about the limits of one’s own knowledge as a scholar.
March 11, 2021
Essays
Revisited: The case of religious environmentalism
January 13, 2021
"Much has changed since this essay was published in 2008—much scary and depressing, but some—thank goodness—hopeful." In this update, Roger S. Gottlieb reflects on what has changed since this essay was first…
January 13, 2021
Essays
Sonic controversy: “Hinduistic music” in Pakistan
October 21, 2020
I argue that shifting assumptions about “authentic Islam” have catalyzed the scandalization of mystical music in Pakistan. The emergence of Arabization, with its emphasis on rediscovering true Islam in Arab culture, has…
October 21, 2020
Essays
President Trump visits St. John’s Church
June 4, 2020
The important story here is not about the president’s religion. Indeed, talk of the church is in many ways a distraction. While there are real reasons to be concerned about the abuse…
June 4, 2020
Essays
Social activism and rooted liberationist religion in Brazil
May 8, 2020
Religious leftists in Brazil—of all faiths, with Catholics most prominent among them—already lean on established institutions in combination with the popular culture and traditions of their country.
May 8, 2020
Essays
“Citizen science,” environmental action, and religious pluralism
April 10, 2020
I joined Restoring Eden as a participant observer in 2016, soon after they carried out a series of citizen science projects in the rural, white coalfields of Central Appalachia. As a religion…
April 10, 2020
Essays
Climate strikes as rites of mourning the future
February 24, 2020
Climate strikes are rites of mourning the future, lamenting current catastrophes, and demanding world leaders to radically reduce carbon emissions. The bodies of young people acting together on rural lands, city streets,…
February 24, 2020