On October 26 and 27, 2012, Vincent Lloyd and Jonathon Kahn will convene a workshop at Syracuse University on "Race and Secularism in America." From…
Race and secularism in America
American religion
Was antebellum America secular?
The question “Was Antebellum America Secular?” obviously depends on what one means by secular. Because the term is dialectical by…
Encountering the archive
Where on earth to begin with the rich but deeply disturbing material presented to us on BishopAccountability.org? (For an example,…
Sister Martin Ignatius explains not very much at all for you
Ever since I was first asked to offer reflections on the study of religion and the Catholic sex abuse crisis, it…
The church, the state, and the child
The child, as the psychoanalytic theorist Adam Phillips points out, “remains our most convincing essentialism.” By this he means that at…
The curious case of Paul Richard Shanley
In the discursive regime of sexual abuse, the operative silence is the victim’s. This silence stems from shame and intimidation.…
Abusing rhetoric
Many of these documents are appalling in the way that bureaucratic recitals of torture are appalling, in the way that ledgers…
The study of American religions in Religion
In the most recent issue of Religion (subscription required), a peer-reviewed journal which publishes original research in the comparative and…
What is the aesthetic of contemporary spirituality?
At Religion in American History, Michael J. Altman takes a broad look at Frequencies, citing his appreciation of individual posts,…
Experiences with evangelical congregations
In The New Yorker, Joan Acocella gives a favorable review of Tanya M. Luhrmann's When God Talks Back: Understanding the American…