Mount Rushmore, USA by Dean Franklin (CC BY 2.0). Rob Reiner’s recent movie, God & Country is, to be sure, a compelling presentation of the character and influence of white Christian nationalism and a powerful reminder of the dire threat the movement represents for American political and social life in this portentous presidential election year. …
Photo by Pexels on Pixabay (CCO). In a recent campaign speech, Donald Trump referred to immigrants as a “poisoning of our blood,” arguing that immigration weakens and overall contaminates American society. He presents a perspective on immigration that is not uncommon—one of suspicion and preemptive mistrust of foreigners. Even those who are tolerant of foreigners…
Code of Hammurabii via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). In a March 5, 2024 headline, the NY Times named immigration as “the biggest issue on Americans’ minds” today. Be that as it may, America is not the first (and surely not the last) society to wrestle with legal and ethical questions related to how one…
Old Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee by DXR (CC BY-SA 4.0) We Have Come Into His House is an essay published in two corresponding parts. The first part specifically examined recent Florida legislation that has restricted and restructured the way classrooms in primary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions within the state may explore topics relating to race and racism.…
Old Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee by DXR (CC BY-SA 4.0). We have come into His house to gather in His name to worship Him” – Bruce Ballinger “We request Black teachers of Black studies. It is not that we believe only Black people can understand the Black experience. It is, rather, that we acknowledge the difference…
Human Rights Claims and the Orthodox in AmericaA. G. Roeber The following is an adapted excerpt from A.G. Roeber’s new book, “Orthodox Christians and the Rights Revolution in America.” With permission from Fordham University Press, 2024. As a reader who has come this far now will recognize, answering Witte’s and Alexander’s query about how the…
“From the Pope’s Hand to Indigenous Lands: Alexander VI in Spanish Imperialism”Matthew P. Cavedon The following is an introduction followed by an adapted excerpt from Matt Cavedon’s new book, “From the Pope’s Hand to Indigenous Lands.” With permission from Brill Academic Publishers, 2023. In 1493, shortly after Christopher Columbus returned from his first voyage to…
Photo of Ukrainian Flag from Pixabay Religious freedom is ominously shrinking in Ukraine. Unlike Moscow, post-Soviet Kiev used to tolerate the various rival Eastern Orthodox Christian jurisdictions. But Kiev is now blatantly persecuting the UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church), favoring the OCU (Orthodox Church of Ukraine). Ukraine’s parliament has passed the first reading of a bill…
“My Body, Their Baby: A Progressive Christian Vision for Surrogacy”Grace Y. Kao Nearly four decades after the In re Baby M case stimulated widespread debate in the United States, the legal and religious debates over surrogacy continue. Surrogacy laws in the U.S. vary widely by state, and Pope Francis recently made international headlines by calling…
The Oxford Handbook of Christianity and LawJohn Witte, Jr. and Rafael Domingo This text is excerpted in part from the front matter of the Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Law, edited by John Witte, Jr. and Rafael Domingo (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023) and is used herein with permission. This hefty new volume, over…