Kristin Du Mez CONNECTIONS, Substack ['about' page]. For the past eight to 10 months, I've drawn comfort and inspsiration, in the root sense of the word, from a podcast featuring historian Kristin Du Mez of Calvin University and three other scholars of religion. They collaborate on a (more-or-less) weekly podcast called the Convocation Unscripted, where … Continue reading ‘Waiting for the spark’: Christian authors prepare to resist Jim Crow (Señor Cuervo?), Trump’s incipient fascism
How does a ‘man of unclean lips’ respond to Trump’s authoritarian bigotry? (spiritual direction notes, August ’25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQcW0SrubUk Ruth Ben-Ghiat on How to Resist Authoritarianism | The Civic Forum | Aug. 15, 2025 Editor’s (admin’s) note: Lightly edited copy, with links added, of my email in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’ve been journaling about (or, in this case, why I haven't been … Continue reading How does a ‘man of unclean lips’ respond to Trump’s authoritarian bigotry? (spiritual direction notes, August ’25)
David Brooks discusses ‘moral injury’ inflicted by Trump’s cruelty and bullying (notes for spiritual direction, July ’25)
David Brooka on PBS News Hour, March 3, 2025 (quote at 5:40). Screen shot. Editor’s (admin’s) note: A copy of my email, with necessary links and edits, in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’d been journaling on since our last meeting and, more to the point, … Continue reading David Brooks discusses ‘moral injury’ inflicted by Trump’s cruelty and bullying (notes for spiritual direction, July ’25)
Moral injury and Trump 2.0: Are you on the bus? Off the bus? Or thrown under the bus with Black and brown people?
Google News directory, news items, July 7, 2025, 11:08 a.m (CST). A week after President Trump was re-elected, Psychology Today posted an article to its website noting that the outcome "reflects a moral injury for many -- a psychological wound caused by betrayal of deeply held values." Explained Mary Ann McDonald of Holy Cross College in … Continue reading Moral injury and Trump 2.0: Are you on the bus? Off the bus? Or thrown under the bus with Black and brown people?
Church historians sparking resistance to Trump regime’s cruelty, emerging autocracy (spiritual direction April 2025)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8KbfUJslr2Q Kristin du Mez and Jemar Tisby react to DEI ban (Convocation Unscripted). Editor’s (admin’s) note: Lightly edited copy of email I wrote in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’d been journaling on since our last meeting and, more to the point, helping me focus over … Continue reading Church historians sparking resistance to Trump regime’s cruelty, emerging autocracy (spiritual direction April 2025)
Israeli law professors warn partisan crackdown on pro-Palestinian students threatens ‘prelude to persecution’ of Jewish, other progressives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt_8BmsFZzU Passover seder at protest camps, Penn and Swarthmore, April 28, 2024 (WPVI-TV Philly). Editor's (admin's) note, April 15. The essay by Itamar Mann and Lihi Yona of Haifa University is detailed, and closely reasoned -- difficult to paraphrase -- and I've tried several times to work up a post. But events keep getting ahead … Continue reading Israeli law professors warn partisan crackdown on pro-Palestinian students threatens ‘prelude to persecution’ of Jewish, other progressives
Notes on ‘Illinois Nazis’ in an iconic 1970s comedy, in real life and Gov. Pritzker’s state-of-the-state address (notes for spiritual direction, March 2025)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTT1qUswYL0 Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director today in advance of our session for March, archived here so I can go back later and see what I was thinking about when I posted it. Taken together, these emails give me a rough benchmark of my spiritual journey. 4:02 PM (6 hours … Continue reading Notes on ‘Illinois Nazis’ in an iconic 1970s comedy, in real life and Gov. Pritzker’s state-of-the-state address (notes for spiritual direction, March 2025)
Gov. Pritzker warns GOP dog whistles inevitably lead to Nazi-style racism unless ordinary citizens speak out against it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS66O1C7Gp4&list=RDNShS66O1C7Gp4&index=1 Pritzker's State of the State address (excerpt), Springfield, Feb. 19, 2025 (NBC Chicago). Finally! We're starting to get some pushback from Democrats against the creeping authoritarianism of the Trump regime. Some of it's coming from Illinois, too, and I couldn't be prouder of my adopted state. In fact, I think it's the best thing … Continue reading Gov. Pritzker warns GOP dog whistles inevitably lead to Nazi-style racism unless ordinary citizens speak out against it
Presiding bishop urges Lutherans to stand up for basic Christian ethics in the face of government hostility to churches, migrants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnho5l8iNoU Presiding Bishop Eaton's statement on ICE raids in churches, Feb. 14, 2025 (ELCA). Welp, I guess I've got my marching orders now. At least that's the way I choose to interpret Friday's pastoral message from the presiding bishop of my Lutheran denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on the Trump regime's threatened crackdown … Continue reading Presiding bishop urges Lutherans to stand up for basic Christian ethics in the face of government hostility to churches, migrants
‘We all have to step up’: A Christian scholar’s New Year’s resolve to fight back as Trump 2.0 threatens people of faith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9zLuXn8ws Kristin DuMez at Dayspring United Methodist Church, Oct. 21, 2014 (Good Faith Media). Normally I'm not very big on New Year's resolutions. I don't know I won't get hit by a bus tomorrow, and I don't have the attention span to follow through on them anyway. But after reading a Substack piece by Kristin … Continue reading ‘We all have to step up’: A Christian scholar’s New Year’s resolve to fight back as Trump 2.0 threatens people of faith
Is Trump a wannabe theocrat? It’s complicated. How should people of faith react? That’s complicated, too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4HrySysWAo Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Nov. 6, 2024 Standing in front of a tapestry at her office the day after President-elect Trump won the 2024 election, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton videotaped a somber, nuanced message. Presiding bishop of my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Eaton doesn't always speak for me on all issues. … Continue reading Is Trump a wannabe theocrat? It’s complicated. How should people of faith react? That’s complicated, too
What do Constantine and the 4th-century Byzantine church councils tell us about the separation of church and state today?
Constantine Enters Rome, Peter Paul Reubens, 1621 (Wikimedia Commons). Beginning Saturday, I'll be auditing an online Church History Survey course offered by the Central/Southern Illinois Synod, ELCA. In addition to our assigned readings by Justo L. González listed below, we're assigned to write a one-page reflection paper on what we read. The prompt says: "While … Continue reading What do Constantine and the 4th-century Byzantine church councils tell us about the separation of church and state today?
Speaker Johnson’s born-again political shtick, Roger Williams and the ‘wall of separation’ between church and state
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjKetVw4a6A&t=173s 'That doesn't pass the smell test,' Buttigeig tells CNN's Erin Burnett [at 3:57]. [Roger Williams] was saying that mixing church and state corrupted the church, that when one mixes religion and politics, one gets politics. -- John M. Barry, "God, Government and Roger Williams’ Big Idea," Smithsonian Magazine, Jan. 2012. In his deceptively pious, … Continue reading Speaker Johnson’s born-again political shtick, Roger Williams and the ‘wall of separation’ between church and state
Did Justice Thomas violate 28 USC 455 during the Supreme Court’s latest no-good, very-bad week?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGEzX8o4qwE MSNBC, Dec. 8, 2022 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGEzX8o4qwE&t=131s) 28 U.S. Code § 455 - Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge(a) Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.(b)He shall also disqualify himself in the following circumstances:[...](4) He knows that he, … Continue reading Did Justice Thomas violate 28 USC 455 during the Supreme Court’s latest no-good, very-bad week?
Does Senator Warnock’s re-election testify to the transformative power and witness of the Black church? I think it does
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-oS1ycq9RM Segment on the 'Morning Joe' program, Dec. 7, 2022 Growing up down South in civil rights days, I was able to watch the transformative witness of the Black church in action. I watched it from a safe distance -- my home town was middle class and lily-white -- but when the high school in … Continue reading Does Senator Warnock’s re-election testify to the transformative power and witness of the Black church? I think it does
Money changers in the temple? Justice Alito’s leaks show dangers of too-cozy relationships between church, state
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN_TcmU1-k4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN_TcmU1-k4 [Roger] Williams described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that although not commonly attributed to him has … Continue reading Money changers in the temple? Justice Alito’s leaks show dangers of too-cozy relationships between church, state
University of Maryland survey data show extent of Christian nationalism, white grievance among Republicans
More data points for my Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden project -- A new survey, summarized today in Politico magazine, shows that white Christian nationalism is strongly linked to age and membership in the Republican Party. A survey conducted in May by the University of Maryland's Critical Issues Poll found that 61 percent of Republicans … Continue reading University of Maryland survey data show extent of Christian nationalism, white grievance among Republicans
Historians, including Ken Burns, cite historical parallels between today, the slavery crisis of the 1850s and the anti-Semitism of the 1930s
d r a f t More quotes for my Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden project — Two disturbing historical parallels in print this week, both suggesting that America faces a more difficult crisis -- more accurately a series of cascading crises -- now than it did in the runup to the Civil War. It's hard to know … Continue reading Historians, including Ken Burns, cite historical parallels between today, the slavery crisis of the 1850s and the anti-Semitism of the 1930s
Impact of Indiana’s abortion ban on women’s health services in Illinois, religious pluralism post-Roe v. Wade
Clips, links for 'Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden' The evening before Indiana's extreme new anti-abortion law went into effect, protesters gathered at the county courthouse in Bloomington, Ind., for a Jewish Havdalah ceremony marking what they see as a transition from "an era of full rights [...] into a darker time," as Illinois gears up … Continue reading Impact of Indiana’s abortion ban on women’s health services in Illinois, religious pluralism post-Roe v. Wade
The score when Nixon spoke at a Billy Graham crusade at UT-Knoxville: Lions 0; Christians 1; First Amendment -1
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/President_Richard_Nixon_and_Reverend_Billy_Graham_at_the_Podium_during_the_%22Crusade_for_Christ%22_at_Neyland_Stadium_in_Knoxville%2C_Tennessee.jpg Nixon and Billy Graham, UT-Knoxville, 1970 (Wikimedia Commons) “[Roger Williams] described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that … Continue reading The score when Nixon spoke at a Billy Graham crusade at UT-Knoxville: Lions 0; Christians 1; First Amendment -1
Futures file (Notes & Quotes): Iowa’s nativist ban on foreign languages during World War I
Some first-rate quotes below, from a post on Patheos by a biographer of Swedish-American aviator Charles Lindbergh, on the anti-German hysteria that spilled over and left some Swedish, Norwegian, Czech and other immigrant churches unable to communicate with their parishioners during World War I and its immediate aftermath. I presented a paper on the hysteria, … Continue reading Futures file (Notes & Quotes): Iowa’s nativist ban on foreign languages during World War I
Does Justice Alito’s call for ‘special protection’ for traditional religion spell trouble for religious minorities?
Two articles published today to the internet shed light on different aspects of what I believe to be the same worrisome trend ... An op ed piece in the New York Times by longtime Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse. Headlined "Alito’s Call to Arms to Secure Religious Liberty," it suggests Alito's rather narrow brand of … Continue reading Does Justice Alito’s call for ‘special protection’ for traditional religion spell trouble for religious minorities?
Florida lawsuits argue state’s new anti-abortion law violates free exercise clause, threatens religious pluralism
Notes & quotes for future reference -- posted here so I can find them later with a keyword search Is it time for those of us who qualify as spiritual-but-not-in-your-face-bible-thumping-religious to begin speaking up? Two recent articles by an unusually perceptive religion writer in the Washington Post suggest maybe it is. More clergy members, serving … Continue reading Florida lawsuits argue state’s new anti-abortion law violates free exercise clause, threatens religious pluralism
Notes & quotes: Alito’s speech on First Amendment rights, free exercise clause at Notre Dame event in Rome
Content advisory: The speaker pictured in the video below is not Justice Samuel Alito but another political figure who shares a similar ideology. The video is embedded to share remarks by Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, regarding Alito's speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kht_3z3hrQs Amanda Tyler's remarks begin at 4:20. More than a year ago … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Alito’s speech on First Amendment rights, free exercise clause at Notre Dame event in Rome
Historians say Alito’s ‘law office history’ cherry-picks the historical record, creates bad history and worse law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLMp-1NdzR8 Cold open, Saturday Night Live, May 7, 2022 “It was all Mrs. Bumble. She would do it," urged Mr. Bumble; first looking round, to ascertain that his partner had left the room.That is no excuse," returned Mr. Brownlow. "You were present on the occasion of the destruction of these trinkets, and, indeed, are the more guilty … Continue reading Historians say Alito’s ‘law office history’ cherry-picks the historical record, creates bad history and worse law
A prayerful reaction to the US Supreme Court’s facilitation of white Christian theocracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWIvkGWmEVA Matthew 5 (NRSV). 5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut … Continue reading A prayerful reaction to the US Supreme Court’s facilitation of white Christian theocracy
‘Overzealous prosecutors’ and judicial chutzpah — threats to freedom of religion in post-Roe America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHKf-9oPMO0 Posted to B'nai Jeshurun YouTube channel, May 23, 2022 Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, veteran Supreme Court watcher Dahlia Lithwick warned that the "fear of overzealous prosecutors" would set the tone of debate over the rights of women under strict abortion bans in "post-Roe America." Speaking a month before Dobbs v. Jackson Women's … Continue reading ‘Overzealous prosecutors’ and judicial chutzpah — threats to freedom of religion in post-Roe America
Pastoral letters clarify — US Supreme Court’s anti-abortion ruling denies moral agency to people of faith
Linked to my parish newsletter this week was a pastoral message from my bishop -- Bishop John Roth of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America -- spelling out the church's position on the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court, "as we strive, as God’s church, to … Continue reading Pastoral letters clarify — US Supreme Court’s anti-abortion ruling denies moral agency to people of faith
Roger Williams and me — notes on the Supreme Court and church-state relations I never finished and posted to the blog
Alonzo Chappel, "Landing of Roger Williams," 1857 (Wikimedia Commons) [Roger] Williams described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that … Continue reading Roger Williams and me — notes on the Supreme Court and church-state relations I never finished and posted to the blog
Football coach, 6-3 majority on US Supreme Court fumble, drop the ball on public school prayer case
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-LNBJIk-mY&t=64s KING-5 news report, April 24, 2022. And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Matthew 6:5. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Exodus 20:16. I'll leave it … Continue reading Football coach, 6-3 majority on US Supreme Court fumble, drop the ball on public school prayer case
What can Roger Williams and Swedish Lutherans of the 1850s tell us about the culture wars? A research proposal
Alonzo Chappel, "Landing of Roger Williams," 1857 (Wikimedia Commons) “I have to write to discover what I am doing. Like the old lady, I don't know so well what I think until I see what I say; then I have to say it again.”― Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor, quoted in Goodreads. … Continue reading What can Roger Williams and Swedish Lutherans of the 1850s tell us about the culture wars? A research proposal
Cheers from the MAGA crowd for saying the quiet part out loud — US rep says Roe v. Wade repeal a ‘victory for white life’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNAmRRpAemU WGN News, Channel 9, Chicago US Rep. Mary Miller's PR people said it was “a mix-up of words,” but her audience at a fairgrounds near Quincy cheered, and the news went worldwide. In the UK, the Guardian's international edition carried an Associated Press story reporting: Illinois Republican Mary Miller told a crowd at a … Continue reading Cheers from the MAGA crowd for saying the quiet part out loud — US rep says Roe v. Wade repeal a ‘victory for white life’
Florida synagogue challenges state’s abortion ban on religious grounds for mandating theological doctrine
*** UPDATE (June 24) *** I posted this last night, hours before the Supreme Court handed down its opinion overthrowing Roe v. Wade. But I think the reasoning behind the Florida lawsuit won't be affected, since it challenges a state law in the state courts. Nor should the religious freedom issue be affected, since it … Continue reading Florida synagogue challenges state’s abortion ban on religious grounds for mandating theological doctrine
Op ed piece argues worrisome trend in Supreme Court decisions undermining the separation of church and state
A professor of intellectual history at Georgia State has an op ed piece on today's Washington Post website outlining how, and why, the US Supreme Court erected a wall of separation between church and state in the mid- to late 20th century -- and how he fears the extreme right-wing majority on today's court is … Continue reading Op ed piece argues worrisome trend in Supreme Court decisions undermining the separation of church and state
Trump, Putin, toxic nationalism and religion, a match made in heaven
For a little more than a year now, ever since the Jan. 6 insurrection in fact, I've been worried about the rise of xenophobic, far-right authoritarianism and white Christian nationalism in America. I've blogged about HERE, HERE and HERE, for example. Now comes a historian at New York University who puts it in context. The … Continue reading Trump, Putin, toxic nationalism and religion, a match made in heaven
Episcopal survey research shows disconnect between gospel message and public perception of Christians
Something to file away for when we do the book study on Reclaiming the ''E'' Word: Waking Up to Our Evangelical Identity after Easter at Peace Lutheran -- A recent Ipsos survey commissioned by the Episcopal Church shows the "popularity of Jesus’ teachings and the ways Christians are often perceived as failing to live up … Continue reading Episcopal survey research shows disconnect between gospel message and public perception of Christians
Fukuyama on Russia, Trump, ethno-nationalism, religion and other threats to the liberal world order
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwuMMmUCw98 Last month I posted a rather incoherent item saying: (a) I thought some important tectonic plates were shifting with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Ukrainian resistance to being reabsorbed into a post-Soviet Russian empire; and (b) it might somehow provide a context for writing up some of the historical research I've done in … Continue reading Fukuyama on Russia, Trump, ethno-nationalism, religion and other threats to the liberal world order
Book-burning white evangelical pastor in Middle Tennessee proves: Religion plus extremist politics equals extremist politics
[Roger] Williams described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that although not commonly attributed to him has echoed through … Continue reading Book-burning white evangelical pastor in Middle Tennessee proves: Religion plus extremist politics equals extremist politics
Putin, Trump, Fox News and white Christian nationalism — a common thread in Ukraine and US ‘culture wars’
Слава Родине https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGXHw7sX4e8 Stephen Colbert's parody of Russian TV (Cyrillic letters spell the English word "Bestie"). When Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin claimed "the west’s 'cancel culture'” victimizes “an entire thousand-year-old country, our people” on March 25, American pundit Robert Reich of Cal-Berkeley noted it "was the third time in recent months Putin has blasted … Continue reading Putin, Trump, Fox News and white Christian nationalism — a common thread in Ukraine and US ‘culture wars’
A New Yorker profile of Justice Amy Coney Barrett raises difficult questions of church-state relations
For several months now, I've been wondering if the U.S. Supreme Court's First Amendment fundamentalism on the "free exercise" clause is going to lead them to weaken protections under the "establishment" clause. I blogged about it HERE, HERE and HERE, toward the end of the court's spring term when decisions with troubling implications for church-state … Continue reading A New Yorker profile of Justice Amy Coney Barrett raises difficult questions of church-state relations
Op ed piece connects important dots between Jan. 6, white Christian nationalism and uproar over ‘CRT’
A very useful op ed piece on the New York Times' website today connects the dots between former President Trump's violent assault on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021; white Christian nationalist fears of being replaced and persecuted by non-Christian immigrants and secular society; and the past year's hysteria over "Critical Race Theory" and other … Continue reading Op ed piece connects important dots between Jan. 6, white Christian nationalism and uproar over ‘CRT’
Is there a theological basis for anti-vaxxer militancy in prophecies of end times?
Intriguing article on yesterday's Washington Post website by Michael Gerson, op ed columnist, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and occasional talking head on CNN. Gerson, who is an evangelical himself, dismisses anti-vaxxer assertions of religious exemptions to vaccine mandates as "heresy compounded by lunacy." This amounts, he says, to a "substitution of libertarianism … Continue reading Is there a theological basis for anti-vaxxer militancy in prophecies of end times?
Notes & quotes: Heather Cox Richardson
Verbatim quotes from interviews with Heather Cox Richardson of Boston College pointing up parallels between the 1850s and the crisis of American democracy today ... also the parallel between Christian nationalism and "illiberal/Christian democracy" in Hungary today Mass Humanities (interview) "What Was at Stake in Our History," interview with Michelle Wilson, Mass Humanities, Aug. 24, … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Heather Cox Richardson
Notes & quotes: Books on polarization, culture wars, tribalism; Trump a ‘gigantic … middle finger’ to cultural elites
d r a f t Carlos Lozada, "The united hates of America," Washington Post, Oct. 30, 2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/10/30/polarization-books-trump-election/. Carlos Lozada is WaPo's nonfiction book review editor [...] The growing polarization of the United States into a nation torn by partisan identities is one of the legacies of the Trump presidency, even if it began … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Books on polarization, culture wars, tribalism; Trump a ‘gigantic … middle finger’ to cultural elites
Notes & quotes: Political coverage in Hemlandet in 1850s, Lincoln-Douglas debate in Galesburg, election of 1860
d r a f t Formatting stripped out -- i.e. no itals, etc. Unedited William C. Beyer, "Active But Critical Non-Partisanship: A Swedish-American Newspaper Editor and the Political Realignment of the 1850s," Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly, 30, no. 4 (1979) 242-56. https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/npu_sahq/id/4135/rec/1. "It is true: the middle way is a small thread, quite difficult to … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Political coverage in Hemlandet in 1850s, Lincoln-Douglas debate in Galesburg, election of 1860
Notes & quotes: Obama’s remarks and backlash at 2015 National Prayer Breakfast, quip at Easter breakfast
d r a f t "Remarks by the President and the Vice President at Easter Prayer Breakfast," Office of the Press Secretary, White House, April 7, 2015 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/07/remarks-president-and-vice-president-easter-prayer-breakfast "[...] Isn’t that how Jesus lived? Isn't that how He loved? Embracing those who were different; serving the marginalized; humbling Himself to the last. This is the … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Obama’s remarks and backlash at 2015 National Prayer Breakfast, quip at Easter breakfast
Smithsonian article on Know Nothing Party, class, nativism of 1850s
Anti-immigrant cartoon showing two men labeled "Irish Wiskey" and "Lager Bier," carrying a ballot box. (Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo) Excerpts from a 2017 article by Chicago free-lancer Lorraine Boissoneault: "[...] At its height in the 1850s, the Know Nothing party, originally called the American Party, included more than 100 elected congressmen, eight governors, … Continue reading Smithsonian article on Know Nothing Party, class, nativism of 1850s
Robert Jones of PRRI on white Christian grief, anger; need for a ‘new story about who America is and where we’re going as a country that is sort of faithful to its past’
d r a f t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QURLbHWOjSU An author’s eulogy for ‘White Christian America’ | PBS NewsHour | Aug. 31, 2016 Blurb by PBS NewsHour: The demographic makeup of America is undergoing a visible change, and with it, America’s culture -- dominated by White Christian culture -- and power structures are shifting, too. That’s the premise … Continue reading Robert Jones of PRRI on white Christian grief, anger; need for a ‘new story about who America is and where we’re going as a country that is sort of faithful to its past’
Baptist video shows Roger Williams, other religious figures in colonial America
d r a f t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut10jVFZDQw Segment on Roger Williams begins at 20:20, runs about 10 minutes ... Blurb on YouTube is as follows: Saints and Strangers addresses religious influences from the time of the Mayflower to the Great Awakening, from Plymouth Rock to the War of Independence. It examines the groups of the faithful … Continue reading Baptist video shows Roger Williams, other religious figures in colonial America
Notes & quotes: Catherine Brekus of Harvard Divinity on US symbols, ‘city on a hill,’ narratives, Trump, Jan. 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6byirhkFiM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6byirhkFiM Editor's (admin's) note. Embedded video features an hour-long panel discussion at Harvard Divinity School by James Kloppenberg of Harvard and E.J. Dionne of Georgetown University, moderated by Catherine Brekus. Catherine Brekus of Harvard Divinity School, who teaches a survey of American religious history, explored several topics crucial to my research on Swedish immigrant … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Catherine Brekus of Harvard Divinity on US symbols, ‘city on a hill,’ narratives, Trump, Jan. 6
Whitehead and Perry: (white) Christian nationalism, Jan. 6 riot, Jim Crow election laws a fundamental ‘threat to a pluralistic, democratic society’
An op ed piece by sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry uploaded yesterday to Time magazine's website connects some important dots. Authors of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States (Oxford, 2020), they conclude white Christian nationalism is "fundamentally a threat to a pluralistic, democratic society." Here's what I shared to Facebook … Continue reading Whitehead and Perry: (white) Christian nationalism, Jan. 6 riot, Jim Crow election laws a fundamental ‘threat to a pluralistic, democratic society’
James Davison Hunter on today’s ‘culture war’ — and why I worry about the runup to the Civil War in the 1850s
https://theweek.com/cartoons/983971/political-cartoon-mcconnell-mccarthy-jan-6-gop A couple of disconcerting long-form articles on the news websites this weekend. They're very different. One is an interview with the scholar who coined the term "culture war" and the other is a news-feature story on this month's shambolic election "audit" in Arizona. But they both show how desperate our times are getting (imho), … Continue reading James Davison Hunter on today’s ‘culture war’ — and why I worry about the runup to the Civil War in the 1850s
Tucker Carlson’s ‘replacement theory’ rhetoric, white Christian nationalism and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol
Let's connect some dots that could help bring a couple of disparate strands of my immigration history project together. (Spoiler alert: I think some of the difficulties Swedish Lutheran immigrants experienced in the 1850s were similar to those confronting Buddhist, Hindu or Sikh immigrants today, and I think the "great replacement theory" of today is … Continue reading Tucker Carlson’s ‘replacement theory’ rhetoric, white Christian nationalism and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol
A dissent on the ‘assertion of imaginary freedoms’ in Trump’s Supreme Court, by an English major turned jailhouse lawyer and armchair historian
“It was all Mrs. Bumble. She would do it," urged Mr. Bumble; first looking round, to ascertain that his partner had left the room.That is no excuse," returned Mr. Brownlow. "You were present on the occasion of the destruction of these trinkets, and, indeed, are the more guilty of the two, in the eye of … Continue reading A dissent on the ‘assertion of imaginary freedoms’ in Trump’s Supreme Court, by an English major turned jailhouse lawyer and armchair historian
Jewish studies prof at Chicago: ‘Judeo-Christian’ language a dog whistle for white Christian exclusivism
Since the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, I've been seeing more and more parallels to the anti-immigrant fervor of the 1850s. This time the targets are Muslims, Latino immigrants and, increasingly, progressives of all faith traditions instead of Irish Catholics, but the parallels are striking. And troubling One was suggested by Rachel S. … Continue reading Jewish studies prof at Chicago: ‘Judeo-Christian’ language a dog whistle for white Christian exclusivism
Supreme Court’s drift to right-wing fundamentalism alarms ACLU, Jewish temple in Philadelphia
Editor's (moderator's) note. In early November the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case brought by a Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia seeking to opt out of the city's requirement that social service agencies serve clients irrespective of race, creed or sexual orientation. It was one of the very first cases heard after … Continue reading Supreme Court’s drift to right-wing fundamentalism alarms ACLU, Jewish temple in Philadelphia
Notes & Quotes: Detailed paraphrase from Hemlandet and texts of America letters in an old Swedish historical society collection
d r a f t An early historical society founded in Chicago in 1905. Moved to St. Paul, Minn., in 1920 and continued annual meetings there until 1934, when it disbanded and its collections were donated to the Minnesota Historical Society. See historical note to its description of the Swedish Historical Society of America's records … Continue reading Notes & Quotes: Detailed paraphrase from Hemlandet and texts of America letters in an old Swedish historical society collection
America’s civil — or public — religion defined (kinda) and expanded, in light of Trump supporters’ Jan. 6 insurrection
d r a f t Photo: Jarrad Henderson, USA Today, Feb. 28, 2021 After Jan. 6 when supporters of ex-President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, we saw a spate of articles about Christian nationalism. Prominently displayed by rioters were religious slogans and paraphernalia, (Since it has implications for the research I'm doing on Swedish immigrant … Continue reading America’s civil — or public — religion defined (kinda) and expanded, in light of Trump supporters’ Jan. 6 insurrection
Jon Meacham: Constitution a ‘Calvinist document’; thoughts on George Floyd murder verdict, civil rights movement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHnaxA1YZko The morning after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, Jon Meacham weighed its significance on MSNBC's Morning Joe program. The network's blurb on YouTube is as good a summary as any: "Historian Jon Meacham discusses the new movement for racial justice, and he discusses the verdict in the … Continue reading Jon Meacham: Constitution a ‘Calvinist document’; thoughts on George Floyd murder verdict, civil rights movement
Does a theory of Philip Gorski’s shed light on a troubling Supreme Court decision on church-state relations?
https://www.facebook.com/peter.ellertsen/posts/2808921899368838 This morning Andrew Koppelman, a law professor at Northwestern, weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court's April 9 decision invalidating a California public health department restriction on indoor gatherings. While some of his rhetoric was.uh.-- shall we say? -- more flamboyant than professorial, he raised some important issues. So I shared it to social … Continue reading Does a theory of Philip Gorski’s shed light on a troubling Supreme Court decision on church-state relations?
Notes & Quotes: Sectarianism, culture wars and polarization in the 1850s, 2020s
https://soundcloud.com/theucipodcast/uci-podcast-the-new-american-political-sectarianism Podcast of psychologist Peter Ditto at Cal Irvine (cite below) Editor's (admin's) note: One of two posts today that were prompted by Nate Cohn's op ed piece “Why Political Sectarianism Is a Growing Threat to American Democracy” in the New York Times. Link HERE for my notes & quotes from a 2017 article on … Continue reading Notes & Quotes: Sectarianism, culture wars and polarization in the 1850s, 2020s
‘Swedes in Roger Williams Garden’: Main outline and links
D R A F T Working title: Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden: Church, State and Community in Swedish Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860 Link here for earlier outlines and notes HERE for Oct. 23-Jan. 24HERE for Jan. 25-April 7 ** INSERT A (Dec. 17, 2021): ** Scratch outline, from notes I jotted down at 3:57 a.m. during a midnight snack, on … Continue reading ‘Swedes in Roger Williams Garden’: Main outline and links
17th-century Arabic coins suggest presence of pirates, slavers in colonial Rhode Island
[Also: cite to Bejean, Roberts, Barry -- case of Richard Chasmore ...] William J. Cole, "Ancient coins may solve mystery of murderous 1600s pirate," Associated Press, https://apnews.com/article/ancient-coins-may-solve-mystery-1600s-pirate-f5a6151b74e0dcf96de585eab451f90c Excerpts: “It’s a new history of a nearly perfect crime,” said Jim Bailey, an amateur historian and metal detectorist who found the first intact 17th-century Arabian coin in … Continue reading 17th-century Arabic coins suggest presence of pirates, slavers in colonial Rhode Island
GOP pollster on survey, focus group findings showing perception that Christians are persecuted in America
Kristen Soltis Anderson, interview by Ezra Klein, Ezra Klein Show, podcast, New York Times, March 26, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/podcasts/ezra-klein-podcast-kristen-soltis-anderson-transcript.html Excerpt: [...] But I also think that part of what you saw animate the rise of Donald Trump within the party is a real sense among many in the Republican coalition today that they are under siege. … Continue reading GOP pollster on survey, focus group findings showing perception that Christians are persecuted in America
New York Times op ed lit review, links to polarization studies, ‘exhausted majority’
Thomas B. Edsall, "We See the Left. We See the Right. Can Anyone See the ‘Exhausted Majority’?" New York Times, March 24, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/opinion/Democrats-Republicans-left-right-center.html. xxx Morris Fiorina, a political scientist at Stanford, argues in a series of essays and a book, “Unstable Majorities,” that it is the structure of the two-party system that prevents the center — … Continue reading New York Times op ed lit review, links to polarization studies, ‘exhausted majority’
George Bancroft on Roger Williams
George Bancroft, History of the Colonization of the United States, Vol. 1, 17th edition, Perseus, p. 375 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2001.05.0326%3Achapter%3D13%3Apage%3D375) Chapter IX At a time when Germany was the battle-field for all Europe in the implacable wars of religion; when even Holland was bleeding with the anger of vengeful factions; when France was still to go through the fearful struggle with bigotry; when England was gasping under the … Continue reading George Bancroft on Roger Williams
Jan. 7 opinion piece blames white Christian nationalism, leaders for Jan. 6 Trump supporters’ riot
A day-after guest column in the evangelical magazine Christianity Today on the Jan. 6 riot when an angry mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building and tried to stop certification of the 2020 presidential election returns. That mob action brought into sharp focus several of the themes I've been trying to track in … Continue reading Jan. 7 opinion piece blames white Christian nationalism, leaders for Jan. 6 Trump supporters’ riot
‘Judeo-Christian values’ and the religious right — Notes & Quotes
John G. Turner, "How the dream of a Judeo-Christian America shaped the culture wars," review of Imagining Judeo-Christian America by Healan Gaston, Christian Century, March 4, 2021 https://www.christiancentury.org/review/books/how-dream-judeo-christian-america-shaped-culture-wars. Excerpts (verbatim): [...] When pluralists spoke of Judeo-Christian America, they leaned on civic definitions of American identity, definitions that stressed a commitment to a shared set of … Continue reading ‘Judeo-Christian values’ and the religious right — Notes & Quotes
Trump court theocrats open door to frivolous lawsuits in Georgia Gwinnett College case
"Uh oh" (as I said this morning on Facebook). "Linda Greathouse, longtime Pulitzer Prize-winning Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times, explains how the theocrats on the Trump court have opened the door to a very narrow brand of fundamentalist bigotry" in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski: Her lede: Anyone who still needs proof of how … Continue reading Trump court theocrats open door to frivolous lawsuits in Georgia Gwinnett College case
Negative partisanship: Analytical essays, links in FiveThirtyEight
Two essays Lee Drutman, "How Much Longer Can This Era of Political Gridlock Last?" FiveThirtyEight, March 4, 2021 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-much-longer-can-this-era-of-political-gridlock-last/. History holds, at best, a half lesson here. This current period of partisan stalemate stands out in a few respects when we consider America’s long history with partisan conflict. For starters, the period we find ourselves in … Continue reading Negative partisanship: Analytical essays, links in FiveThirtyEight
Can the free exercise clause be used to establish white Christian religious norms? We may be about to find out
[Roger] Williams described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that although not commonly attributed to him has echoed through … Continue reading Can the free exercise clause be used to establish white Christian religious norms? We may be about to find out
Facebook thread on Roger Williams, John Winthrop and the conflict between church and state
Editor's (admin's) note: This is a twofer. Saving it to Ordinary Time preserves: (1) an interesting thread in response to a recent post I shared to Facebook; and (2) an extended passage from John M. Barry's Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty that I posted … Continue reading Facebook thread on Roger Williams, John Winthrop and the conflict between church and state
Notes&Quotes: Religion News Service article on Capitol violence; also, ‘Heathens condemn storming of Capitol after Norse religious symbols appear amid mob’
Jack Jenkins, "Capitol violence brewed from nationalism, conspiracies, and Jesus," Christian Century, Jan. 25, 2021 https://www.christiancentury.org/article/news/capitol-violence-brewed-nationalism-conspiracies-and-jesus. [...] While not all participants were Christian, their rhetoric often reflected an aggressive, charismatic, and hypermasculine form of Christian nationalism—a fusion of God and country that has lashed together disparate pieces of Donald Trump’s religious base. “A mistake a … Continue reading Notes&Quotes: Religion News Service article on Capitol violence; also, ‘Heathens condemn storming of Capitol after Norse religious symbols appear amid mob’
More notes & quotes on extremist GOP legislators downstate; also death threat to U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville
A combination here of Mark Maxwell's reports on WCIA and the Capitol Fax items that picked them up and amplified them. Mark Maxwell's Feb. 25 story about Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland, whose pickup truck bearing a III%er decal and Illinois state legislative tags was spotted in a restricted space for members of Congress during the … Continue reading More notes & quotes on extremist GOP legislators downstate; also death threat to U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville
Forum on Chosenness, church and state in America
Chosen Nation: Christianity, Politics, and American Destiny Faith Angle Forum, a A program of the Ethics & Public Policy Center. From the May 2017 Forum in Miami Beach, Florida DR. CATHERINE BREKUS, CHARLES WARREN PROFESSOR OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGION IN AMERICA, HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL Today we know it as American exceptionalism but not many of us … Continue reading Forum on Chosenness, church and state in America
Wide-ranging Catherine Brekus interview with PBS on conversion, frontier revivals, normative Protestantism, lasting influence of ante-bellum evangelicals; press release on ‘chosenness’
Catherine Brekus is Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America at Harvard Divinity School and in the Department of American Studies. It's in the supplemental material to the PBS series God in America, six 60-minute documentaries that aired in 2010; executive producer, Michael Sullivan. Interview was conducted June 23, 2009. Name of interviewer not … Continue reading Wide-ranging Catherine Brekus interview with PBS on conversion, frontier revivals, normative Protestantism, lasting influence of ante-bellum evangelicals; press release on ‘chosenness’
White Christian nationalists in Illinois politics? You betcha!
"[Roger] Williams described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that although not commonly attributed to him has echoed through … Continue reading White Christian nationalists in Illinois politics? You betcha!
Christian nationalism: Notes & quotes
Jonathan Davis, "Christian nationalism and the looming death of religious liberty," Baptist News Global, Aug. 13, 2018 https://baptistnews.com/article/christian-nationalism-and-the-looming-death-of-religious-liberty/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt8aRy6T_7gIVHimzAB3bdAG3EAAYASAAEgJlBfD_BwE#.YDSUaRNKjm1 According to the Christian Nationalist Alliance, Christian nationalism “upholds the belief that politics is just as capable of saving souls as other forms of Evangelical outreach.” Let that soteriological statement sink in – the saving of souls … Continue reading Christian nationalism: Notes & quotes
Lex, rex and a failed impeachment: ‘for there is no rex (king) where will rules rather than lex (law)’ — Henry de Bracton
Rejection of Falstaff -- 2 King Henry IV Editor's (admin's) note. I'm posting here a 600-word guest column I submitted to the State Journal-Register a week ago. I thought it was only fair to give them a week to consider it for publication. But the content is stale now (at least for newspaper purposes), and … Continue reading Lex, rex and a failed impeachment: ‘for there is no rex (king) where will rules rather than lex (law)’ — Henry de Bracton
Interview about cost of racism with Heather McGhee on Ezra Klein’s podcast
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/podcasts/ezra-klein-podcast-mcghee-transcript.html xxxx Ezra Klein, "What 'Drained-Pool Politics' Costs America," New York Times, Feb. 16, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-heather-mcghee.html. “The American landscape was once graced with resplendent public swimming pools, some big enough to hold thousands of swimmers at a time,” writes Heather McGhee in her new book, “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We … Continue reading Interview about cost of racism with Heather McGhee on Ezra Klein’s podcast
Interview on mass radicalization, Jan. 6 insurrection at US Capitol
Michael Jensen, "The Problem Isn't One Insurrection: It's Mass Radicalization," interview with Zack Stanton, Politico, Feb. 11, 2021 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/02/11/mass-radicalization-trump-insurrection-468746. [From the intro to an interview that appeared in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol}: Historically, mass radicalization took time,” says Michael Jensen, an expert on extremism who leads the … Continue reading Interview on mass radicalization, Jan. 6 insurrection at US Capitol
Robert Baird — historical notes & quotes
Robert Baird, Religion in America, Or, An Account of the Origin, Progress, Relation to the State, and Present Condition of the Evangelical Churches in the United States: With Notices of the Unevangelical Denominations. New York: Harper, 1844. Google Books. [99, of first generation of New Englanders] They could have maintained silent, personal, individual communion with their … Continue reading Robert Baird — historical notes & quotes
Webinar on Christian nationalism after riot at U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6 (and Philip Gorski’s metaphor of rioters as apples, oranges and fruit cocktail)
D R A F T https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmgWHBoGBi8 BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), Jan. 27, 2021 How can we respond when we see our faith and democracy under siege? On January 27, 2021, the Christians Against Christian Nationalism movement presented this webinar to explore how Christians are identifying and responding to the dangers of Christian … Continue reading Webinar on Christian nationalism after riot at U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6 (and Philip Gorski’s metaphor of rioters as apples, oranges and fruit cocktail)
Susan Posner on Trump, evangelicals, Brown v. School Board, church-state separation; Madeline Albright on ‘us-vs.-them thinking’
Sarah Posner, "'Unholy' Examines The Alliance Between White Evangelicals And Trump," interview by Terry Gross, National Public Radio, July 8, 2020 https://www.npr.org/2020/07/08/888906337/unholy-examines-the-alliance-between-white-evangelicals-and-trump. [Connects dots, demonstrates intersectionality between evangelicals, fear of people outside the religious community and school segregation. Posner is author of Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship At The Altar Of Donald Trump -- link HERE … Continue reading Susan Posner on Trump, evangelicals, Brown v. School Board, church-state separation; Madeline Albright on ‘us-vs.-them thinking’
Misc. notes & quotes: ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ (high-trust society)
Maddy Savage and Benoît Derrier, "Why the Swedes love doing something that Americans hate," BBC Reel , Jan. 6, 2021 https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09312qg/why-the-swedes-love-doing-something-that-americans-hate. In a BBC video (at 4:55) on why Swedes are OK with paying taxes, "... in general, there's a high level of trust in Swedish society, so we trust that the public sector will do, … Continue reading Misc. notes & quotes: ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ (high-trust society)
Notes & quotes: ELCA teaching document on civic engagement, church-state relations; background in 2014 article
D R A F T A couple of resources that are right down my alley as I struggle with the conceptual framework for an expanded study of how Swedish immigrant churches in Chicago and the upper Midwest adapted in the 1850s to an essentially Protestant American culture where churches were voluntary associations not supported by … Continue reading Notes & quotes: ELCA teaching document on civic engagement, church-state relations; background in 2014 article
Notes & Quotes: Article on Joe Biden’s faith in The Washington Post
Screen grab of the Post's website this morning. Seen today on the Washington Post website (the second Sunday after Epiphany, no less!), a perceptive article on President-elect Joe Biden's Catholic faith that raises some of the same issues I hope to touch on in my expanded study of cultural issues in the old Swedish-American Augustana … Continue reading Notes & Quotes: Article on Joe Biden’s faith in The Washington Post
Op ed: structural, political incentives to partisanship ‘post-Trump’; updated by ex-DHS official on Christian nationalism
Grist for discussion part of a larger study of "Luther's dear angels in Roger Williams' garden?" An opinion piece just as the first Congress was sworn in after Trump lost the Nov. 3, 2020 election, suggesting GOP strategy to undercut incoming Biden administration on economic recovery for partisan reasons ... comments within hours of its … Continue reading Op ed: structural, political incentives to partisanship ‘post-Trump’; updated by ex-DHS official on Christian nationalism
‘Us vs. them mentality’ in evangelical post-election support of Trump, ‘Christian nationalism’ (cited in CSM story)
Notes and quotes for my research on Swedish immigration -- from an article on a "Jericho march" protesting Pres. Donald Trump's defeat in the Nov. 3, 2020, election ... Citation: Harry Bruinius, "Will election become a new ‘lost cause’ for evangelical conservatives?" Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 16, 2020 https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2020/1216/Will-election-become-a-new-lost-cause-for-evangelical-conservatives? A summary from the Monitor, under headnote … Continue reading ‘Us vs. them mentality’ in evangelical post-election support of Trump, ‘Christian nationalism’ (cited in CSM story)
Notes & quotes: Nixon’s visit to UT-Knoxville in 1970
d r a f t https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/President_Richard_Nixon_and_Reverend_Billy_Graham_at_the_Podium_during_the_%22Crusade_for_Christ%22_at_Neyland_Stadium_in_Knoxville%2C_Tennessee.jpg Nixon at Billy Graham Crusade, UT-Knoxville, 1970 (Wikimedia Commons) “[Roger Williams] described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Nixon’s visit to UT-Knoxville in 1970
After the tumult, a moment of peace … and a moment for peacemakers
St. John's Episcopal-Lafayette Square in background. Business Insider, Nov. 7, 2020. It's been quite a week for peacemakers! Sunday, Nov. 1, was All Saints' Day, and the assigned gospel reading was the version of the Beatitudes in the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Including this (which isn't in Luke's version): "Blessed are the peacemakers, for … Continue reading After the tumult, a moment of peace … and a moment for peacemakers
‘The Benedict Option’: Notes and quotes from Rowan Williams, David Brooks
Wikipedia notes author Rod Dreher's involvement in controversies on race and gender, among other issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Dreher *** Rowan Williams, "The Benedict Option: a new monasticism for the 21st century," NewStatesman, May 30, 2017 https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/religion/2017/05/benedict-option-new-monasticism-21st-century. Its argument is simple. For conservative religious believers, the battle on the political field has largely been lost; there is no point … Continue reading ‘The Benedict Option’: Notes and quotes from Rowan Williams, David Brooks
Yet another reminder Roger Williams had it right: When we mix religion and politics, we get politics
[Roger] Williams described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that although not commonly attributed to him has echoed through … Continue reading Yet another reminder Roger Williams had it right: When we mix religion and politics, we get politics
Scratch outline — ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ (pinned here for easy reference, other posts below)
Rough notes and outlines for a research project ... Working title?: "Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden: Acculturation Inclusion and Community in Swedish Immigrant Churches, 1848-1861″ -- or -- "Luther’s Dear Angels in Swede Town: Acculturation in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860-1861″ ... potentially expanding the presentation I gave at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in … Continue reading Scratch outline — ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ (pinned here for easy reference, other posts below)
WaPo story on civil religion
Important update (imho) on the issue, at a time the culture wars were just beginning ... Keith Richburg, "America Already Has a Civil Religion," Washington Post, Sept. 8, 1985 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1985/09/08/america-already-has-a-civil-religion/89818518-9e27-45bd-814a-fbae9981a823/. Article by Keith Richburg, then of the Washington Post (educated at Michigan and LSE, longtime foreign correspondent and later director of the Journalism and Media Studies … Continue reading WaPo story on civil religion
Debriefing ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ — notes and a copy of the script for my Oct. 7 ALPLM presentation on acculturation and creolization
Presenting my paper to ALPLM's virtual Conference on Illinois History. Some ideas and observations that came to me presenting my paper, "Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden: Acculturation in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860" at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum's annual Conference on Illinois History. Plus a couple of pictures -- including a very nice picture … Continue reading Debriefing ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ — notes and a copy of the script for my Oct. 7 ALPLM presentation on acculturation and creolization
‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
Proposal for the paper I'm scheduled to present next month at the 22nd annual Conference on Illinois History sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Conference program and registration information are available HERE. Sessions will be conducted by Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My session will be from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 … Continue reading ‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
Selected Documents: Dealing with the Organization of the First Congregations and the First Conferences of the Augustana Synod and their Growth Until 1860, Vol. 1, ed. I.O. Nothstein, Augustana Historical Society Publications, 10 (1944): 92. Chicago-Mississippi Conference Minutes, Chicago, January 4-9, 1854. 90 [92] Thereupon the following question was acted upon: "What shall be the … Continue reading Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
Martha Nussbaum on Roger Williams
Martha C. Nussbaum, "The First Founder" [review of On Religious Liberty: Selections From the Works of Roger Williams, ed. James Calvin Davis], New Republic, 9 Sept. 2008 https://newrepublic.com/article/61558/the-first-founder?fbclid=IwAR07-wz1bFDtyu3DaK-xt5yDLOoUyYo7s6Y5qjqTE-C69vNiNIk0nbv9WHI. Verbatim excerpts: ... Williams wrote many books, including two lengthy philosophical treatises that are among the major works on religious toleration in the history of Western thought. … Continue reading Martha Nussbaum on Roger Williams
Luther on church, Anabaptists (copy)
Notes on my post at https://hemlandssanger.wordpress.com/2019/08/23/note-luther-quote-on-anabaptists/ on Luther's quote about the church as a "little flock of the faint-hearted, the feeble, and the ailing, who feel and recognize the wretchedness of their sins" in his sermons on John 1-4. Copied here from Hemlandssånger, Aug. 23, 2019 for convenient reference ... --- Screen shot Aug. 23, … Continue reading Luther on church, Anabaptists (copy)
Perry Miller on covenant (with allusions to Whitman, Hawthorne); also van Engen’s ‘How America Became “A City Upon a Hill”’
Perry Miller, in Errand into the Wilderness (Cambridge: Harvard-Belknap, 1956). Verbatim excerpts: -- Introduction: [ix] What I believe caught my imagination, among the fuel drums [in Africa], was a realization of the uniqueness of the American experience; even then I could dimly make out the portent for the future of the world, looking upon these … Continue reading Perry Miller on covenant (with allusions to Whitman, Hawthorne); also van Engen’s ‘How America Became “A City Upon a Hill”’
Spiritual direction — January and February
Editor's note -- copy of email sent to my spiritual director this morning, updating and summing up the past month and a half. Posted here, along with earlier updates, so I can tabs on the direction I'm taking as it evolves. Hi Sister -- A quick note to confirm our appointment for 2:30 p.m. Monday … Continue reading Spiritual direction — January and February
One last post about Trump’s insult comedy shtick at that prayer breakfast — it’s time for us all to look in the mirror
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLDnhL648qI Morning Joe | MSNBC | February 7, 2020 I thought I'd gotten President Trump's performance at the National Prayer Breakfast out of my system with Thursday's post to Ordinary Time. I think of him as basically an insult comedian -- like Don Rickles, Joan Rivers and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, but smug and … Continue reading One last post about Trump’s insult comedy shtick at that prayer breakfast — it’s time for us all to look in the mirror
Trump’s post-impeachment prayer breakfast caper and the wall of separation between church and state
"[Roger Williams] was saying that mixing church and state corrupted the church, that when one mixes religion and politics, one gets politics." -- John M. Barry, "God, Government and Roger Williams' Big Idea," Smithsonian, January 2012."Something there is that doesn't love a wall ...," Robert Frost, "Mending Wall." My research into Swedish immigration has me … Continue reading Trump’s post-impeachment prayer breakfast caper and the wall of separation between church and state
Review of John Barry’s bio of Roger Williams — ‘chopping through four centuries of undergrowth’
Tracy Lee Simmons, "'Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul,' by John M. Barry," [review], Washington Post, Feb. 3, 2012 https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/roger-williams-and-the-creation-of-the-american-soul-by-john-m-barry/2012/01/23/gIQAhjmqnQ_story.html. Excerpts: [Lede:] Last December, when Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee confronted critics who accused him of kowtowing to political correctness by tagging the blue spruce in the statehouse as not a “Christmas tree” but … Continue reading Review of John Barry’s bio of Roger Williams — ‘chopping through four centuries of undergrowth’
Ordinary Time 
