In Whose God Do Americans Trust?

How the Religious Right Projected Evangelical Conservatism Onto the Founding Fathers

Charles Bennett, a Democratic Congressman from Jacksonville, Florida, was afraid of communism. In July 1955, he spoke of his concerns on the floor of the House of Representatives. “In these days, when imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to attack and destroy freedom, we should continually look for ways to strengthen the foundations of our freedom,” he told his fellow members of Congress. Bennett’s proposed solution was simple: Americans could add the phrase “In God We Trust” to their dollar bills. By consensus, Congress adopted Bennett’s resolution.

Americans’ ready embrace of …

How Conservative Christians Co-Opted the Rhetoric of Religious Freedom

By Adopting the Language of Individual Rights, Evangelicals Cast Themselves as a Beleaguered Minority

Today, just about everyone—including lobbyists, state legislators, and Supreme Court litigants—assumes that freedom of religion naturally means opposition to same-sex marriage and reproductive rights, and sits in tension with anti-discrimination …

Did Protestant Christianity Create the Dismal American Prison System?

Puritans’ Focus On “Right Living” Helped Justify Our Harsh Treatment of Prisoners

While in Ireland teaching a criminal justice course this past semester, I had the opportunity to take a tour of an Irish prison.

The Irish prison service states one of …

The Inviting Light of L.A.’s Humble, One-Room Churches

Photographing Modesty and Simplicity In a City Better Known for Its Glamour

by Kevin McCollister

My admiration for the city of Los Angeles has nothing to do with its sports teams or film stars, or anything or anyone that might be considered super-duper. …

Theologian Candida Moss

A Lover of Diet Coke, Early Miley Cyrus, and Soufflé

University of Notre Dame theologian Candida Moss specializes in Bible studies and early Christian history and is the author most recently of The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented …