religious studies

Readers who follow my work will be aware of my conviction that neither the press , nor the American public generally, is taking the serious threat to democracy and human rights posed by the Christian…

Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who rose to prominence as a result of her former relationship with Donald Trump, is testifying against her former lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who’s on trial for…

While researching ghost hunters in the 21st century US during the course of earning my PhD, I was sometimes asked what ghost-hunting had to do with religious studies. In fact, Americans’ interactions…

Last Tuesday, author and witch J. Allen Cross tweeted out some advice for white people who want more BIPOC speaking and teaching at their “magical witchy” conferences. One of his pieces of advice was…

Have you noticed how common it is for right-wingers to describe things they oppose in terms of religion? Back in April, for example, Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab (the social media platform of choice…

After the Trump years and the January 6 insurrection , in which recognizably evangelical prayers and symbols featured prominently, America’s conservative, mostly white evangelical Christians aren’t…

If surveyed about the relationship between religion and drugs, I’d wager that a majority would not see any relationship at all. If they did see a relationship, they’d likely view it negatively: drugs…

There’s a reason Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in New York, enjoys a greater degree of public respect than many conservative evangelical leaders who clearly crave…

Are conservative, mostly white evangelicals, finally losing control of their narrative in the public sphere, where Christian supremacist assumptions have up to now led to the effective silencing of ex…

For readers of RD, Anthea Butler scarcely needs an introduction. Since 2009, shortly after RD’s launch, Anthea has contributed well over 100 pieces on topics as wide-ranging as the sexual abuse crisis…