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Is Trump's Adoption of 19th Century Purity to Combat Teen Pregnancy Just a Cynical Nod to the Base?

Religion Dispatches
Maybe the administration isn't just okay with the documented failure of abstinence-only sex education... maybe they're counting on it.
AccessMatters, a Philadelphia non-profit that participated in the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program (TPP), was defunded after the Department of Health…
Emma Cieslik
Sara J. Moslener
19th century painting of a victorian woman leaning mournfully against a window, beneath which is the baby she's leaving behind.
Article
Religion Dispatches

The Military Chaplaincy Was Already Captured, Well Before Hegseth's Arrival

Evangelical bodies have built a pipeline to the chaplaincy, many of whom "[weaponize] their spiritual authority and ‘freedom of speech’ to make trouble.”
Public concern over Christian nationalism in the armed forces has been almost entirely preoccupied with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth—and not without good reason . He invited his personal pastor…
Leigh Larson
Article
Soldiers bow their heads and pray
Religion Dispatches

The Innocuous-Sounding Glue That Binds the Global Right

This white supremacist, pseudo-historical tale has been embraced by large portions of the Right.
The majority of the homepage is occupied by a pair of buildings. On the left is the 2000-year-old Roman Pantheon, whose famous inscription informs the onlooker that “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius…
Annika Brockschmidt
Article
Viktor OrbĂĄn, JD Vance, Giorgia Meloni, Marco Rubio, Elon Musk, and Doug Wilson all stand guard in front of the Roman Pantheon

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Senate Candidate Graham Platner Claims Ignorance of Nazi Tattoo

Annika Brockschmidt

JD Vance's New Memoir Packages Catholic Conversion for Evangelicals

Seeking an escape from hyper-individualism "Communion" depicts a highly individualistic Catholicism.
Karen E. Park

James Dobson's Appearance in the Epstein Files is No Surprise

The late evangelical leader's sadistic work was a natural fit for Epstein.
Emma Cieslik

Top 24 Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation in the U.S.

At the forefront of a movement that helped organize 1/6 and poses a threat to American democracy.
Frederick Clarkson
André Gagné

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israel/palestine

Religion Dispatches

Hague Shmague: When Genocidal Rhetoric Doesn’t Count

Those connecting street violence to Mamdani's criticism of Israel have little to say about the genocidal statements of Israeli officials.
When New York City’s Muslim mayor accuses the Israeli Prime Minister of war crimes, his critics claim he has blood on his hands for the stabbing of a Jewish man in Manhattan two days later; but when…
Joel Swanson
Article
Itamar Ben-Gvir gestures angrily.

Reading Scripture from the Throne, Not the Cross

Christian Zionists doubled down on apocalyptic war while interfaith activists reclaimed liberation theology in the streets of DC.
Ben Lorber

Tucker Carlson's Latest Foray Into Far-Right Antisemitism Flies Under the Radar

The tragic irony is that far-right Christian critics of Israel are just swapping out one form of antisemitism for another.
Ben Lorber

popular culture

Religion Dispatches

MAGA and Christian Nationalism Satire "The Boys" Leaves Us With a Superhero Dilemma

Can we build a better world through superheroes who pummel the bad guys... in the name of multi-racial democracy?
Please note: The following includes spoilers for the series finale of The Boys . “Jesus
 as we all know was tortured, stripped of his dignity, and killed. And that’s all well and good,” says…
Noah Berlatsky
Article

What Does it Mean to Think of Michael Jackson’s Life as an American Horror Story?

Is *Michael* bad?
James Howard Hill Jr

'What Feeds Your Soul'

D’Angelo’s Sacred Secular Ministry
Santi Elijah Holley

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Search the largest online collection of research and commentary on religion, culture, and politics.

The Latest Continued

Religion Dispatches

A George Washington of (And For) MAGA

The erasure of the Founding Father's role in some of the nation's most heinous crimes is both hard to stomach and how we got here.
Conservatives have spent weeks arguing about the Odyssey, complaining that it’s too woke or not Christian enough, but the would-be blockbuster of the summer for conservative Christians is very clearly…
Noah Berlatsky
Article
George Washington fires a musket straight at the viewer.
Religion Dispatches

'Abortion Was Not a Problem for Me' — Remembering the Clergy Consultation Service

A network of brave clergy contradicts the conflation of religion with anti-abortion politics.
In recent months, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution describing abortion as sinful ; Vice President JD Vance, comparing abortion to child sacrifice, told March for Life attendees…
Cody McDevitt
Article
women hold up signs of crossed out wire hangers
Religion Dispatches

The Great Agreement: Conspiracy About Israel's Orchestration of Moroccan Migrants Embraced Across the Spectrum

Influencers as disparate as Nick Fuentes and Hasan Piker promote a conspiracy with elements of Great Replacement theory.
As scholars and experts have often noted , conspiracy theories proliferate when, in the face of a complex situation or event, people are offered easy answers that tend to confirm preexisting beliefs…
Joel Swanson
Article