What is going on in right-wing America? Historian Paul Yandle traces the similarities between dehumanizing Reconstruction-era rhetoric and the fear mongers of the new Right. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

How should pastors think about the rising threat of Christian nationalism? Ansley Quiros offers her reflections in response to the recent conference, "Pastoral Leadership in a Time of Christian Nationalism," held at Candler School of Theology last week. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

If you've seen the film SINNERS, you know how the stories of American history are woven into the the fabric of fantasy. But what about stories of Christianity? Today, Rev. Kevin Barron considers the relationship between faith and fantasy in SINNERS. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

"The Charlie Kirk Memorial turned out to be a blend of funeral, revival, and rally," writes Joey Cochran. "The three features of which had so much permeability that it was tough to discern where one began and the others ended." www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

"I'm only human!" It seems natural to us to root our shortcomings in human frailty. But for Origen of Alexandria, our moral faults reflect more of an animalistic rejection of human nature as created by God and perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

"Why does it often take terrible spectacles of violence to get people to finally sit down and talk?" Michael Jimenez writes on what we can learn from the interfaith embrace of Cesar Chavez's farmworkers' union in the 1970s. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench, Philip Jenkins reveals how a 19th century fringe group of religious freethinkers, the Theosophists, were pioneers in the "rediscovery" of early Christianity's esoteric egalitarianism. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

What do board games have to do with the doctrine of creation? Lynneth Miller Renberg explores the visual theology of a medieval Scandinavian church, and tells us why theologians and historians need each other to understand the worlds of religion. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

James Dobson's death marks the end of a generation of conservative evangelical influencers. Daniel Williams writes that what propelled Dobson was a potent blend of Silent Generation political persuasion and Sunbelt evangelical ingenuity. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

When John Mark Comer posted a pic in praise of Andrew Rillera’s new book on atonement, it triggered a flurry of responses from Reformed evangelical social media. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

What do the Cracker Barrel rebrand and the conversion of a prominent Southern Baptist theologian have to do with one another? www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

In 1896 and 1897, several breakthrough discoveries in Egypt changed the landscape of biblical studies and scholarly speculation about the figure of Jesus. Philip Jenkins continues his work on the "Lost Scriptures" of the late 19th century. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

At the turn of the twentieth century, Alexander Dowie foresaw an apocalyptic revolution and worldwide theocracy, where Jesus Christ would personally speak his message via--what else?--the nascent power of telecommunications. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Who reads scripture better--an unbelieving scholar of ancient texts or an aged saint, dedicated to years of devotional reading? Adam Renberg looks at ancient Christian reading practices that point to the necessity of virtue for understanding the Bible. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

When thinking about noncanonical scriptures, we typically start with the discoveries at Qumran in the 1940s, but alternative texts had been known from as early as the 1890s. How did these texts shape biblical studies and religious piety? www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

What do Christians have to offer the world in the "ahistoric age" in which we live? We have a story to tell, Michael Jimenez writes--an old, beautiful, complex, surprising story. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench, Paul Thompson interviews fellow Anxious Bench contributor Daniel K. Williams on being a professional historian and the relationship between faith and scholarship. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Les Misérables is a story about failed revolution. It can be pretty bleak at times. But, Lisa Clark Diller writes, the musical also reminds us that human flourishing demands not only political vigilance, but self-giving love. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Why were the early 1890s so consequential for future American activity in the areas of politics, race, and religion? Philip Jenkins offers some early reflections. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Church Historian, Miles Mullin, is the interim replacement of Leatherwood. Interestingly, Mullin has authored the most read piece in @anxiousbench.bsky.social’s history: The Long History of the Religious Right. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

The Progressive Era saw an explosion in social awareness and activism on the questions of suffrage, temperance, and protections against sexual abuse. How did new emphases on biology and racial eugenics shift the religious approaches to these social crises? www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

In the 21st century, John MacArthur earned notoriety for challenging what he saw as threats to true Christianity. But he gained fame and a faithful following in the '80s and '90s for his style of preaching. Daniel K. Williams writes about MacArthur's approach. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Summer church camps have been a mainstay of white evangelical culture for over half a century now. Joey Cochran asks what the ubiquity of evangelical leisure culture suggests about how evangelicals perform status and privilege in America. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

The Scopes trial turns 100 this month. Kelsey Hanson Woodruff writes about the legacy of the Scopes trial in Dayton, TN, and how one resident, Rachel Held Evans, tried to push evangelicalism beyond Young Earth creationism's culture war battle lines. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Verónica Gutiérrez is contending with two recurring themes in Anxious Bench pieces--the ethic of archival silences and the challenge of doing historical fiction--by writing a novel about María de la Paz. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Why are there so many cats on the island of Cyprus? Lynneth Miller Renberg writes that the gaps between historical record and local legend can reveal much about how we tell stories--as well as what we just don't know. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Have you heard about the American Protective Association of the 1890s? Philip Jenkins calls our attention to right-leaning grassroots movements in American history, and our need to study the movements we don't like. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

The Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade turns three years old today. Dan Williams, on the legacy of Dobbs, says it's not simply a decision about abortion. It's a fight to define the nation's founding principles. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

President Trump has invoked religious language to sanctify his military actions against Iran. It's the latest of many examples of what Joey Cochran calls "God-gilded realpolitik." Here, he offers some reflections on how to respond. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Southern Baptist leaders want to "keep the main thing the main thing." But what if your very culture gets in the way of the "main thing"? www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Continuing his series on 1893, Philip Jenkins explores the explosion of New Thought spirituality and religious movements touting the absolute power of the mind at the turn of the 20th century. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

In 1900, faith healer and entrepreneur John Alexander Dowie founded Zion, Illinois, a city that could harness technology for the kingdom of God. Alex Mayfield writes about Dowie's bold vision and its surprising relevance to our cultural moment. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

How did early Christians address grave sin in their communities? Adam Renberg gives us a look into early church discipline, including what from their approach we can apply in our own contexts. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Evangelicals are typically allergic to any class-based social analysis because it sniffs of Marxism. But if they want to understand constructs of race in America, writes Paul Thompson, they need to stop living in fear of ideas. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Are we seeing a rise in Christian nationalism among Black Protestants? @ansleyquiros.bsky.social probes the complex and sometimes contradictory polling data for answers. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Joseph Smith--religious revisionist, charismatic genius, and voice of American audacity. Daniel Williams reviews John Turner's biography of the Mormon patriarch, "Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet (Yale, 2025). www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

The Scopes "Monkey" Trial typically takes center stage when we recall the fundamentalist/modernist conflicts. But according to Philip Jenkins, higher critics and traditionalists were already trading blows by the 1890s. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Our newest regular contributor, Alex Mayfield, tells the story of how Pentecostals warmed to Roman Catholicism over the last century--or at least some Pentecostals. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

"While not currently experiencing a huge conflict like the Thirty Years War, we're in a moment where global political and military realities are shifting. Where the head of a global organization worth billions chooses to put its energies could matter." www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

What makes a pope great? In expectation of a new bishop of Rome, @lmillerrenberg.bsky.social offers a brief account of Pope Gregory the Great (r. 590-604) as an imperfect but effective model of apostolic service. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

"I used to think truth was a doctrinal matter, that truth was certainty. It was objective and dehumanized." Ansley Quiros talks to Aimee Byrd about her new book, Saving Face: Finding Myself, God, and One Another Outside a Defaced Church. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench— With all the sentimentality of an evangelical conversion story, English poet and religious skeptic Arthur Hugh Clough penned a startling "anti-Easter" poem in 1849. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench— Conservative evangelicals have typically evaluated the the bishop of Rome according to the standards of their own cultural agenda. How did evangelicals feel about Pope Francis? www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench— What the sham trial of Jesus says about the persuasive power of evil leaders in the era of Trump and Kilmar Ábrego García. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench— Philip Jenkins continues his series on modern Catholicism with a primer on Africa's Catholics; where they are, who they are, and how they are shaping the global Catholic Church. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench— It's the end of an era as David Swartz says farewell after twelve years at the Bench. Read his final reflections on his work with us. We send David in a spirit of friendship, and can't wait to read what he writes next! www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench— Eustathius of Antioch was an important voice in the debates over Arianism that led to the Council of Nicaea. If we forget figures like Eustathius in our retelling, what is lost? www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

ICYMI: Lenten Reflections: Learning about suffering and surrender from Takashi Nagai, a survivor of Nagasaki and a Catholic convert. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

Today at The Anxious Bench— "Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye Rosalita Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria You won’t have a name when you ride the big airplane All they will call you will be deportees" Joan Baez, a plane crash, and a legacy of activism in US folk music. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...

ICYMI— Ed Uszynski's book, Untangling Critical Race Theory: What Christians Need to Know and Why, uncovers the concepts of CRT and common objections to it. For students of American history, CRT echoes what historians have noticed for decades. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...