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April 2026

April 14, 2026

The President and the Pope: An Unprecedented Rift

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed open hostility to Pope Leo XIV. Trump was angered...

April 09, 2026

What Was the Avignon Papacy and Why Is It in the News?

The Avignon Papacy refers to a period from 1309 to 1376, when the Papacy was,...

April 07, 2026

Thomas Aquinas on the Morality of War

Saint Thomas Aquinas (Tommaso d'Aquino, 1224/25-1275) developed precepts about the morality of war that influence...

March 2026

March 04, 2026

Saint Augustine’s Just War

What is a "just war"? Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) is credited with formulating...

February 2026

February 22, 2026

MAGA’s Assault on Religious Liberty

MAGA's assault on religious liberty is being under-covered in news media, but it's real. President...

December 2025

December 21, 2025

When Was Jesus Born?

When was Jesus born, exactly? The precise date, including the year, is a mystery. The...

December 15, 2025

The Reindeer Rule: Christmas and the Constitution

The "reindeer rule" is an informal name given to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about...

November 2025

November 26, 2025

Of DNA and Religion

Religion and the science of DNA may seem to have nothing in common. But in...

October 2025

October 03, 2025

This Is a Third Great Awakening?

I've seen claims lately that a Third Great Awakening is happening now. I'm skeptical, but...

September 2025

September 10, 2025

St. Nicholas, the Church That Rose from the Ashes of 9/11

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was a plain, whitewashed church that stood in the shadow...

September 01, 2025

The Ancient Origins of the Great Flood Story

The Great Flood that covered the world is one of the oldest -- and most...

July 2025

July 20, 2025

What Became of the Conversos of Spain?

Conversos were Jews in Spain and Portugal who were forcibly converted to Catholicism in the...

June 2025

June 26, 2025

The Ten Commandments: Back to School?

The crusade to enshrine the Ten Commandments in U.S. public schools reached a couple of...

June 03, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Catholic Charter School

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has stopped Oklahoma's plan to fund a Catholic charter...

May 2025

May 11, 2025

Pope Leo XIII: The Father of Catholic Social Doctrine

Pope Leo XIII is in the news, more than a century after his reign ended. ...

April 2025

April 14, 2025

Religion in Public Schools Hurts Religion (and Schools)

Religion in public schools has been a hot topic in the U.S. for decades. It...

March 2025

March 06, 2025

How “Christian” Were the Nazis?

How Christian were the Nazis? Not as much as many assume. The relationship between Christianity...

February 2025

February 09, 2025

Madison, Bush, Trump and Religious Freedom

Most Americans might agree that religious freedom is a cornerstone of American liberty. Yet we...

January 2025

January 07, 2025

What You May Not Know About U.S. Presidential Funerals

According to the White House Historical Association, one of the first things asked of new...

January 01, 2025

The Progressive Evangelicalism of Jimmy Carter

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29, 2024, at the age of...

December 2024

December 22, 2024

How Christmas Became a Family Holiday

Today, Christmas is a family holiday. It didn't used to be. Through much of the...

November 2024

November 26, 2024

Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving

President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a U.S. national holiday for the first time in 1863....

November 22, 2024

The Thanksgiving Myth

The Thanksgiving myth is the Thanksgiving story that we Americans were taught in school as...

September 2024

September 16, 2024

The Philadelphia Bible Riots of 1844

The Philadelphia Bible Riots of 1844 are also sometimes called the Philadelphia Nativist Riots. By...

September 11, 2024

Civil Religion: A Short History

Civil religion -- sometimes calleed "civic religion" -- is a term that is defined many...

July 2024

July 10, 2024

Religious Liberty and Josh Hawley

Religious Liberty and Josh Hawley don't mix. The Republican U.S. Senator from Missouri has made...

July 07, 2024

What Does “Teaching the Bible” Really Mean?

"Teaching the Bible" -- what does that mean? Now that the state of Oklahoma had...

July 02, 2024

God and the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence mentions God three times, in three different ways. Near the beginning...

June 2024

June 26, 2024

What’s Wrong With the Louisiana Ten Commandments Law

The Louisiana Ten Commandments bill I wrote about last month has been signed into law...

May 2024

May 30, 2024

Florida Embeds Christian Nationalism in School

The Florida Department of Education has been directing middle school and high school teachers to...

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