Cara Burnidge

The Sermon on the Mount, by Beryl Lewis, before 1965, 📸 by @ScottStrazzante

All that is to say, the principle “all men are created equal” has an American legal tradition of understanding “men” in racial and gendered terms. And “equal” has its own history too, shaped by American Christian traditions of patriarchy. And for Wilson & Trump, at least, it’s white patriarchy.

Wilson’s time wasn’t concerned with “trans” per se, BUT this was one part of the woman’s suffrage debate at the time—did suffrage disrupt the “natural” order aof who is a “man” and who is a “woman”?

It was a legal, economic, and religious question.

Hyper focus on trans civil rights draws attention to this too, as states try to decide who has individual rights (not just personhood—see the Reconstruction Amendments)

The focus has been who is a “woman” but it is also who is a “man” and what is the responsibility of men (patriarchs) to police it

Their shared entrenchment in tax law is an example of this, where Wilson considered tax law as a reflection of Gods order. Men counting others as dependents

Their foreign policy bears this out w/a system of getting “good men” in government & the promotion of democracy as a means to make it happen

Bouie rightly compares Trump with Wilson but what we often overlook with both is that their racism (devotion to white superiority) is inseparable from their commitment to patriarchy.

Beyond “men as leaders” patriarchy here means men as sovereigns— the legitimate political authority over all others

Yes x 1000. I told my editors that all of the LLM drama came for romance (thanks to the Amazon marketplace) over a decade ago. Every iteration after that has been the same cycle over and over again. Can’t get serious people to treat it seriously, however, because it’s about women’s economic activity

It is. And I’m not sure the elimination of tenure is necessarily the kicker. It’s already weakened in a lot of places. It’s the new program metrics that will divide disciplines, further reducing any incentives for research faculty and teaching faculty to see themselves as sharing any goals.

Patricia Matthew and her contributors already explained how all faculty don’t have the same job (Written/Unwritten [2016]), but it’s about to be more transparent based where you work (not just your title and rank)

Thank you for contacting the void. How may we direct your scream?

you personally have the ability to secure elections for yourself and your neighbors.

There are at least 2 things here that humanities-based Religion scholars do well & can help students do too:

1. Analyze competing religious claims (Pope Leo vs Johnson’s Christianity)

2. Analyze Christian secularism(s)

Poll data doesn’t help the public figure out what to do here

Why a State’s Private Colleges Are Feuding With Its Community Colleges Iowa could allow public two-year institutions to develop baccalaureate programs. Private colleges see it as an existential threat.

The chronicle also has a deep dive on this IA community college vs private college debate

The focus is on competition for enrollment but also this push to CC pulls students into a differently regulated edu market, one w/less faculty control of the curriculum

www.chronicle.com/article/why-...

3/

Another Red State Wants to Shake Up Higher Ed This Year Iowa legislators have proposed bills that would regulate the general-education curricula at the state’s public universities, change governance systems, and more.

There’s a Chronicle article about IA leg. plans to “shake up” higher ed (what comes after anti-DEI)

-removing student rep from Board
-authorizing CC to offer BAs
-require different accreditation
-tax endowment
-ban contracts w/Chinese citizens

www.chronicle.com/article/anot...

2/

It’s shaping up to be quite the day in Iowa education news. 3 stories worth your time even if you’re not in Iowa

There’s the Republican gubernatorial debate 👇which has all candidates seeking to target teacher training/higher education as a blueprint for attacking “leftist indoctrination”

1/

Inside the effort to organize clergy nationwide to resist ICE (RNS)— Hundreds of clergy from around the country gathered in Minneapolis to learn from Minnesota faith leaders how to protest against ICE enforcement. Then they took to the streets and helped block t...

NEW: I was one of 3 reporters granted access to the convening of 600+ clergy in Minneapolis this week.

It was a striking show of solidarity with MN clergy resisting ICE, but heralded something else: the emergence of a vast, faith-based network trained to resist ICE. religionnews.com/2026/01/23/i...

This is great! A few weeks in, I’ve done a “write a history of our first day” prompt to set up a conversation about narrative style in history (and also canonical gospels)—and this would be a good way to plant seeds about historical writing earlier on. Thanks for sharing!

lol

So much to explore and analyze when it comes to religion, Jan 6, and our memories of it.

@miketheprofessor.bsky.social and @petermanseau.bsky.social did us all a service by creating the Uncivil Religion digital resource.

uncivilreligion.org/home/about-t...

If you, like me, will be talking about celebrity culture and religion this spring with students, I suggest checking out:
Kathryn Lofton’s “Sacrificing Britney” in Consuming Religion (Chicago, 2017) as one way to get at these themes.

I hope to see you there!

YouTube video by Porkys1982 👊 Beastie Boys HD : Tibetan Freedom Concert Footage - 1996

RIP #MTV which I featured for the first time in American Religious Diversity this year to talk about the Tibetan Freedom concerts.

A rich text of religion, politics, youth culture, and consumerism.

youtu.be/2z-po-l-pVc?...

The Routledge History of Religion and Politics in the United States Since 1775 Drawing together history and recent historiography, this volume offers a reference work for understanding how religion influenced politics and how politics shaped religion in the United States from th...

Students want to be informed but often don't know the difference between an expert & an influencer

@laurenfturek.bsky.social & I tried to create a space--away from algo rabbit holes--where teachers could find expertise on these issues for their classrooms

www.routledge.com/The-Routledg...

6/6

And there are historiographic interventions!

-@jstuart.bsky.social makes a case for Mrs. Hamer to stand alongside Martin and Malcolm as civil rights religious leaders
-Katherine Moran layers Antisemitism, AntiCatholicism, and Nativism together as intertwined histories to be studied together

5/6

There are perennial questions answered in thematic chapters on:

-Religion & the State (not just "church & state")
-Pluralism & Secularism
-Capitalism, Religion & Politics
-Race, Racism, and Anti-Racism
-Gender, Religion & Politics
-Material Culture

4/6

The Humanities doesn't have to be "relevant" to matter, but the history of religion & politics is nonetheless like:

-Hugh Urban explaining Conspiracy & Disinformation
-Kathleen Tobin explaining Secularism, Nones & Interfaith Communities
- @econroykrutz.bsky.social on Missionaries & Diplomacy

3/

If you want to give students an overview before diving deeply into complex topics, check out these *8 page* chapters:

-@brianclites.bsky.social explaining the history of Clergy Sexual Abuse
- Jane Hong on Immigration & Asian American religions
- @wmstell.bsky.social on LGBTQ+ Rights

2/6

The Routledge History of Religion and Politics in the United States Since 1775 Drawing together history and recent historiography, this volume offers a reference work for understanding how religion influenced politics and how politics shaped religion in the United States from th...

It's time for @laurenfturek.bsky.social & I to celebrate the book birthday for The Routledge History of Religion and Politics in the United States Since 1775!

44 chapters, 48 contributors representing both History & Religious Studies

www.routledge.com/The-Routledg... 1/n

I'm teaching a course called "The Bible and Misinformation" next semester. The course will focus on information literacy skills, using the Bible as a focus. What topics would you consider the most interesting/relevant to include?

Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives? Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?

Seems like it's worth posting this one again.