Study of Religion as an Analytical Discipline Workshop

This would be interesting to attend if I were closer. Check it out if you're local.

an important read

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred Gov DeSantis from designating CAIR as a terrorist organization and punish those who associate with the group.

“Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment,” Judge Walker writes.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Religion in the U.S.

U.S. Foreign Policy
Christian Zionism.

A short history of the end times/rapture in the American military.

Cold war: Forces were seen as the defense against godless communism, but also as a rich environment for missionary outreach.

1959 - National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) estimated 50% of those in service were not affiliated

with a church or had a religious background.

1952 - Mainline Protestant denominations aggressively promoted annual preaching missions on US military bases.

Battle was fierce between Mainline and Evangelicals for influence in the military Chaplaincy

NAE created Chaplain endorsing agency -

called the Commission on Chaplains - liaison between Evangelical and Fundamentalist denominations in the military Chaplaincy
The US military recruit Chaplains through endorsing agents in a system created to avoid Constitutional problems with the Gov endorsing religion within the military

Beginning of Evangelicals attempt to take over - creation of the Officers' Christian fellowship during WWII - officers were placed in the military to meet and share their faith.
This fellowship changed in the Cold War from a prayer group to a missionary movement
Vietnam War composition of the

Military chaplaincy changed - up to then it was primarily Protestant denominations and Catholics - these religious leaders spoke out against the war.

Evangelical leaders did not - Saw the Vietnam War as God's work - and Evangelicals soon filled the gap of Catholics/Protestants leaving the military

1967 - Assemblies of God retracted its commitment to pacifism - proclaimed worldly war as a counterpart to the spiritual struggle
Other Fundamentalists applied the tactics of guerilla combat to the spiritual fight.
Developed "Infiltration" - filling ranks of secular institutions they deem as

"American" with undercover missionaries - saw the military as a way to send their missionaries into the world.

Reagan - cemented the Evangelical hold on the military when he changed regulations governing the denominational breakdown of the Chaplaincy based on religious demographics of the whole

military. In 1987 Protestant labeling in the military was an umbrella term for all denominations, so numbers increased dramatically.
Pentagon allowed Fundamentalist Bible college grads to fill the required Protestant placements in the Chaplaincy.
More than 2/3 of the military's active duty

Chaplains were associated with Evangelical or Pentecostal denominations.
Between 1994 and 2005 - # of Chaplains from evangelical and Pentecostal churches rose and in some cases more than doubled.
DOD - stats 40% of active duty personnel were Evangelical but in civilian population was 14%

In the early 2000s Evangelical Chaplains represented 60% of the military chaplains.

Fundamentalists were the most represented faith in the military Officers - The Officers' Christian Fellowship (OCF) was active at 80% of the US military bases worldwide.

After 9/11 membership in OFC grew 3% each

year - saw war on terror as a spiritual battle

OFC website stated goal "to create a spiritually transformed US military, with Ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered with the Holy Spirit."

Church support groups such as Navigators, the OCF, Overseas Christian Servicemen's Centres and

The Full Gospel Businessmen were operating active chapters globally in and around US military bases.

Note the Chaplain Corps is the second oldest branch in the Army, second only to infantry.

Most prominent group is the Military Ministry - affiliate of Campus Crusade for Christ

basic training broke people and their missionary was there to spread the good news, when they were broken and more open to the word. They claimed bases are excellent locations to pursue their strategic goals.

Created books, events, strategic plans to share Christ and convert. Military personnel

were "chosen people" to spread the gospel.

Christian Embassy - ministered at Pentagon - more than 350 Bible study classes, using their curriculum - held regularly among the 25 to 30k members of the Pentagon
Curriculum - spiritual warfare, warfare fro Christ, force multipler

Court case with Holman Bible Publishers - (Southern Baptist Convention) - Servicemen's Bible - printed for each division of the military - sued for using the insignia of the different divisions

There is MUCH more....but buy your local religion scholar a drink

"The challenge to produce authentic yet engaging versions of Roman women in screen media is even greater now than before, given the proliferation of anti-feminist rhetoric
in contemporary media culture." (p.15)
From the warmly recommended introduction by Woźniak and Wyke.

Did I mention it's OA?!

Iran After Khamenei An interview with sociologist Asef Bayat on the U.S.-Israeli war, democratic opposition to the Islamic Republic, and the country’s uncertain future.

Great deep analysis of the current situation. www.bostonreview.net/articles/ira...

I've done this at least once lol

Front of the Brandenburg Methodist Episcopal Church, located at 215 Broadway in Brandenburg, Kentucky, United States. Wikimedia Commons

Ten scholars revisit Jon Butler’s 2004 Journal of American History article, “Jack-in-the-Box Faith: The Religion Problem in Modern American History,” evaluating how it inspired historians to embed religion in “mainstream” modern U.S. history, and its legacy amidst historiographical trends.

This "Into the Stacks" feature was very fun to contribute to, in large part because it gave me a chance to highlight all of the wonderful work that @shafrhistorians.bsky.social have been doing in the past few decades to integrate religion more holistically into the study of U.S. foreign relations. 🗃️

If people keep calling things "epic" I'm going to start reciting the first book of the Aneid at them. My Jesuit education might be good for something after all.

@vox-magica.bsky.social ⬆️

Not a lot I love more than a passive aggressive (sic) or a mean citation. This CFP might be the bitchiest thing I've ever written.

Congrats? 🤓

Valuable thread.

Commentary | Levi McLaughlin, Sanae Takaichi and Japan’s Uncertain Politics/Religion Future — Critical Asian Studies Local-Level Religious Activists Recently Upended Japan’s Political Order Japan ranks among the least religious countries in the world—according to recent survey data, as many as 80% or 90% of respon...

Commentary | Levi McLaughlin raises questions about Japan's uncertain politics/religion future as new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's support for Shinto-linked nationalists alienates erstwhile Liberal Democratic Party allies in the Sokka Gakkai-backed Kōmeitō criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...