Study of Religion as an Analytical Discipline Workshop

Good thing some US colleges are closing their Religious Studies departments—definitively not “useful” at all or an area of expertise that might be relevant for understanding our present…

Here's a mini-thread on how Reign of Error episodes can help you understand how different parts of the MAGA Christian nationalist base are driving and understanding Trump's war in Iran: 🧵

002: Pete Hegseth, Doug Wilson, and the God of War Listen to Reign of Error with Sarah Posner on RedCircle

On Hegseth's religion, with @julieingersoll.bsky.social:

redcircle.com/shows/fbed71...

006: Trump, the New Apostolic Reformation & the Battle for the Midterms Listen to Reign of Error with Sarah Posner on RedCircle

On charismatic Christians, prophets, apostles, spiritual warfare, and how they see Israel and Iran, with @matthewdtaylor.bsky.social:

redcircle.com/shows/fbed71...

005: MAGA Catholics, Antisemitism & Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission Implosion Listen to Reign of Error with Sarah Posner on RedCircle

Finally, on the growing rift within MAGA, spurred by far-right, antisemitic Catholics, against the important Christian Zionist part of Trump's base, with @mjcressler.bsky.social:

redcircle.com/shows/fbed71...

This is a treasure trove of relevant content.

I continue to find it embarrassing when smart social scientists who should know better succumb to saying AI is better, which frankly shows a lack of appreciation for good writing (AI is bad at that) and for doing the kind of important work that AI can’t do (interview-based research, etc.).

“One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus”

Well I guess we have gotten the answer to a number of questions all at once

The fact the military is openly saying it is being told this is the Christian war to “bring about Jesus return” is.. bad.

Here's a full write-up on the judge tossing out Columbia's unprecedentedly harsh disciplinary actions against students accused of occupying Hamilton Hall in 2024:

hellgatenyc.com/columbia-exp...

US-ISRAELI ATTACKS ON IRAN KILL 201; IRAN FIRES BACK, BLASTS ACROSS REGION Explosions heard in Tehran, elsewhere, as Israel and US launches attacks; Iran retaliates, blasts across region.

While there are numerous aspects of the current military action taken by the U.S. and Israel against Iran that are anchored and sustained by religion, we suggest following news organizations with the capacity to cover these events across the region 🧵

1-e8259.azureedge.net/news/liveblo...

Hampton University, Stripped of Land Grant Status 100 Years Ago, May Get It Back As Va. lawmakers move to restore a designation lost during the Jim Crow era, students await the resources and opportunities its return could bring.

In 1920, Hampton University was stripped of its land grant status during a wave of segregation-era policies — cutting the university off from decades of potential federal funding.Now, a bill in the Virginia legislature aims to make amends and help the university recoup the money lost.
bit.ly/4l6uz5o

My friend & colleague @nelsontebbe.bsky.social has an Article on "First Amendment Inversion," just recently published by the Texas Law Review. It documents a fascinating and important shift in how different political groups have conceptualized free speech: texaslawreview.org/first-amendm...

"For movement conservatism the attack on perceived wokeism only fits w 1st Amendment doctrine in certain situations, such as the defense of conservative speakers on campus In other situations, such as the attempted regulation of social media by red states, speech rules cut in the opposite direction"

Facing the Ending of Esther Truth, transformation, & collective liberation; ancient stories serve as mirrors & lights.

The Book of Esther and massacres, let's talk about it:

The first Tibetan Buddhist monks came to Europe amid the surge of interest over attempts to summit Mt. Everest in the 1920s.

Capitalizing on this excitement, a promoter in Darjeeling recruited men to pose as Tibetan cham dancers for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924. 🧵
🗃️ 📜 #Tibet

Always like to remind people that Penn still hasn't located all of the remains of victims of the MOVE bombing but they did give one of the families the remains of a dog instead of the 12 year old girl they were supposed to be returning.

prismreports.org/2024/12/11/m...

maybe an under-discussed aspect of academic job market insanity is how higher ed workers are likely subject to greater physical safety risks than other knowledge workers (with risks likely increasing in the future as one of the two major political parties declares higher ed its nemesis)

Are you a current or former Education Dept. employee?

Have information about civil rights investigations or discrimination in schools?

Reach out to @jsmithrichards.bsky.social on Signal at jsmithrichards.93 or @jodiscohen.bsky.social at jodireporter.88 👇

speaking as a someone in the daoist side of things I am equally delighted and concerned at this. Daoist texts have been translated via AI (eg the Northern Dipper Scripture deltoi.com/zh/anonymous...).

However this translation so far involved no input from daoist practitioners at all...

!!!

Students say NC State cybersecurity course left them in debt and without prospects NC State offers an online cybersecurity bootcamp powered by a third-party company. Some students say it made false promises.

Etcetera etcetera we are all LowerEd

www.newsobserver.com/news/local/e...

This software of missionary colonizer white Nationalist Christianity is platforming messages (that may/ not get through given internet access restriction) targeting people who have had decades of watching the U.S. betray/sell out allies it solicits, on a foundation of the U.S. installing the Shah

ProPublica Sues Education Department for Withholding Records About Discrimination in Schools Under Secretary Linda McMahon, the work of the Office for Civil Rights, which aims to protect students from discrimination, is cloaked in secrecy.

ProPublica has sued the U.S. Department of Education
W/ @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

www.propublica.org/article/educ...

I live for admissions data and this stuff will likely be a mess that I can barely trust

Hacked Prayer App Sends ‘Surrender’ Messages to Iranians Amid Israeli and US Strikes As Israeli airstrikes hit Tehran this morning, Iranians received mysterious push notifications saying that “help is on the way,” promising amnesty if they surrender.

Unholy alliance of xtian nationalists & tech bros.

“Screenshots…show messages urging Iranian military personnel to surrender their weapons with the promise of amnesty. They also urged army personnel to join ‘the forces of liberation’ and to ‘defend your brothers.’”

www.wired.com/story/hacked...

🗣️ New color family in the JECS cover rotation!! 🗣️

This is bleak.

Unlocking the secrets of an ancient plague The first historically recorded pandemic is believed to have struck the walled city of Jirash, in what is now modern-day Jordan, in the 7th century. A new study reveals details about those who died.

Unlocking the secrets of an ancient plague : NPR
www.npr.org/2026/02/28/n...

Donald Trump's Violent Mentality is Quite Literally Biblical One could be forgiven for coming away from Leighton Woodhouse’s “Donald Trump, Pagan King” op-ed in the New York Times with the nagging suspicion that he hasn’t actually read the biblical or ‘Pagan’ w...

A recent NYT op-ed blamed the Trump's regime's lawless violence on 'paganism' while conjuring Christianity as the source of good values. I think this is a terrible way to think about history and gets in the way of cleaning up the messes Christians have made. My latest from @religiondispatches.org

UNC-CH Will ‘Scrap’ New Recording Policy, Chancellor Says The move comes less than three weeks after the controversial rules were enacted.

Congrats to @ncaaup.bsky.social & all who fought against this surveillance policy that would've allowed admin to hijack microphones in the classroom for secret recordings.

This move would've chilled classroom discussion & suppressed students' willingness to ask questions & take intellectual risks.