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Expert analysis at the intersection of religion, politics, and culture.

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Is the Surge in Belief — Both Conventional and Bizarre — A Sign We're 'Sliding Back Into the Middle Ages'?

Religion Dispatches
Probably not, but the concern itself suggests that modernity's acolytes are high on their own supply.
On May 17, the New York Times published a guest essay by Katya Ungerman—“We Are Sliding Back into the Middle…
Daniel Wise
a bumper sticker of the signature QAnon "Q" in a white rabbit.
Article
Religion Dispatches

Another Mass Shooting. More Dead Muslims. This is America. 

We can make something new, but only by facing what has come before.
Another mass shooting. This is America . More dead Muslims. This is America. These are stories I have written about for a quarter of a century. The only reason it hasn’t been longer is because I’m…
Hussein Rashid
Article
An image of the record "Strange Fruit"
Religion Dispatches

The Most Important Hearing on Palestinian Rights You've Never Heard Of

'This is literally our First Amendment rights under attack.'
In 2015 Illinois became the first state in the country to pass an anti-BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) law. A little over a decade later the state is in a fight to be the first to repeal one. At stake…
Annie Wilkinson
Article

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The Absurdity of the Trump Administration's 'Anti-Christian Bias' Report

Robert P. Jones

Genocide For Me But Not For Thee?

Hillel International posted a map that says everything they won't say out loud.
Joel Swanson

Alleged Assassin Cole Allen is in Custody — But "Cole Allen" the Political Narrative is Running Wild

To the president and his MAGA supporters, 'shots fired' means story time.
Jeff Sharlet

Palantir's Technofascist Thread — Annotated

These mini-excerpts from Alex Karp's book aren't the insight of a tech titan so much as a recipe for 80s Hollywood dystopia.
Thomas Lecaque
Annika Brockschmidt

Featured Topics

Misogyny & Male Supremacism

Religion Dispatches

First Female Archbishop of Canterbury a Bittersweet Moment for Catholic Women

Our cheers were for Archbishop Sarah, but also for our peers who minister despite excommunication and patriarchal stupidity.
Movements have moments. The installation of Sarah Elisabeth Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury, on the Feast of the Annunciation 2026, was one such moment for women’s equality in religion. Several…
Mary Hunt
Article

Trump's War on Iran Isn't About Armageddon, It’s the First Meme War

Vietnam may have been the first television war, but Iran is the first war shaped by shitposting.
Lauren Horn Griffin

Nick Fuentes Apologized for Assaulting a Woman

But he didn't mean it.
Annie Wilkinson

Racism & Anti-Immigrant

Religion Dispatches

Project 2025-Inspired Playbook Urges Trump to Double Down on Mass Deportation

The absence of some old friends suggests growing MAGA divide.
After its policy recommendations contributed to record levels of disapproval for the Trump administration, the anti-immigrant movement has a message: Double down, Mr. President. Last week the Mass…
Ethan Fauré
Article

Flowing Against Fascism

What Martin Buber has to teach us about community, resistance, and survival
Ilyse R. Morgenstein Fuerst

Trump's War on Iran Isn't About Armageddon, It’s the First Meme War

Vietnam may have been the first television war, but Iran is the first war shaped by shitposting.
Lauren Horn Griffin

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The Latest Continued

Religion Dispatches

What 20,000 Federalist Society Events Reveal About the Conservative Legal Machine

The first dataset capturing 40 years of activities.
On April 29, in Louisiana v. Callais , the Supreme Court rendered Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, in Justice Kagan’s words , “all but a dead letter.” The 6-3 decision reset the rules for…
Chad M. Topaz
Article
Leonard Leo, standing at a podium, holds up his wine glass and toasts a group of people.
Religion Dispatches

What Does it Mean to Think of Michael Jackson’s Life as an American Horror Story?

Is *Michael* bad?
Like millions of others, I attended a screening of Michael during its opening week. I found myself tapping my feet to the music. By the time “Bad” played at the film’s conclusion, I was dancing my way…
James Howard Hill Jr
Article
colorful mural of young and old Michael Jackson's face
Religion Dispatches

No One Should be Surprised by James Dobson's Appearance in the Epstein Files

The late evangelical leader's sadistic work was a natural fit for someone like Epstein.
Please be aware that the following article contains references to child abuse, child sexual abuse, and child sexual abuse materials. It didn’t receive a great deal of attention at the time, but among…
Emma Cieslik
Article