Though tribalism and conflict have long been a focus of social psychological research, psychology as a discipline has few meta-theories able to serve as organizing principles or prisms for new ways of understanding. This paper draws on the work of philosopher and anthropologist René Girard who uses mimesis (imitation) as a foundational lynchpin for tying…
The Christian affirmation of human personhood is based on a philosophical and theological understanding of human beings made in the image and likeness of a Creator-God. Yet, as Dennis M. Sullivan points out, not all participants in ethics discussions share these preconceptions, leading to contentious debates over human value at both the beginning and end…
Policies regarding plagiarism and academic integrity are among the most common liturgies in American higher education, yet Christian teachers and scholars have given minimal attention to the ways such liturgies shape students’ assumptions about the ownership of words and ideas. While analyzing handbooks, honor codes, and academic policies, Rachel B. Griffis considers concepts of plagiarism…
Stephen N. Bretsen argues that the corporation is the result of several elements, both ancient and modern, that were combined by law and market forces in the mid-19th century. The creation of the corporation has led to various theories of the corporation, some viewing the corporation as a private entity solely serving the interests of…
Despite nearly fifty years since structural changes predicated the “model minority thesis” and “culture of poverty” arguments, these beliefs continue to be employed as cultural abstractions. Henry H. Kim elucidates how these concepts emerged in the 1960s and re- emerged in the twenty-first century and critiques these beliefs via historical sociology. A modified version of…
In the twenty-fifth episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Edgardo Colón-Emeric, the Irene and William McCutchen Professor of Reconciliation and Theology, the Director of the Center for Reconciliation, and Dean of the Divinity School at Duke University. Colón-Emeric opens by recounting how he was called to the ministry and how that calling eventually came to include service on the faculty at Duke University as well as providing theological education in El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, and Russia. Ream then asks Colón-Emeric to unpack his theological understanding of reconciliation, how that understanding was formed by his study of Óscar Romero, and how to discern the varied relationships reconciliation and culture share. They then close their conversation by discussing Colón-Emeric’s understanding of the Christian academic vocation, how such an understanding is expressed by the leadership he offers the Divinity School at Duke University, and the unique position the Divinity School has in cultivating a theological appreciation of the professions including medicine, law, and business.
Gretchen Schwarz and Jill Martin argue that contemporary Christian evangelicals often perceive American public schools as evil, and many have retrenched into their own private schools. These schools generally offer a highly traditional, narrow, even classical curriculum. In contrast, Comenius, one of the Reformation era’s outstanding scholars and educators, developed a wealth of ideas that…
Introduction The American religious landscape is increasingly dominated by the influence of megachurches. A common criticism of megachurches is that they reinforce the bad habits of consumer culture. They do so by commodifying religion for the easy consumption of the religious consumer. Using Vince Miller’s account of consumer culture, and Michel De Certeau’s theoretical project…
In the forty-fourth episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with John Inazu, the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis. Inazu begins by discussing the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, why its components prove valuable to so many people, and why the debates surrounding those components may bespeak something positive about citizenship in the United States. Ream and Inazu then discuss Inazu’s commitment to the study and practice of law, how it emerged, and the mentors and readings that impacted it. Such an understanding of the practice and study of the law then led Inazu to write his recently released Learning to Disagree as well Uncommon Ground which Inazu co-authored with Tim Keller. Ream and Inazu then close their conversation talking about the academic vocation, Inazu’s understanding of such a calling, and the virtues that prove critical to its exercise.
When neighborhoods gentrify, residents can be physically displaced as well as psychologically displaced. This psychological displacement can occur even if the resident is not physically displaced. In this article, Keith E. Starkenburg and Mackenzi Huyser explore the significant impact that neighborhood changes have on one’s attachment to place as expressed through the concept of Christian…
Shame and guilt are important concepts within Christian theology. In much of the literature, however, these two concepts are lumped together, offering little if any distinction between them. By contrast, evidence-based psychological research on the topics of shame and guilt has flourished over the past 30 years, offering a careful and important distinction between shame…
Many Christian films released in the last two decades often pitch themselves as a means of evangelizing unbelievers and reassuring the faith of believers. This article uses the film God’s Not Dead as an example of the recent trend in Christian films and argues, using historical parallels, that these films undermine their stated purposes and…
Discussions of faith integration often lament the fragmentation of academic disciplines and express the desire for a theologically centered, unified synthesis of academic knowledge. Steven Jensen argues that every academic discourse is defined not only by a complex formative history and set of rules and practices, but also by a root metaphor that serves as…
When we hear that local Muslims have perpetrated terrorist attacks, many Americans worry whether the “strangers in our midst” will assimilate and become Muslim-Americans. Barbara J. Hampton argues that an examination of the themes of community, gender, and identity in three American novels written by Muslims can relieve the worst of our anxieties. The characters…
In the forty-sixth episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Marc O. DeGirolami, the St. John Henry Newman Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Law and the Human Person at Catholic University of America. DeGirolami opens by addressing the current state of conversations concerning human flourishing, what those conversations offer yet also where those conversations may fail due to a lack of theological and philosophical depth. Ream and DeGirolami then talk through how DeGirolami came to appreciate the ways the education he received and the experiences he encountered fostered his calling to study and practice law. They talk through DeGirolami’s eventual appointment to Catholic University of America as well as his short-term and long-term plans as the Co-Director of the Center for Law and the Human Person. They then close their conversation by discussing how DeGirolami has come to define the academic vocation as a legal scholar and what he believes the university and the Church owe the next generation of legal practitioners and scholars as they prepare for lives of service.
Sociologists Michael Emerson and Christian Smith asked in their book Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America: will the evangelical church remove the color line? Phillip Luke Sinitiere offers a “history” of Divided by Faith since its publication in 2000. This article traces out the book’s impact on scholars, accounting…
Studies in moral and political psychology increasingly shed light on both the positive and negative political consequences of moral conviction. While people’s convictions engender courage to stand up for their beliefs despite the cost, they also trigger more negative emotions, polarized attitudes, and hostile responses. At a time when our political climate appears increasingly divided…
A prior version of this essay was delivered as the Carl F. H. Henry lecture and plenary address at the “Living Accountably” symposium on Faith and Culture at Baylor University in October 2021 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Christian Scholar’s Review. Joel Carpenter is a historian and former provost at Calvin College, and…
If the thousands of global reports of “near-death experiences” (NDEs) are to be believed, they support much in Christian theology, including consciousness surviving physical death and the existence of a supernatural realm, a supreme being of unfathomable love, an intercessor named Jesus, and an afterlife with both glorious and ghastly destinations. Conversely, many NDE reports…
In this episode of the Saturdays at Seven Podcast, Todd interviews Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Walter shares his faith journey which began with an inspiration from Star Wars, lead to serving congregations all over North America, and now drives him in his role as president of NAE. He and Todd discuss what it means to be evangelical and how Christian colleges can serve as examples to evangelical churches in engaging and transforming society.
