I’m personally dedicating my no-Trump vote to Martha Cook, the mother of an Arkansas State University alum, who was burned to death this spring by her violent ex-boyfriend. At Everyday Feminism, women recognize Trump for the abuser he is, noting that he employs tactics “straight out of the handbook of toxic masculinity.” Hillary Clinton can... Continue Reading →
_A Doubter’s Guide to God_
I’m not sure what is going on at Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, Kansas, but the place is producing a lot of good writing and writers now. Carol Grieb has a book out on Hamlet, Ryan Ellett has written a great account of early African American radio, plus one about the Texas Rangers, and pastor... Continue Reading →
Republicans Prefer Leaders Who Conform to Physical Stereotypes
Remember when Donald Trump suggested that Carly Fiorina was too unattractive to get votes? It was during the primary, in an interview with Rolling Stone, when he exhorted his fans to "Look at that face!" He asks them, "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!" As the... Continue Reading →
Reading Round Up, #BLM Edition, September 26, 2016
A special collection of recent writing on Black Lives Matter that I’ve been reading North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, always happy to sacrifice the welfare and rights of his state’s residents to the prejudices of the powerful, has decided that North Carolina’s police don’t have to share body camera footage with the public unless compelled... Continue Reading →
Reading Round Up, September 23, 2016
Most of my reading this week has focused on Black Lives Matter, police brutality, and protests. I’m working on a special Reading Round Up just on those topics. For now, though, here’s the rest of what I’ve been reading this week. Chelsea Fagan blogs about her experience with money at The Financial Diet (a title... Continue Reading →
The 2016 Republican Platform is Deplorable
I’ve been thinking a lot about Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment, made last week at a fundraiser in New York, for a number of reasons. The Republican faux-outrage at the comment dramatically highlights that party’s silence around the racist, Islamphobic, and sexist words of their own candidate. Clinton calls racists racists and Mike Pence... Continue Reading →
Hell, Coffee, and Bees
I shared last week some good-natured teasing that local companies in Utah use in marketing in a region heavily populated by members of the Latter Day Saints, Jack Mormon Coffee Co. being my current favorite. A few folks asked for more details, and the religion scholar in me couldn’t resist tracking down the answers. So,... Continue Reading →
Reading Round Up, September 16, 2016
A brief list of what I've been reading this week, mostly about religion, politics, sex, and hate groups, but with a little bit of celebrity parody thrown in. Goshen College doesn’t play the national anthem, and it’s just fine. Stories matter, and we need to give more attention to the ones we tell our children.... Continue Reading →
Beer, Coffee, and Religious Demography
Our family recently moved to Ogden, Utah, whose history as a railroad depot, racial and ethnic diversity, artsy vibe, seedy pockets, and relatively smaller Latter Day Saint population (about 60%, as opposed to parts of Utah were more than 80% of the population is Mormon) has given rise to the motto “Keep Ogden Sketchy.” Unlike... Continue Reading →
Reading Round Up, September 9, 2016
I’m trying out a new feature on this blog—a record of what I’m reading this week, specifically news items, peer-reviewed articles, books, and reports that address my interests in hate and extremism, sex, women and gender, politics, religion, family life, and higher ed. Small amounts of celebrity gossip thrown in. If you have an item... Continue Reading →
Rebecca Barrett-Fox 